First of all I want to say that the host and his mother were lovely - friendly, accommodating and helpful - and so we want to give a good review...but we wouldn’t want others to book and have a similar experience...
Merville House is actually very ordinary in appearance, and looks like any other block in an Italian city; the flat is on the first floor. It is well presented and the brick ceiling in the lounge is very charming. The kitchen was well appointed with all the kitchen accessories for cooking in if you prefer. There is a local store @2 mins walk from the flat - in the adjacent square, and th WiFi was fantastic!
However, the pictures in the advert give the impression of a light airy room, which it is not. Although the light is warmed by the brick ceiling, the main room is fairly dark and needed lights on during the day. The two floor length windows open to face the side wall of another building - approximately 2 meters distance away and the balcony, attached to the 1st window (shown in pic) is tiny. It might take one chair at a push? However it currently has the the washing machine and air conditioning unit on its left and right, and has no view and precious little sunshine because of its position tucked between the two buildings.
The neighbourhood is residential - and it takes about 20 minutes to walk into the city. It was a walk we got used to, and it did force us to explore the other side of the city which we hadn’t done previously. However, the charm of the city is further in. Unfortunately it was no less noisy to be out of the city since the neighbours upstairs twice kept us awake until 1.30 am talking with their windows open. (Still intrusive with the windows and shutters closed - perhaps reverberating down the ‘channel’ created by the proximity of the neighboring building?) The host did contact them on our behalf after the first occasion, which seemed to buy us 3 good nights sleep before it happened again. Equally, it is a residential area, and although the children in a neighboring flat played nicely, we had hoped for a little more tranquility by booking away from city noise. Their garden was 20 meters away, but adjacent to the bedroom window, and their ‘play’ rose to greet us each morning.
The greatest challenge however was the bed - which one guest had said was comfortable... Maybe it has changed since then, because it was so firm my partner felt ‘bruised’ each morning. We bolstered her side of the mattress with pillows (happily plenty available) and that got her through. We are in our 50s and fairly fit, so this was unpredicted, and tipped the balance for a less enjoyable stay.
We’re sorry not to offer a more positive report. We liked Francesco, and he was very amenable and approachable. However, we wouldn’t go back to Merville House another time, and think the feedback system is good for ensuring full awareness.