We recently returned from three weeks in Italy and wanted to thank everyone on this board for the excellent advice and tips. Our trip was almost perfect and planned less than 6 weeks out. Wanted to give feedback about our hotels and apartments for future travelers.

Flew to Milan and immediately traveled to Varenna. Three nights at Albergo Milano. Excellent accommodations and great way to recover from the flight. Bettina and Edigio were gracious hosts and the dinner on the terrace of the hotel one evening was fantastic.
Also don't miss Il Cavateppi, a small 5 table restaurant just a short stroll on a quiet lane from the hotel. Be sure to reserve in advance.

We took an early morning train to Milan and then Eurostar to Venice. Rented an apartment (San Aponal) from Denise at Venice Rentals. I would say that I expected excellent service from them considering their attentive emails. She was almost 2 hours late for our pickup at the vaporetto stop. When asked for specific recommendations (where is???) she would say "out there". She was only concerned with collecting the money. Although the apartment was adequate, it needed a thorough cleaning. We did enjoy our time in Venice but, considering our experiences with other apartment rentals in Italy, would definitely NOT rent from this agency again.

Off to Florence on the Eurostar and an ideal apartment. San Lorenzo apartments (www.sleepinginflorence.com) are superb with fully equipped kitchens on Borgo San Lorenzo and are located right in the middle of everything. Gianna and her assistant Antonella were so helpful and the apartments immaculate. Definitely recommend this resource for Florence.

Our next stop was San Gimignano. We really enjoyed San G early in the mornings and late in the evening (day tripped from this base). Rented an apartment from Gianni and his daughter Barbara (www.sangiapartments.com). Very economical and quite convenient for touring this part of Tuscany. Adequate kitchen (with a good Coop nearby), and comfortable bedroom. Would recommend for anyone wanting a lower cost accommodation in a hilltown.

We then traveled south to one of our favorite stops Le Manzinaie (www.lemanzinaie.it). These are four apartments in a restored 1878 farmhouse near Chiusi between Cortona and Montepulciano. The hosts, Fiori, Marzi and Alice are so gracious and the apartments wonderful. We were welcomed with wine, breakfast fixings and invited to a Friday feast with all the other guests. Marzi is an accomplished cook and perfect hostess. We will return there soon.

And at last Rome. (We dropped our Avis rental from Florence at Chiusi and took the train to Rome.... recommend this scenario). We stayed at Palazzo Olivia and again definitely recommend these apartments. Stefano, the owner, and Carla, the manager were very attentive, the apartments spotless and perfectly located. Our experiences here and with all of our other accommodations (with the exception of Venice Rentals) were truly delightful and we would return again to all of these apartments.
Hope this short report helps others. We truly enjoy the apartment route as it affords us a comfortable and spacious place at the end of the day and the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful treats of the fresh food markets.

Thank you for your report, we are heading to Venice and Rome next year so will not use your Venice accommodation!! Can you please tell me the approx price of the Palazzo Olivia or even if they have a website I can look at.
Thanks for your help

Glad to hear another good comment about Palazzo Olivia. We've booked aweek there in June.

DebM: the website is www.palazzo-olivia.it You can click for English and see pictures of all apartments. They were great to deal with so far. I was working with sleepinitaly, but kept getting different answers from them. We're paying 950 euro for a week in apt. Basillio. And although originally the information said they needed a wire transfer for 30% deposit, when I said that was a bit involved, they said I could fax them a credit card number instead, which I did.

DebM, the website for Palazzo Olivia is www.palazzo-olivia.it

Benjy, thanks so much for posting your apartment experiences. We stayed in the same apartments in both Venice and Florence, and I'm really glad to hear how well the Florence location worked for you. We were very happy there, as well, and will rent with Gianna again.

On the other hand, I'm really sorry to hear about the service you recieved with Venice Rentals. I would suggest you email Denise and express your dissatisfaction.

We rented the same Venice apartment in July and were very pleased with the apartment, as well as services. Denise was waiting for us on arrival and was extremely helpful in showing us around the area (restaurants, grocery stores, ATM's), and even assisted us in some important personal shopping for our vow renewal the following day. She was also very helpful in assisting us with obtaining a full length mirror for dressing on our special day. So, it seems our experiences with Denise were quite opposite and I'm really sorry to hear that.

Glad you had overall great experiences with everyone else you rented from, and glad to hear you enjoyed your trip!

