We will be traveling in September 2020, and Florence will be one city. It will be my husband and I, along with 2 sons in their middle 20’s.
We have never stayed anywhere but hotels. We will stay at the one we were before in Rome. To help hold down costs (2 rooms for hotels), I suggested an Airbnb in Florence. DH is very wary and skeptical, as I suppose I am, too.
But I’ve had friends who only do that. Just wondering your experience.
There are some great apartment rentals in Florence. I have always had good luck with vrbo.com. Once I ended up in a 13th century convent - the mother superior's rooms. It wasn't the Hilton, but I had better stories to tell later. Apartments tend to be in residential neighborhoods which can mean grocery stores, daily produce markets, local favorites for drinks and dinner. For me, that spells 'winner.'
I always do Airbnb’s/apartments when I travel now. There is nothing like visiting the local markets and cooking using amazing and fresh ingredients. It also saves money if you can eat some meals in rather than out! I also try to get places with a washing machine which means that I can pack less. I end up saving money and having more space and other amenities than a hotel in my budget.
I too am big into apartments when they have a washing machine. It allows us to carry half as many clothes in our carry on bag.
How long will you be there? For the last 5-7 years, I generally rent apartments for stays that are 3 nights or longer - I really like having cooking facilities (and laundry facilities can be helpful too). For shorter stays, I am OK with hotels and will happily take the extra service and (usually) better location. I stay away from AirBnB, though, because I'm not as happy with their user interface, and I subjectively believe I'm more likely to come across a scammer. My preference is for VRBO and their associated services (like HomeAway).
It's smart to be wary, so do your due diligence.......look for reviews and (like online reviews for most things) I recommend you toss out the top and bottom 10% as suspect. Communicate (email, phone, text, WhatsApp) with the owner or manager, and assess their responsiveness to your questions.
I stayed in a really nice apartment for 6 nights in Florence last October, and I also rented apartments in Rome, Genoa, and Padua. All were very good (or better), and I was very pleased with my experiences. I don't have specific recommendations, because the places I rented wouldn't be big enough for your group. (I chose a hotel in Naples because I'd read the city was kind of sketchy and I wanted the security of a 24 hour front desk, but it turns out I didn't feel uncomfortable or unsafe in the city at all.)
I have also rented apartments/cottages in New Zealand, Portugal, and Canada for short stays of 5-10 days, and had good experiences with them all.
I am strictly a hotel person, but I know quite a few people who rent apts. through AirB&B or other platforms. I think you have to be prepared to do a bit more work sifting through choices.
Of course there are other pros and cons, too.
We loved our Florence apartment and its location on a pedestrian-only street and wonderful host (she's a superhost) AND she has two apartments in the same building, where she also lives in a third apartment:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/10826925?source_impression_id=p3_1577572003_OssIQX%2FTSPW59usx
This is her other one:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13244108?source_impression_id=p3_1577572179_qrA4WNfBr6UguEKj
We would stay in either one any time.
I've been very, very careful about choosing all 28 airbnb apartments we've stayed in and never been disappointed in Italy. We would stay in them all again even if they cost more than a hotel. No, that's not true, the one in Milan near the train station was just OK. The four apartments in America were OK, just not great or as much fun.
You do have to do some minor household chores in these places when you leave, but on the other hand it's so nice not be be stuck in one room. And I like eating breakfast in my pajamas instead of in public.
Thanks all! I will check it out more.
Hotel Balesteri is great
Four of us stayed here this past September.
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/9306481?source_impression_id=p3_1577735616_u32jbxBGb3eKcKtr
I always stay in rental apartments in Italy, and this is one of the absolute best I have stayed in.
There is literally everything in this apartment that you could ever need, and it's squeaky clean.
There are two double bedrooms, one with ensuite BR; and one single bedroom.
Plus another full bathroom for the other two rooms.
The kitchen is well stocked, and the hostess left masses of food and drinks for us too.
We didn't meet her, but met her daughter who said her Mum is a perfectionist!
There's a teeny balcony off the kitchen.
It's on a fairly quiet one way small street within walking distance of the centre, about 12 minutes; and near Piazza San Marco for bus and taxi connections.
I would stay here again in a flash. We were all sorry to leave!
Plenty room for your family to spread out.
Let me know if you want any more information about it.
