Pluses: Serenella was great--she provided information about restaurants, oriented us to the neighbourhood, and booked a car to the airport for us. La Paglia is a small studio, but has a large and most comfortable bed and modern bathroom. The apt has a cheerful decor and is very clean. It is conveniently located on one of the smaller lanes.

Food: Our best meal was at the Checco et Carretiere, not the restaurant (snooty staff) but the welcoming and informal osteria two doors down. Our best gelato was at the corner shop on the square, directly opposite the church.

Minuses: Noise was an intermittent problem. The wall by the bathroom, formerly a doorway to the next apartment, has not been sufficiently soundproofed so we could hear the other people's conversation, TV, etc. Outside, late-night wanderers were noisy, but closed windows and A/C on solved the problem.
The kitchenette, enclosed in a cupboard, was convenient but dark--a light would be helpful. It has a two-burner hotplate, no microwave. Broken and less functional kitchen items should be tossed and complete sets of crockery and cutlery provided. We could get hot water in the kitchen sink only when we turned on the water in the bathroom first.

La Paglia is in a great location in Trastevere. The street is small and quiet and about 2 blocks from the Santa Maria square. They have many great reastaurants all within a couple of blocks including the great gelato place Fior di Luna. The "james bond" kitchen was great and the bed was so comfortable. I don't think I've slept so well in a long time. Great use of space. They had everything from dishes to a hairdryer to extra blankets.

The only problem I had with the apartment was the noise - the walls are very thin. I could hear people in the other apartment doing dishes, talking on the phone and watching TV. Most of the noise ended by 10pm and wasn't a big issue. But bring earplugs just in case. But for the price, it was a great deal. (No breakfast and no wi-fi, but there's a cafe 2 blocks down that has free wifi)

We stayed a week split between La Scala and La Paglia. Great locations, both quiet but in the heart of Trastevere and walkable centres for Rome. Plenty of storage and hot water with good water pressure. Invaluable information on arrival which improved our stay, including local restaurants (Roma Sparita is THE place for "Pasta Cacio e Pepe") and shopping, including a cheese / deli which is an event. Staff also booked us a taxis on leaving as our Italian was not up to it, we felt reassured that staff were available for us if we needed them through out our stay.

We stayed for 3 nights at the La Scala apartment and found it to be a perfect fit for myself, husband and 17 year old son. It was clean, comfortable and the perfect location for sight seeing. Trastevere is a trendy, lively neighborhood with restarurants and shops everywhere, yet the apartment was very quiet. We found it to be the best of both worlds and would certainly stay there again when we return to Rome.