Hi Statia: I wanted to personally thank you for all of your posts. Because your posts were so descriptive, we were very confident in our choices. As to Denise at Venice Rentals, perhaps she was having a bad day, but I still wanted future clients to know that rental experiences with them can vary. We hedged our currency risk with Euro travelers checks (when the $ was most favorable against the Euro) and cleared with Denise and others that they would accept the travelers checks upon arrival. After our wait at the vaporetto stop, we had another surprise...she wouldn't take the travelers checks, so a race to the ATM was in order. We were able to put together almost enough Euros for the rent,(she reluctantly accepted one check) leaving us with very few Euros to tide us over until the next morning. We are very seasoned travelers and did not let these minor glitches dampen our visit. We really enjoyed the rooftop garden of the San Aponal and Venice very much.

Also, I forgot to mention one suggestion about the Rome apartment. Because it is near a very busy street and does not have AC, sleeping in hot weather might be problematic with the windows open. So, I do recommend it only for the temperate months of spring and fall.

All in all, we had a fantastic time and can't wait to return.

It was good to hear your positive comments about your stays in Rome and Florence. We, too, are staying at Palazzo Olivia in Rome and with Gianna in Florence. Any comments on what the accomodations are like. Do we need to bring anything? Also, did you arrange any tours?

Hi Janetele:

Great choices! I know you will enjoy them. Here are some random thoughts about them.

Florence: This apartment was the best equipped of all our stays...full size refrigerator, washer (no dryers in Italy), fully equipped kitchen with cookware, knives, microwave, and some supplies (soap for the washer, oils, vinegar etc.) Included was a TV with CNN but I believe that the kitchen did not have an oven. We were in the Casini apartment and found it immaculate and very comfortable. One of the best features was the AC. The bathroom was very nice with lots of counter space and very hot water. The website pictures are very representative of the apartment. The view of the Duomo at night was a wonderful touch. We loved the location, between the Duomo and the San Lorenzo market. The grocery store is just a few blocks toward the train station on Borgo San Lorenzo and the deli man there is very helpful. Don't miss the Central Market! The only downside might be the flights of stairs to reach the apartment, but they help to work off all the scrumptious food that Florence has to offer.

As for Rome, one of the best features of Palazzo Olivia is the elevator! We also were pleased with Carla, the manager. She has a small office on the first floor and is easily available. She arranged a car to the airport on our last day and it is truly the only was to go...less than a taxi and so punctual. Stefano is the owner of this building, a 17th century palazzo that has been in his family for 50 years. We were on the top floor of the building in "Rosina" which had a spacious living room and small balcony fronting on the tiny street. It too has CNN and a kitchen along one wall. I would say that this kitchen is adequate for preparing small meals, not as nicely equipped as Florence. Again there is a washer, something that is very welcomed at the end of a long trip. The bedroom is behind the LR and very quiet with the windows shut. The furnishings are IKEA, and comfortable. The location is tops (between Campo di Fiori and Piazza Navona) with the "best pizza" in Rome (according to the guide books)just around the corner. Pizzeria de Baffetto is hard to spot and only open in the evening but quite fun.

We didn't arrange any tours but walked everywhere, hitting the top sites we wanted to see but also exploring the neighborhoods and markets of Rome.

What to bring..just a few suggestions for apartment life. I always travel with a paring knife (in luggage of course), a small collection of spices, washing soap, a few clothespins, and some duct tape wrapped around a pencil. You never know when you will need to make an emergency repair. Otherwise, everything else you need is readily available.

Hope you have a wonderful journey.

Thanks Nicki, looked at the website but it is a bit too expensive for us, we are going to need something cheaper in Rome, if there is such a thing! Any hints would be appreciated.

DebM, try www.sleepinitaly.com. I have rented an apartment in Rome through them for February. While checking out the apartments, I found the same apartment listed on several other sites for considerably more money than the sleepinitaly site was charging.

Deb - you might want to check out these two site for apartments.

www.realrome.com and www.sleepinitaly.com

I have used sleep site but recently came across the 1st one from another poster and they seem to have good prives and selections too.

