Holiday-Velvet 

Well positioned apartment in Venice. Nicely furnished and well equipped.

I rented two apartments in the same building, the one downstair had no hot water (had to use the shower upstair) there was no soap to wash your hands or to wash your drinking glasses. In the unit upstair the air condition didn't work the batteries on the TV remote were on the counter fully corroded ( I didn't care about the TV but it shows poor care) The Wifi did not work, the password was not accurate. I called maintenance and left a message but nobody called back or came by to fix anything
Happy we were there for only two days

Our stay at Porta del Pincio was very enjoyable. The location was superb
and we were able to walk or use metro everywhere. The bedroom/bathroom numbers worked out fine for us since the sofa folded out to make a bed. We enjoyed dining on the terrace a couple of evenings. On another note,however, the power situation was not good. We had to turn off air conditioners to use dishwasher or laundry and at times the hairdryers (three females). The contact person was extremely responsive to our first power failure and we were most grateful. After we learned the drill we were able to handle the outages..it would be most helpful to have more information on the operating of the apartment and to have as well a coffee maker. We wound up buying one and took it with us to Florence...where there was already an automatic coffee maker. All in all a good experience

Booking with Holiday-Velvet online was straightforward, and there is a discount for those with a code (ask an agent). Their website is relatively easy to use and has a lot of good information. We stayed recently at the lovely Rome Fontana Grande apartment, which was much larger than we expected. The furnishings are in good taste, and everything was in good working condition. The Pros: spacious living room / dining area; WiFi; good air conditioning; small elevator for luggage; well-appointed kitchen / breakfast nook. The property manager, Geraldine, is very pleasant and helpful. The apartment is in a great location, and we easily walked to sights such as Trevi Fountain (alas, undergoing major renovation in June 2014), Quirinale, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese, multiple piazzas (Navona, Popolo, etc), and shopping. The apartment is a short taxi ride from the Termini station, the Colosseum / Forum, and Vatican City. There are coffee shops, good restaurants, and a couple of grocery stores nearby. Small Cons: sturdy bunk beds in second bedroom may not work for everyone (but more than fine for our teenagers); not enough hot water for more than one person to take a shower at a time; missing a loveseat in living room; ask manager how to use the washing machine. But the place was overall great, and we definitely recommend it for a smaller family. We would stay in this apartment again!

What could be bad-- 2 terraces- breakfast and drinks overlooking the Eiffel Tower--- lovely apartment- which we rented for 9 nights in June. 2 bedrooms made traveling with a friend easy. Neighborhood quiet- with good stores nearby. Good transportation- with buses and metro handy.
A lovely place to stay.

This was my first experience with Holiday Velvet having stayed in numerous accommodation throughout Italy and France in the past. We stayed in a "Luxury terrace apartment" in Rome which according to the ad had two terraces. Prior to our arrival a big song and dance was made of our arrival time which before we left I guessed would be around 4.30. However, it needed to be more specific, so at their request I phoned the contact in Rome several times along the way to the apartment, from airport, train station at airport, train station at Termini. Needless to say, we arrived at my originally estimated time. Unfortunately, despite the numerous calls I made there was no one at the apartment when we arrived and we were left waiting! Anyhow, it's easy to be late, so let's not consider that too serious. The apartment had only one accessible terrace unattractive with overgrown plant pots full of weeds, the person who showed us round commented there were not two terraces the door leading to the other being permanently locked; from the window the view was of a grubby unused space. After she left, we discovered that the Wifi didn't work, which I reported immediately to the contact in Rome. She said she would look into it. No one contacted us further in this regard. Day two we found that the toilet seat was broken in second bathroom. Again no one got in touch after I informed them. The general look of the apartment was tired, the bedroom cupboards tatty with broken lock, cooker could do with a thorough deep clean. I wrote to the contact in London at the time re the wifi, etc. and received no reply while we were still in Rome. I wrote again when we were back in England they denied receiving my email from Rome and stated the owner in Rome was responsible for the appartment. Apparently, the owner will be in touch soon. I am yet to hear anything, having returned from Rome mid-May.

ALLWAYS GOOD ¡¡¡¡ VERY HELPFUL

I tried to get the full address and other details via the Holiday Velvet Website prior to departure - no luck. Upon arriving in Rome I was informed that our apartment was not available. Instead we were put in an unsafe place. I had a feeling this whole reservation was doomed due to the poor service I had received already. So I only paid 2 days in the other apartment. The biggest issue with the place was the water from the shower ran down the wall and into the electrical outlet (I am an electrical engineer and have done electrical work so I know a non-grounded outlet when I see one). There were no lights in the hall when you enter the door and prepare yourself for many more steps with no handrail. We also had no wifi. I said on the 2nd day that if the person who "helped" us in Rome, Constanza, did not deliver the wifi and lightbulb "Domani" like she said, I would find a new reservation. Of course, she "forgot". So we rented an apartment through airbnb. The apartment we rented through Holiday Velvet was never seen, nor did HV respond to the original requests as stated. In addition - please understand that Holiday Velvet only contracts through a 3rd party, not the owner in all cases. Therefore, when you pay Holiday Velvet - you do not have any leverage to get what you need through the service person they contract. NEVER AGAIN. I want my money refunded. The urine smell in the apartment alone made it uninhabitable! forget about all the bugs, spiders and steps with no lights!

