1) Everything was paid in full through Riccardo, my "host" - received a text message the day prior from someone different asking for arrival time. I confirmed right away.
3) On the train to Florence, a message arrived saying the bathroom in our apartment was broken and we'd be moved to a "much better location and larger apartment" at no extra charge - after many hours of travel, we said OK. Upon arriving, yet another person, Laura, met us and "mentioned" oh, by the way, it's on the 5th floor and NO ELEVATOR (6th floor US). We're in our 60s, had heavy luggage, which is why I booked the original apartment (1st floor)
3) Upon entering the apartment, it was OBVIOUS IT HAD NOT BEEN CLEANED.
Laura said it would be taken care of right away and immediately asked for our cleaning fee (50 euro) and 2 nights of taxes, which we paid thinking all would be taken care of quickly...NOT THE CASE!
4) My BIRTHDAY DINNER with my brother, whom I hadn't seen in 3 years, was set for 7:00 pm - (we arrived at the Florence train station around 1:30) - after much traveling, I needed to shower, wash my hair, get dressed, and relax...the sweet cleaning lady FINALLY SHOWED UP and said it would take her approx 2 hours to finish; so we left for 2 hours to let her clean. When we returned, she still wasn't finished. When she was ready to go, I asked why the beds weren't made, and she informed us that SOMEONE ELSE WAS IN CHARGE OF BRINGING SHEETS AND TOWELS AND MAKING THE BEDS. I couldn't even take a shower. Dinner was approaching. I began calling the phone number listed for my "host" over and over but nobody answered. FINALLY, a different girl answered the phone and explained that she understood why I was so upset but that someone would be arriving "shortly" with the sheets and towels...we waited a long, long time until a young man showed up. I had managed to postpone our dinner until 8:00 pm, but by the time the sheets and towels got there, it was too late to take a shower or change, much less rest. We ended up missing my birthday dinner because my brother was on a tight time line.
5) The whole experience that afternoon and evening was a disaster. The apartment itself was fine, but the stress and lack of support was BEYOND BAD. Due to this experience, I'll stick with Airbnb - they offer GREAT CUSTOMER SUPPORT - the owners/managers stay in contact and actually care about keeping their word. I never received any apology or explanation from this organization.
