Homelink Firenze - De' Medici

I never met the host in person, only through WhatsApp, and there was no equipment at all. The walls were cracked and the paint was damaged. A damp smell hung around, the place looked nothing like the pictures, and the A/C stopped working for one night in summer. One of the worst experiences I've ever had.

I arrived in the rain and there was nobody to look after me or give me any instructions. The person who handed over the room apologized for the port service, but they just don't care.

I felt safe leaving my things in the apartment and walking to and from it, and check-in was very easy. It's a nice spot to sleep, though a bit of a walk from the city centre. The bed was firm and suited me, but I still think there should always be two pillows, whatever the bed size. Having a private bathroom in a B&B was a luxury, though this one only had the first B, no breakfast. Its layout was strange, and showering was uncomfortable and meant a lot of cleanup. If you're taller than my 5'8", it could be even more awkward. My last night was rough. I had to get up at 4:30am, so I went to bed around 10pm, but got woken three times over the next four hours. One group came back late, then there were two check-ins, one very early. The door makes an extremely loud buzz when unlocked. On both check-ins, the host gave directions over the phone while the guests had it on speaker and spoke loudly. I stayed awake waiting for them to finish and go to their rooms, so I didn't get much sleep. I may just have been unlucky with my room, but if that had happened on the first night, I wouldn't have stayed.

Getting into the city centre is easy because the Airbnb is near the tram. The rooms and services were good, and everything was clean and tidy. My parents' room had a bigger bathroom than the one I shared with my sibling. It feels more like a regular house than a hotel, a bit like a student house or one of the houses in Oxford. Because of that, it's easy to walk right past without a map like Google Maps.