Relais Rasella 47

My sister booked this apartment for our three-night trip to Rome. It made an ideal sightseeing base: central but quiet, with a traditional Italian feel and high ceilings.

Everything we needed was close by, with shops, pubs and cafés all around. The apartment was lovely, and the neighborhood was nice too.

The location was good, but the stay was very frustrating. The place wasn’t cleaned properly, and most of the electrical outlets didn’t work. We spent five nights there without knowing that construction was happening on the floor above us. We complained, but nobody did anything to help us rest during our vacation. Being woken by construction noise at 7 AM was miserable.

The location was the one good thing. Everything else was a huge disappointment, and it felt like a rip-off. The apartment looked nothing like the photos, which seemed to be from when it first opened. We booked for three people, but one of us was left with a shabby, rather disgusting sofa that wouldn’t even open properly. We arrived at 2:30 PM on June 14th, as they knew we would, and used the code they’d sent. Inside, it looked like a party had just happened: empty bottles and drink cans everywhere, and the place hadn’t been cleaned. We called the number on the booking confirmation, but nobody answered or called us back. Someone downstairs said she’d come up to clean when she could because she was on her own. We had no problem with her. My issue is with Booking.com and whoever is responsible for the rental, since nobody took responsibility. We ended up waiting on the stairs until 4:45 PM before we could get in, which was a really frustrating way to start a trip. The apartment left a lot to be desired.