Awesome as an architectural museum, awful as a residence.

This ancient sandstone palazzo is fantastic to look at, but once you try to spend a night there, you would realise those who did the design and decoration have no idea how people live in a house.

First of all, the management company doesn’t know how many bathrooms there are in the house. They think there are 4.5, and advertise 4.5, but there are actually 3.5, which should still be plenty if they were functional.

The main shared bathroom has no exhaust fan, and the only window opens in a way that provides a clear view from the stairs right outside — it’s a choice between ventilation and privacy.

There are three enamelled cast iron bathtubs in the house. They look interesting, but it’s impossible to take a shower without flooding the floors. There is nowhere to put shampoo bottles, other than the 2-inch ledge of the bathtubs. When I raised the issue with the management, I was told the design was supposed to recreate 17th century looks.

If they didn’t intend to provide 21st-century comfort for guests, they might as well forget about hot water and electricity too. Indeed, there is not a single hairdryer in the whole place, despite my request for them. Some of the toilets don’t flush well. The air-conditioner in the living room doesn’t work. The flimsy electric fans seem to have been bought for 9.9 euro each. There is no boxed tissue anywhere.

There is not a single hook on any of the walls to hang hats, jackets, purses or towels. There is little hanging space in the bathrooms for used towels. Three of the four bedrooms have no wardrobe to hang clothes in. One of them has no furniture for storage at all.

The room on the ground floor has no window — just glass doors, with no drapes behind them.

There is plenty of IKEA crockery and cutlery in the kitchen, but not a single kitchen knife, bread knife or paring knife. I don’t know what people are supposed to do with the nice wooden chopping board on the countertop. There is no tea towel or a clean, new sponge. There is no rack to drain dishes on.

The dryer in the laundry room doesn’t seem to have been cleaned since the 17th century. Lint and dirt have caked on the filter.

The management did try to provide same remedy by sending people over to try and fix things, but it is clear that no thought goes into making the place a truly comfortable and liveable home.
This place has the potential of being turned into a uniquely luxury property, but at the moment this opportunity is being wasted.