Good luck, E

Deb -

My husband and I recently returned from a honeymoon in Italy and we had rented the "Vicolo del Cedro" apartment from Sleepinitaly. I thought I should let you know that our experience with them was less than favourable.
We arrived in Rome at the apartment on time waiting for someone to meet us as we were told. No one was there and after waiting 30 minutes I called their service. I was informed that there was an issue with the apartment and that we had been switched to another apartment in the Trastevere area. I was given an address and we were informed that we should make our way to the new apartment. No apologies, no offer to pay for the second cab, nothing - they simply said that they had sent us an email informing us of the change (we did receive an email but we were already in Italy at the time).
We arrived at the second apartment, luckily a neighbour spied us and asked us if we were staying at "Casa Luisa". We nodded, unsure and they told us which apartment to ring.
We met the owner, she was very nice but as soon as we stepped into the apartment we knew we had issues. First, it was a studio and we had rented a larger apartment. It had no washing machine, no private entrance, and no terrace - all amenities our original apartment had. The owner wanted the rent up front but we were not willing to pay so we called back the service and were told nothing else was available - essentially - take it or leave it. By that time I was at my limit, we were supposed to be at a private tour starting in 10 minutes at the Colosseum. We did not have the time or energy to find another hotel room. We arranged to deal with the rent later.
To make a long story short, we were never satisfied with the accomodations. There was only one kitchen chair that we could sit one (the rest were broken), the toilet seat was broken, we had no hot water for TWO days, and the apartment had lots of ants.
Sleepinitaly offered to move us but not until our third and last night - by that time it was easier to just deal with staying there.
We ended up negotiating to 50 Euro a night but it was a nightmare. The guy from Sleepinitaly knew the owners and we know they were in cahoots with one anoter. We had complained of no hot water and the broken toilet seat - so no big surprise when he showed to pick up the rent on the eve of our last night - both had mysteriously been fixed while we were out. We could still smell cigarettte smoke - someone had been in the apartment - the owner never owned up to it.
Essentially, I wouldn't recomment sleepinitaly - I for one, will never use them again. They had horrible service - it took my husband many phone calls and patient negotiations to at least come up with a reasonable rate. Unfortunately, we were in Rome in early September so finding a hotel room would have been a chore, especially one with as reasonable a rate that our original apartment was. We decided to stick things out - never again!!
Good luck!

Hi Hana,

Boy what a nightmare you two had! That's so awful about all the hassle you had with Sleep and then to have them not really make it up to you is just bad business. I don't know if they know how many people on here spread the word good and bad.

I'm renting 2 apartments from them in May. I have used them several times before and all apartments/dealings have been great. I sure hope they are not going down hill.

I appreciate you posting such an awful experience, only sorry it had to affect your trip so poorly.

E

Yikes! I have rented an apartment from Sleepinitaly for February, and now I'm pretty nervous. I had heard recommendations on this forum, including Eileen's, so I felt more confident than I would have if I were renting blindly. I'm not sure what to do now. Would it be worthwhile to write to them as the date got closer to confirm the apartment will be available and that I will not accept any alterations? Should I consider backup hotel reservations? Cancel and lose the deposit? I'll have to think about this.

I'm not sure how much I'd worry. I think there have been a lot more positive experiences with sleepsinitaly mentioned here than bad ones. But I believe there was a post just about a week ago with a not great experience (but now so bad as Hana's) in Venice which I think was also sleepsinitaly.

I got very nervous trying to deal with them because I couldn't get a straight answer from them about two different apartments, whether they were or were not available, and how much they were. On the website they offered a considerably better price for a week, but on the email they quoted the same as seven individual days. When I questioned them about it, they insisted no there was no weekly price. Then why do they put it on their website? I've decided on Palazza Olivia.

Nikki -

I posted my experience to provide a complete picture. As you can see from others there have been other positive experiences. I don't think you need to cancel your reservation. I will not give Sleepinitaly a second chance since I place a high value on customer service and there are other agencies out there for me to use.

What I wrote may have seemed a little harsh and to be honest, had Sleepinitaly done a few things differently, the entire experience would not have left such a sour taste in my mouth.

One - they should have been at the apartment to meet us - especially as the location had changed and they did not receive confirmation from us that we received their email. Two, sorry goes a long way - an apology would have definitely changed my outlook on things. Perhaps I would have been understanding of the fact that an equivalent apartment wasn't available during the high season. "Take it or leave it" is not exactly a sentiment that customers like to experience.

In any case, I'm sure that your reservation will be just fine. Confirm with Sleepinitaly prior to your departure and be optimistic! Have a good time!

I also apologize about a possible mistake above. I guess it was Venice Rentals, not Sleepsinitaly with the previous problem in Venice.

Even though I sympathize with the posters who experienced poor customer service while renting an apartment abroad, I'm still left believing that many who venture into this mode of travel do so with much naivete and unrealistic expectation. Flexibility is key because renting an apartment for vacation will never reach the level of security or customer service one can expect from an established hotel.

