Luigi came to meet us at Trastevere station, having sent very detailed advice on how to get there from the airport in advance. The apartment was charming, with everything we needed. We were expecting a double bed in the bedroom but, knowing we were coming with children, Luigi and his wife had arranged it with two singles, which was perfect. The sofa bed was very comfortable, and everything was spotlessly clean. There were a few supplies and a bottle of wine waiting for us, which we really appreciated, and Luigi helped us order take away pizza as it was quite late.
The area is ideal with children - the huge park at Villa Pamphilj is about 20 minutes walk, the tram stop (with a direct tram to the historic centre about every 3 minutes) is 5 minutes away. There is an excellent supermarket with all you need, but also a fantastic pasticceria with gorgeous pastries, coffee and hot chocolate and a good gastronomia just around the corner where you can buy hot chicken and potatoes, many different salads and even wine to take away as well as pizza (very useful on Easter Sunday evening when many places were shut).
Rome is an amazing city, with a lot of parks and green spaces for children to play in so it is easy to combine culture with playing (and lots of excellent ice cream). It is also well worth exploring the old parts of Trastevere near the river. We highly recommend Il Ponentina for a great meal at an unbelievable price. Roman specialities for the grown-ups and pizza or pasta for the children.
Luigi was a huge help when we left, taking us to the station, helping us buy the tickets and putting us on the right train. We could not have hoped for a better host.

Luigi picked us up at the train station, which was direct from the airport and took us on a tour of the area which was lovely, with some great views of the city. He was very friendly and helpful. The apartment was fine, spacious and clean. We were two adults and a teenager. There was pasta, sauce and other food in the apartment when we arrived which meant that we could have some lunch and go straight out sightseeing without having to go food shopping first which we really appreciated. It's a about a 5 minute walk down the hill to the tram stop and then 20 mins into the city. Perhaps another time we would prefer to be a bit more central or more in Trastevere itself which seemed very pretty and lively, whereas Luigi's apartment is not on such an interesting road. But other than that it was all fantastic.

Rome often leaves people with mix feelings (or so I have heard). It is the same feeling that I got with this place too.

Let me start with the positives:
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* THE HOST: Luigi is a very enthusiastic and helpful host. He was prompt with his replies to my many questions before the booking. He called us up when we reached Rome and waited close to 2 hours in the night to pick us up from the bus station and then also dropped us when we were returning. He showed us around the place and shared interesting information. He and his wife are both warm and genuinely helpful.
* THE LOCATION: The place is close to everything- restaurants, hospitals, grocery stores, kiosks, trams station, metro station (Vatican is just 2 stops away). The place is peaceful, residential and makes you want to settle down in Rome. It takes around 15 minutes, by bus, to reach the Victor Emmanuel monument.
* THE APARTMENT ITSELF: Very clean and airy, the bed was very comfortable and so was the sofa. Luigi even put up a child's cot in the room which my son absolutely loved. The apartment has been furnished well. There are books in Italian and English, movies, important information about tourist spots, sweeping brush to clean the place in case you are staying longer, extra towels, well-stocked kitchen- we prepared most of our breakfast and dinners there. The apartment is small but spacious and we fell in love with it the moment we entered.

THE INTERNET CONNECTION: Absolutely reliable and fast. It was in fact a life saver for us.
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What didn't work that well
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* I sprained my ankle badly during the trip and unfortunately Luigi's family had gone out for a family event during that time. Though it was no one's fault, we felt totally lost in a foreign country- with no one to talk to or ask for help. We searched for nearby hospitals on the Net and found one that is a little more than a KM away. However, there were absolutely no taxis on that road, the taxi services either did not pick the call or had no car available. I had to walk till the hospital with a sprained ankle. That was the only time I wished I was in a hotel that had a full-time reception so that we could have got help.

* The bathing area is a little restricted and closing the shower curtains is a bit of a task.

* The AC units did not work as well as we would have liked in the August heat. The new one in the bathroom was fantastic though.

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Things to note:
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* The apartment is not wheelchair-accessible. There is one flight of stairs till the elevator landing and another one till the apartment.

* The toiletries may not be sufficient for longer stay so you can either take your own or buy them from the nearby supermarkets like we did.

* There is a late charge for checking-in after 9 PM which I assume is the standard norm.

Will I stay there again? Absolutely! But hopefully, will not sprain my ankle again :-)

My husband, daughter and I stayed in Luigi's apartment for 3 nights. Luigi picked us up at the train station. We flew in from Paris and our flight was late which meant the train into the station was over 2 hours late. Luigi had waited for us and left just as we arrived. We called him using a cell phone from one of the workers in the cellphone store. Luigi was back to get us in 10 minutes. After loading us in the car he went in to thank the worker for helping us out-nice guy! Luigi drove us around the neighborhood to see the spectacular views. We would have missed those without his tour. The apartment is very comfortable and extremely clean. The bedroom is large. There is a pull out futon/couch in the livingroom. Luigi has a notebook with lots of information in it including how to get around. There is wifi in the apartment and he let us use his printer when we booked tickets to a museum. We only ate breakfast in the apartment and didn't cook anything. However, it seemed like the kitchen was well equipped. They also included snacks, tea and coffee. Luigi lives right next door and is always available for questions and suggestions. Luigi was one of the nicest people we met on our 3 week vacation!