Olga's House

The location is very good, but I wouldn't come back. Our room looked okay at first, though the bathroom smelled strongly and unpleasantly. Outside noise was loud, but closing the window made it bearable. The bed was uncomfortable and the pillows were rock hard. Wi-Fi was sometimes fine and sometimes very poor, so remember the apartment code. There were dead insects and mosquitoes all over the floor, door, walls, and cabinets. On the first night we found out why: around 20 mosquitoes were in the room even though we'd aired it only briefly and kept the curtain closed. We couldn't sleep all night and got at least 30 bites. We'd stayed in other Airbnbs in other Italian cities and hadn't seen a single mosquito inside. Since someone before us had already fought this “mosquito war,” the problem seems known. At this price, a mosquito screen would make sense. We also had to help an elderly couple work out the door password and contact Olga’s House because they were overwhelmed. Before that, we'd needed help finding the door ourselves, like another gentleman. Ariana was kind and helpful on the phone, and I hope her advice was right and that the parking options she recommended weren't in the ZTL zone. One small warning: don't touch the large lamp over the bed. We bumped it by accident and dust fell from it like snow. I rarely see that much dust. We would never return.

The location is the only good thing I can say about this guest house. There was no sign outside, and we spent about two hours trying to find it. The stairwell is narrow, unventilated, and has no handrails. The rooms are more than 100 stairs up. Avoid it if you're disabled or claustrophobic. I had panic attacks both in the room they gave me and in the stairwell. The timed stairwell light went out after a minute, so I had to use my phone light. The shower is ridiculous: you can't bend down to wash your legs and feet unless you leave the door open. I won't return or recommend it.

Great location, and the room was clean with air conditioning that worked really well. It's small but manageable. Staff arranged an early check-in when I arrived ahead of time. The stairs are brutal, so an elevator would be nice. I also wish there'd been a fridge to keep water cold or a microwave to make tea.

The location is great, right in the center, but the Wi-Fi was the worst part. The room key code comes through a link on a webpage, and there's no reception or physical key card, so you need internet to get in. Inside the building my 3G and 4G wouldn't connect, and Olga’s “free” Wi-Fi took half an hour just to open the link they sent. I hadn't checked it before arriving, so make sure you do. Don't mistake this for a hotel or you could run into real trouble. It's an apartment converted into a guest house, and there's no quiet ambience. You hear room noise all day and night. Instead of offering drinking water, management hands out earplugs at check-in. They do say on their website there's no elevator, but the old stairs are a serious climb. The guest house is on the third floor, though the steep steps make it feel more like the fourth or fifth. With big bags or suitcases, it's a problem. I'll upload stair photos so you can judge for yourself. They also say towels won't be changed, but there weren't enough towels, and the sheets were extremely dusty. I can't call the room cleaning bad, but it wasn't good either. The bathroom and shower cabin are seriously small. If you're oversized, there's no chance of bathing, so consider that carefully.