After reading the reviews prior to booking, I was aware of the narrow flights of stairs it took to get to the apartment.
What I was surprised by how dusty the floor of the apartment is. I initially brushed it off as me being Asian and having a habit of having my shoes off in the apartment but later realised, upon conversation with my husband that the Airbnb we stayed at in Florence did not have the same issue. Clearly, it meant that Monica’s apartment was not as clean. This will not be an issue if you have a habit of keeping your shoes on, however :)
The apartment, while possibly spacious for a Venetian one, is quite poorly staged for living. My husband and I stubbed our toes several times (especially around the corners of the bed)!
I think the small things elevate an apartment to a five stars equivalent, and it is quite clear that while this apartment is excellently stocked, rather clean (if you keep your shoes on) and conveniently located (except for the 3 flight of stairs you have to climb), it has some flaws (and hence is deserving of less than the coveted 5 stars):
- lack of mosquito netting bordering the windows (which our Florentine Airbnb had) = this meant that mosquitos could enter the apartment, which they curiously did despite us keeping the windows shut the entire time. Either there is a breeding ground within the apartment or there’s an unnoticeable gap in the windows through which they entered
- the advertised double bed is made up of two single beds = if you have a habit of inching towards the middle in the night, you might wake up with a bad back the next morning as there’s a marked depression where the two beds join