Wine Apartments Florence Vernaccia

Great location, spacious apartment, small kitchen which could be used, keys & keypad provided for smooth entry. Hosts checked in in the lead up to arrival and were friendly. The complimentary bottle of wine was a lovely touch, overall a fantastic apartment

Cooking class held directly under the apartment so it was quite noisy. We had issues with working the washer/dryer and as a result all our clothes were still really wet when checking out. The mattress on the bed was quite thin

Fantastic location just across the Arno from the Uffizi. However, even though central apartment was quiet and secure. Perfect for a couple to have a stay in Florence. Hosts were helpful and provided a bottle of wine on arrival.

Only quibble would be some more basics in the kitchen - oil, salt, pepper - but coffee was much appreciated.

The apartment is spacious and comfortable, and bigger than it appears in the photos, thanks to 12-foot ceilings, although there are three large steps up to the bedroom/bath level. The washing machine works perfectly, and the two bedroom windows, five feet high, open onto a courtyard that offered a wall of fragrant jasmine when we stayed there in May. The apartment is in the back of the building, so it's quiet, despite its location in the central neighborhood. The entrance to the building faces the Uffizi Gallery on the other side of the River Arno. This makes the apartment foolproof when it comes to getting lost, a frequent problem in Florence, as the street where the apartment is located starts at the Ponte Vecchio bridge, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Florence. Ask any shop owner or local the way to the Ponte Vecchio, and they'll know. Security isn't a problem as there are three locked doors in the building before reaching the apartment. There are three flights of stairs to the apartment door. The building is old and lacks an elevator, but the apartment is nicely decorated, well-lit, renovated for heating and air conditioning, with modern appliances, and very clean. The wi-fi inside the apartment is excellent, as is the washing machine. There is good hot water, although the shower volume is weak and the shower stall is tiny. The real estate company, Wine Apartments, provided a street map to locate the apartment and gave accurate, detailed instructions on how to enter the apartment, which were provided at the same hour as check-in, 3 pm on the day of arrival. They were also very responsive to questions, even outside their office hours, and solved a small problem we had on the same day we reported it. For grocery shopping, there's an excellent supermarket (Conab) just one block away.

On the negative side, we had a lot of problems going through Wine Apartments' online, pre-arrival check-in, which must be completed before arrival, and the city tax paid. It was complicated and took hours instead of minutes. It would be much simpler to do this in person than online. We've rented from real estate agents before in Florence, and they sent an agent to meet us and take photos of our passports. Also, the apartment lacks a few basic items. (We stayed in the Falanghina apartment, not the larger Vernaccia with the courtyard. The photos on Booking.com show both apartments.) There was a minimal number of dishes, especially if more than two people were staying there. There were no paper towels/napkins, spices, or ice cube trays for the freezer, although a free bottle of wine was waiting for us. There was an electric teapot but no tea. It was also disappointing that there were no receptacles inside the apartment for recycling, even though there are recycling bins on the street near the building.

Location is good.

No elevator. We have to carry all the luggages up to the 3rd floor.