My sister and I had a great experience at Garden House in the Monticelli area of Florence for 5 weeks in January / February 2020. We wanted to be in a real neighborhood, not full of tourists, but easily able to get into Centro quickly on public transportation. We were able to "commute" to museums, churches, shops, restaurants and other tourist attractions on both sides of the Arno on the #6 bus or the Tramvia 1. (Get the ATAF app!)
We also appreciated that the apartment is spacious and has a bath and a half, making it easy for 2 people to get out the door more quickly in the mornings and the fact that is has an outside terrace (which, due to the uncommonly warm winter, we were able to enjoy, sitting outside with a glass or 2 of wine some evenings). The king sized bed is super comfortable; we 2 sisters were comfortable sharing. And, wonder of wonders, the "dependence" (separate private little utility building just for Maria Rita's apartment) has a washer AND DRYER! We only used the dryer once, choosing to do laundry every other day or so and dry things on the clothes rack provided, but fact that you're not sharing the laundry with other apartments and that you have access to a dryer is a huge help if you're traveling light and urgently need to get laundry done.
The neighborhood is pleasant and was fairly easy to navigate. Most shopkeepers (at the local pizzeria, bar, optical shop, tobacco shop and grocery) speak sufficient English that it's possible to be comfortable even if your Italian is seriously limited. We enjoyed going to LaFabrica del Pane for coffee in the mornings and spritzes in the evenings and even had lunch there one day when we were off to a late start.
We had minimal problems in the apartment but on 2 occasions Maria Rita came immediately to our rescue to turn on the heater, which prior tenants had accidentally turned off, and to reattach the handle to the shower faucet.
We did have one very odd problem at the beginning and offer this warning -- when you take the taxi from the airport to the apartment, tell the driver your destination is Via Pisana 153 FLORENCE. Our taxi driver took us to Via Pisana 153 Scandicci (same road, nearby city that, unfortunately, numbers the houses the same way as Florence). The incredibly nice people in Pan Fragrante, the bar in Scandicci, understood our problem and ordered a taxi to take us to Florence.
If you want an authentic Italian experience, we highly recommend Maria Rita's Garden House as a lovely place to stay. It is ideal for people who want a temporary home in Italy (not just an accommodation for sleeping and bathing while spending every waking minute as a tourist).
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