JOIVY Porta Nuova

The rooms were a nice size and the location was very good, but the cleaning wasn't done well, particularly in the bathroom.

Getting out was a pain too. If you leave the keys in the lockbox, you have to wait for someone in the building to open the downstairs gate, or take turns going down. Inside, the apartment was comfortable and fine, in a great area, with practical IKEA furniture. The shower was tiny and had nowhere to put shower gel. The check-in was the real problem. We got no instructions in advance, and on Sunday afternoon nobody was going in or out of number 12. A very kind neighbor eventually came out and called the listed contact number for us. It seemed nonexistent because we'd forgotten to add the plus sign, as we were so nervous. We eventually got a link and code for the key box, went up to the fifth floor, and found no one there. The code didn't work either. Looking again at the link, we realized the address was actually number 8. I'm still getting requests to review number 12, by the way. We may have to avoid this kind of accommodation that seems focused only on business and gives such poor service.

The apartment is in the Gioia area, central and well connected. We had a pleasant stay, though I wouldn't choose it again. The entrance wasn't obvious, and we only found it because the cleaning lady happened to help us. The flat itself is nice, but there was a spider in the shower and hot water took more than 15 minutes to come through. The balcony is shared with the rest of the building, rather than private to the apartment. This wasn't made clear before or after booking, though you find out when you book. If you reserve through Expedia, expect to call the reference number on their websites. We didn't get check-in instructions by email or other messages, and the property didn't check whether we'd received them.

It's a welcoming, clean place, close to Gioia metro station and several local offices. I'd suggest providing a basic breakfast with dry biscuits and a few tea and coffee bags, plus some extra detergent. Still, I recommend it.