Positives: for short stays, this place would’ve been great based on the location. But, any Airbnb close to where we were would have this benefit.
- Location was absolutely amazing. Some people probably would prefer to be on the other side of the Arno to shorten the walk to the Duomo or other sites. But it only added 5 minutes or so being right over the bridge. Plus, less crowding, amazing restaurant options, beautiful view, and cheaper prices compensated for those 5 minutes. Both my partner and I preferred and stayed on that side of the Arno vs the other because of these things. Plus, the cafe next door, gelato place on the corner and favorite bistro around the block made it even better.
- The host was always available to organize quick fixes or answer questions.
- Host’s flexibility allowed us to check in early due to issues w the flight forcing us to rebook them and we arrived early. We had a backup (storing our luggage at the train station and go exploring) but we were happy that the host was gracious enough to allow us to drop stuff off especially after a long flight.
- Apartment was very clean and homey.
Negatives: overall, the only thing that compensated/prevented us from leaving was knowing the Airbnb is difficult to get a refund from. We choose an Airbnb over a hotel (which would have been the same price in the same area) because of it having appliances which are needed for longer stays. But there were issues with all of them during the stay. Basically, the place is old and owner hasn’t bothered to update it. Exact issues included:
- Appliances broken when we arrived included the dryer, dishwasher, AC, and the electric was out.
- Electricity wasn’t back on by till the next day and meant our first day in Italy was spent working w the co-host to troubleshoot the issue.
- Took 3 days to resolve the AC and dishwasher issue.
- If the faulty electric hadn’t taken out the AC, then the dishwasher wouldn’t have even been fixed.
- Dryer was never fixed.
- Getting in was very difficult (took about 40 minutes to get in the first time). This was primarily due to not being able to get past the old gate that apparently also needs replaced(?). It also takes a long time to open (~30 seconds each time) and going through it before fully open causes it to act up.
- Mattress is bedroom with balcony was absolutely horrible. We moved to the spare room once the pain became too much. Spare room had a better mattress but not by much. I like a firm mattress. So much so that I’m happy to nap on the floor. I’d have preferred the floor over these mattresses. My partner couldn’t stand them either.
- Kitchen is difficult to use due to certain portion being inaccessible unless you’re over 6’4”. My partner is that height and the freezer was difficult to reach even for him. There was no step ladder that we could find but we made it work. Since we stayed for two weeks, we needed a functioning kitchen.
- We could not turn up towel warmers due to the thermostat being set and now allowed to turn it up. Not a big deal unless you had to wash your clothes and the dryer doesn’t work (which it didn’t) and there isn’t enough balcony space to hang your clothes.
- Pull tab in the main bathroom came off and made showering a little difficult at first.
- Slow drainage meant using the spare shower worrying in case it overflowed.
- Wifi wasn’t the fastest and didn’t work in all parts of the apartment. If you plan on working while here, it might not be suitable for virtual work.