Art Apartment Accademia

A good spot to stay while visiting Florence.

We could walk to the best-known sights from this very convenient location. The house itself was lovely, and breakfast at Osteria dell'OK was included, with generous servings and welcoming, kind staff. A very nice woman showed us in when we arrived. They also let us leave our luggage there on both our first and last days.

The photos mostly didn’t look like the actual place, apart from the balcony. It felt dirty throughout: there were old empty bottles in the shower, and the kitchen cupboards were caked with grease. The leopard-print blanket didn’t help. I couldn’t wait to get home and shower off that grimy feeling. The location is handy for exploring the center, but cleanliness was a completely different matter.

I never even got to stay. I booked through Booking with free cancellation and was supposed to pay the property in cash. When I asked whether I should send money in advance, they said no deposit was needed. Then, well over a month before my trip, they emailed asking for 50% payment within 24 hours. I contacted the property to ask what was going on, but before that deadline had even passed, another email arrived confirming the cancellation. Completely unfair.