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Non-Reciprocal exchange 6 nights Jul 2025

Malin Verified

13 exchanges118 nights18 feedback

Silvia was very helpful and communicative prior to or exchange, willing to respond quickly to all our questions about the areas and hiking routes. Padola is a super cute village. We were supposed to stay för a week but decided to leave after 12 hours due to a few things that I believe could be helpful for other potential guests to know, in order to manage expectations:: - the entrence, kitchen and tiny room with sofa is in the basement/cellar, ie under ground floor. This gives this part of the appartment (where you also spend most of your time) a damp side with a distinct smell of mold and damp. People with allergies or who are sensitive to mold should be careful. This smell is also distinct in the main bedrooom which is close to the small, steep stair that takes you to the bedroom floor. Two bedrooms and the bathroom is fine. - What is described as a ”relaxing corner” is a small sofa in a corner of a room without windows, also damp and mold smell. - It is an old house, and for everyone who have traveled in Italy, this is part of the charm. The profile states that this basment/apartment has been ”completely renovated”, which is true for the first floor but not for the kitchen. - A suggestion to any guest would be to bring kitchen utensils such as a new dish brush or any cleaning items, as the ones found in the kitchen were old/dirty.. - Bring toilette paper - Bring wine glasses if you love enjoying Italian wines Once again, Silvia is a super helpful and communicative host and I really want to highlight all the support we received prior to our stay. However we feel the description in the listing doesn’t match reality so just want to highlight a few of those things so that the next guest has realistic expectations.

Silvia De Martin replied · 1 year ago

Good morning Malin and Martin, first of all, we'd like to say we're sorry you had to leave early, but we understand that if you felt uncomfortable, it wouldn't have been appropriate to stay. Padola is a small but charming village located in the heart of the Dolomites, filled with historic houses, including our apartment, which dates back to the late 1800s. The various renovations carried out on our apartment comply with the strict regulations we have in Italy for historic houses under the superintendence of Venice. We recently redid the flooring and kitchen tiles, as well as the completely new bathroom and the relaxation room with real solid wood. The furnishings are all made of genuine fir, and in the kitchen area we chose to keep the original furniture because, in addition to being well-maintained, it is a family heirloom. We also felt it unnecessary to replace existing furnishings with new ones, so as not to impact deforestation and to promote a broader ecological concept. We've added a specification to the apartment description to clarify the layout of the apartment and its access. We hope this is now clearer. Regarding the mold issue, we disagree with this observation as there are absolutely no traces or stains. We had stayed in the apartment for our vacation the previous few days, and some friends we hosted came to visit. Since we have our cat we did't open the windows for fear of it getting out, and the first bedroom where the guests slept was left closed. This probably caused a slight musty odor, but it's not mold. Furthermore, since we're in the mountains, even in summer when it rains or is cold, we always recommend turning on the stove a couple of times, given the thick stone walls, to acclimatize the environment. The relaxation corner, as we wrote in the description, is a truly intimate space we created for reading a book or watching TV. We didn't write "large living room," and the photos published are real; there's little to the imagination. Sometimes i

Good morning Malin and Martin, first of all, we'd like to say we're sorry you had to leave early, but we understand that if you felt uncomfortable, it wouldn't have been appropriate to stay.
Padola is a small but charming village located in the heart of the Dolomites, filled with historic houses, including our apartment, which dates back to the late 1800s. The various renovations carried out on our apartment comply with the strict regulations we have in Italy for historic houses under the superintendence of Venice. We recently redid the flooring and kitchen tiles, as well as the completely new bathroom and the relaxation room with real solid wood.
The furnishings are all made of genuine fir, and in the kitchen area we chose to keep the original furniture because, in addition to being well-maintained, it is a family heirloom. We also felt it unnecessary to replace existing furnishings with new ones, so as not to impact deforestation and to promote a broader ecological concept.
 We've added a specification to the apartment description to clarify the layout of the apartment and its access. We hope this is now clearer.
Regarding the mold issue, we disagree with this observation as there are absolutely no traces or stains. We had stayed in the apartment for our vacation the previous few days, and some friends we hosted came to visit. Since we have our cat we did't open the windows for fear of it getting out, and the first bedroom where the guests slept was left closed. This probably caused a slight musty odor, but it's not mold. Furthermore, since we're in the mountains, even in summer when it rains or is cold, we always recommend turning on the stove a couple of times, given the thick stone walls, to acclimatize the environment.
The relaxation corner, as we wrote in the description, is a truly intimate space we created for reading a book or watching TV. We didn't write "large living room," and the photos published are real; there's little to the imagination. Sometimes i

Non-Simultaneous exchange 6 nights Jul 2024

Nadege Verified

17 exchanges192 nights22 feedback

We had a great time at Silvia's, it was fabulous to visit the Dolomites with our friends. A moment out of time in a fabulous village off the beaten track but which has everything you could need! From the baker, in the morning, to the butcher to the dairy! Everything was a joy.. until the village festival on the last evening. We can't wait to show Silvia and her family Kenya!