Ghibellina Santa Croce

Maybe the ownership has changed, but I didn't find the place as frightening as some reviews suggested. It's old, though clean and tidy. The receptionist was lovely and came in about ten minutes. Everything in the room worked perfectly. For the same price, a hotel would only have given us a small room, while here we had a whole apartment.

"Beware of imitations" is how I'd describe this so-called apartment. The pictures make it look like a pleasant, basic place, but it was filthy. The cutlery was greasy, the sheets were old and smelly, the toilet wouldn't flush, and there was mold on the walls and cobwebs everywhere. We waited more than an hour to get in, and the hospitality was awful. They charged extra for cleaning, though from what I saw, no cleaning had been done. What a joke. I don't recommend it. Don't book while you still can.

They charged us €65 for cleaning, yet it clearly hadn't been done. The property was nothing like its photos: old, smelly, filthy and full of mold. There were blood stains on the walls and cobwebs all over the ceiling. The woman who was meant to welcome us took almost an hour to show up. I wouldn't return for anything, and absolutely wouldn't recommend it.

The bedroom windows let in a lot of street noise, so our four nights weren't very restful. A fan in each bedroom would have helped too. Still, the apartment was clean, with two bedrooms and decent bathrooms, and it's in a handy spot at 51 Via Ghibellina, near Piazza Santa Croce, bars, restaurants and an easy walk to the city centre. Worth keeping in mind for a few days in Florence.