We stayed for five nights in June, our fourth rental in Bologna during the past seven years. Unfortunately, it was the least desirable apartment we’ve had in Bologna. We travel by car for five to seven weeks, once or twice each year, and predominantly stay in small towns, But we like cities, too. Overall, we’ve rented dozens of apartments during the past ten years in France, Spain, and Italy, and in our experience, this would rank at the bottom of the list.
On the plus side, this ground floor apartment was roomy enough but had little cross ventilation because of heavy plastic sheets covering almost the entire window on the street side. The shower was a disaster - it was small, shower doors did not close properly, and it had no hand-held shower head. The apartment smelled of stale cigarette smoke, the tiny living room was dark with no windows, and the kitchen had a window facing what looked like a two meter square shaft between the buildings. Apparently the building was under repair, and as a result there was loud construction noise every day - banging, drilling, and sawing.
At the time of booking, Nicola was advised that we would be arriving by car and that we would like to book the secure parking he had offered for 20 euro per day. Twelve days before arrival, we again told him we wanted to book the garage. A few days before arrival, we arranged meet him at the apartment to unload our baggage. Not in the description of the apartment or in our communication did he mention that this apartment is located in a ZTL and we would need a temporary permit to drive to the apartment. (There are hefty fines for driving in a ZTL without a permit.) Even upon arrival, he failed to offer a temporary permit. In response to our request for a permit, he offered the advice not to bring a car into Bologna, but he told us that the garage attendant would issue one! (Cost for the garage was 25 euro per day, not 20 euro as Nicola claimed.) On the morning of our departure, he asked for, and we gave him, 10 more euros to get a temporary permit to drive in a ZTL to insure we would not get fined.
In ten years of staying in vacation rentals, many located in a ZTL, this is the first time the owner/manager failed to register our vehicle for use in a ZTL. This was also the first time, oddly, an owner/manager failed to collect the City Tourist Tax (4 euro per day per person in Bologna for this apartment) and had to be reminded to take our passport information.