Rome Apartment #517
Colosseo / Via Merulana

April 2012

1. I was more than a little disappointed with the quality of towels provided. They were threadbare and clearly very well used. I honestly didn't mind that none of them matched. I just don't expect to use towels that clearly need replacing. I've attached photos.

2. Also the atmosphere was a little hostile. The owner was a little abrupt in telling us all the things we shouldn't do when we arrived. For example, as I walked into the lift and I was closing the lift door (which is similar to a lift I have had in a past apartment) he harshly told me not to slam the door. I wasn't planning to slam the door, I wasn't closing the door quickly, so I have no idea why he said that but thought it might just be a language barrier or cultural thing. However in the apartment we were told of all the things we couldn't do. Don't stand here, don't go here, don't tighten the taps too much, don't make any noise. On top of that there were several hand made posters dotted around the apartment reminding us what we couldn't do at all times. Not a very welcoming environment! I've attached the photos of the signs.

3. The layout in the photos and description does not match the actual layout. The photos have a double bed on an upper floor and a large room underneath that has only a single bed and table in. In reality the double and single bed are next to each other in the downstairs space with no table and the upstairs space is a no access area. Very disappointed to lose all that space that we thought we would have as described in the amenities section as well as the photos. There was also no chest of drawers available, this was upstairs in the off limits area.

4. The apartment would not be suitable for anyone with mobility issues. The toilet, not pictured in the shower picture, comes out at right angles to the wall of the bathroom and leaves a gap of about 4 inches to get through to the shower. Luckily both of us are mobile but it isn't noted anywhere on the description that this might be an issue and I think it is an important note.

5. There is no noise between 10pm and 8am and if complaints were received we would be ejected from the apartment! This felt very restrictive and I would not have booked an apartment with a noise limit so strict. Not because I am in any way noisy but I don't want to have to feel scared of making any noise when getting back from dinner or getting up early to go on a tour. This information really needed to be on the website.

6. The shower runs out of hot water after one person has a shower. I only take between 5 and 10 minutes maximum when I wash my hair (it is very long!) and it ran out on me before the end. We then had to take showers at different times of the day to make sure there was enough hot water.

7. This is just a request. I have rented apartments before and the majority provide literature on the local area. For example Metro maps, local sites, pamphlets, advice book, nearest recommended restaurants / sites, how to use the public transport. There is no welcome pack in the apartment and I think this small touch would make it much more inviting.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my feedback.

Kind regards

Requested for a refund the owner replies he has no intention to and the above is not justified.

Client replies to him below:

Unfortunately I do not speak Italian and do not understand his response fully but I get the feeling through a translating site that his hostile attitude is resurfacing. I am insulted that he thinks I am making a ridiculous and false claim for compensation based on the reality of bad customer service, inaccurate advertising and the product not matching the description. The price does not negate his responsibility to provide a high level of service. If he is providing sub-standard services based on charging what he believes to be a cheap rate then he should make it very clear in his advert that you will not get what you pay for and the towels will be unacceptable.

1. Can he explain why on your website it is advertised in writing and photos that:

#1-With full bed (one place and half), single bed, desk and chair, table and 5 chairs, bookshelves, chest of drawers, stairs leading to mezzanine, bedside tables, 2 door window leading to the balcony;

I have attached the photos from your website of the room in question (Room) and the mezzanine (Mezzanine). I have also including the photo I took of the sign to the out of bounds mezzanine (Sign to mezzanine) and the actual state of the room upon arrival (Actual room).

As you can see from the actual room picture there are no desk and chairs, no chest of drawers. From the sign to the mezzanine you can see there is no access to the upstairs level shown in the mezzanine picture on the website. Therefore the advert does not match the actual layout and space I paid for based on the advert placed on your website.


2. With regards to the towels I did not mention this to him at the time due to his hostile attitude, and looking at his email response below I am happy I chose not to as I did not want to have to argue with someone on holiday about the quality of the towels. The photos of the towels I previously provided speak for themselves: they are not in an acceptable state