Unless an agency actually owns the apartments in question, agencies are merely middlemen who act on behalf of the apartment owners for a small cut of the fee. Typically, apartment owners maintain all the control in these arrangements and as long as market demand for apartments remains, agencies are pretty much at the mercy of the apartment owners. As long as this business remains a "cash" business, there's very little recourse one can take if things don't go as planned and, more often than not, an agency doesn't cause the breakdown.

Apartment owners will pull a property at the last minute for a variety of reasons. The most common reason is a mishap with plumbing. And, Italian workmen are notoriously behind schedule. What should take one day to fix, often takes five. During a busy season, when almost all an agencies properties are rented or, at least, the most popular, an agency has little leverage when trying to please a customer caught in an unforeseen situation. Agencies simply don't make enough money to put a dissatisfied customer in a decent hotel gratis and, chances are, a decent hotel wouldn't have any availabilities either.

A typical agency policy, when unexpected things go wrong, is to offer an equal or better apartment. Owners sign on to this when going with an agent. But a good apartment must be available to make such an offer. When one is not, you get what is available and that owner doesn't care about the fact that his/her property wasn't your first choice. The final negotiation becomes a tug-of-war between agency and owner and, like I said, the owner typically holds all the cards and the customer is left to suffer.

There are simple common sense rules one should follow if they choose to rent a vacation apartment. First, accept the fact that this business is a "cash" business and typically not recognized by city governments and employment associations because of hidden tax issues. Second, be prepared for something to go wrong, a plan B, like booking a hotel your first night in to make sure you're covered. Third, expect that something will go wrong or, at least, will not meet your expectation. This is an adventure, after all, and rarely do you get "perfect" your first time out. Fourth, never leave home without contacting the agency to be sure everything is set. I always phone the morning before departure and never rely on e-mails.

Agency workers are usually spread too thin plus they have their own lives to contend with. Not meeting a rental party on time is often the norm. If your contact person shows up on time, congratulations. If not, be patient and hopefully you carry a cell phone that works. "I'm sorry's" in America do go a long way in providing some comfort but this is not a typical Italian expression.

I love the feeling of pretend-home-ownership while traveling abroad. As long as there are people like me (and there are plenty) agencies and owners will succeed and we'll continue to pay in cash. The more you travel this way the easier it gets. Just remember, if it's your first time, proceed with smart caution.

You bring up some very good points, Wesley, which is why I am often hesitant about many of the apartment booking agencies. The apt. I rent in Paris is directly through the owner. The apt. I rent in London is through an agency in the US, but I now also know the owners and feel totally confident about the situation. The apts. I'm renting in Montepulciano and in Venice this summer are both through the owners themselves who in both cases actually live there or adjacent, which gives me some pretty good comfort level. And I'm renting at Palazzo Olivia in Rome which is run almost like a hotel would be with a number of apts. in the entire building.
The number of people who plan on one apartment from an agency and get there to find they've been switched to another entire area or type apartment has always been enough to discourage me from that kind of arrangement.

Knowing the owners is ideal and certainly when you travel this way often, it's much easier to develop these relationships. But, everybody has to start with a "first time."

SleepInItaly has a very good reputation, considering, and for an Italian business, they do fairly well with some lovely city-center properties. No other agency in Rome offers as many city-center apartments for such reasonable rates. If you call them directly, I think you get much better service. They get far too many e-mails (cheaper for the customer) to respond in any personal manner. They run a pretty small office. I would caution anyone to be careful when renting in very high season. It is not uncommon for almost their entire inventory to be booked. The beauty of SleepInItaly is, if something does go wrong, they have enough resources to try to help you, especially in not-so-busy seasons. The customer must come to understand that 99.9% of apartment rental problems begin with the owner and many are perfectly innocent problems that can never be predicted. Popular apartments are rented months in advance. Who can ever predict a water seepage issue, which happens often.

Palazzo Olivia is run by the building's owner. It's quite clear this may be his only form of income. The only "down" side is the customer has to settle for "Ikea" interior decorating which, for me, is unacceptable. But, for first time security, it's ideal and, clearly, quite a popular choice.

There are two Venice Rentals. One is the venicerentals.com, recommended by fodors and the other is venice-rentals.com, which is run out of London and, for an agency, has a superb reputation with some of the finest properties in Venice. Venice-rentals.com boasts one of the best websites in the rental business. They have a cache of properties that compare to no other agency. However, things still go wrong, no matter what your budget.

Renting privately owned properties can have unforeseen issues, no matter who handles the cash. It's best to be prepared and forget what you know about staying in a hotel. This is an evolving ball game that takes time to master.