Holidal Velvet did all they were asked and more. The rating I am giving is only for the apartment....not Holiday Velvet's service. They are good people to work with. Unfortunately, the apartment needs lots of work. The kitchen cooking equipment (pots and pans) and other actual cooking items are sadly in need of replacement. The same goes for the furniture and comfort in allthe rooms. The owner seems to have just left and left his things in the drowers....Interesting!!!! It is a LARGE square metre or square foot place, but NOT what the pictures show. It was our worst "For Rent By Owner type of place we stayed at in 6 weeks in Italy and Amsterdam. We are not new to this and this place does not measure up unless you are a family with small children and need a place for them to run around. This will be perfect for you. Again, I am rating the apartment as poor.....Holiday-Velvet gets TOP marks! I am just sorry they have to be responsible for this apartment.

We found a lovely vacation rental apartment through Holiday Velvet and they served as a liaison between us & the apartment management company. We appreciated their help very much.

This location is perfect and the apartment is comfortably spacious by Roman standards. We couldn't have been happier. The unit sits near a lively cafe/bar. While some noise comes with this, we didn't mind it, and found the amenity of the cafe worth it.

The apartment is very well located in the heart of Seville, but almost impossible to get to by car, no parking close by and very narrow streets to negotiate on the one way stystem through the old city. The aparment is well maintained and has everything you need, a lovely terrace and comfortable sitting room. The upstairs bedroom and bathroom is spacious and well equipped, the only negative I have is that this room is very hot, the aircon doesn't work up there and this was not a hot time of the year. A fan would have been helped. Miguel who met us was very informative and and adviced us on where to park the car.

Booked a luxury apt in Chelsea, London for July 2014. Bought the insurance etc and paid 50% 800GBP as a down payment. Had a medical problem (hip replacement) in Dec 2014 and was promised the money back - still waiting......
Not good enough - buyers beware as communications have been very slow and excuses rife despite providing full details for bank account refund etc.
We expect to come to London next year instead - doubt that we can use Holiday Velvet again as they seem untrustworthy.

Holiday-Velvet was easy to work with. They promptly replied to my questions and even offered additional suggestions. The apartment we stayed at in Rome was beautiful and clean and the owners were very nice and friendly. I would recommend Holiday-Velvet to other travelers looking for an alternative to hotels. I think the website can be improved but overall the research and payment process were smooth.

The apartment is very large, with dining lounge, a small dining kitchen, house bathroom next to the main bedroom and then a further bedroom and bathroom down a short corridor. There is a beautiful wooden parquet floor throughout.

Although the apartment is large there are a few problems.

- we booked a chauffeur with the apartment company to pick us up from the airport. The chauffeur was 20 minutes late, offered a sort of apology and spent the vast majority of the journey on his mobile phone (not hands free). The car was a black E Class but the journey wasn't pleasant.

- we were dropped off by the chauffeur on the main road and he pointed down a street and then he was gone. We found the apartment door but could not get in. The information we had said to press the button for apartment no 1A which is fine but the buttons weren't numbered...after a while we just press every button. The maid was in the apartment and after trying to ring the emergency numbers issued before we left the UK she finally came to the door...after 10 minutes stood on the road.
- the apartment is tired. Cracked tiles on the bathroom floor, wifi which is intermittent, a kettle which is only big enough for one cup and doesn't switch off so boils over all the time, no hot water in the kitchen nor in the shower or bathroom. The air conditioning is from two wall mounted units not throughout the apartment so I wouldn't say it had air conditioning - this is misleading
- the windows are old and do not fit properly therefore you get the street noise throughout the day and night.
- we were charged a cleaning fee of €45 on top of the booking fee as well as tourist tax which having checked the web site on returning home should have been included
- the chauffeur pick up service back to the airport was fine, again the black E Class but with a different driver. The chauffeur service is €50 each way where as a taxi is €45 so it is excellent value if you don't want to get the train or bus.

There must be better options in Rome - we feel let down, poor service and the price was not what was agreed

very nice apartment and very friendly good and friendly communication.

This was advertised as a 2-bath unit. IT WAS NOT. it was 2 bedrooms, each with a shower and a sink. But the only toilet was midway between two steep staircases leading to each bedroom. They called it "en suite". We call it deceptive! Otherwise a great unit in a great, quiet location. No paper supply in kitchen (paper towels, napkins). Also, when we were provided the key at the time of check-in, the "student" tried to hit us up with a "check-in fee". Not a LATE check-in fee (we were within the time period). Nowhere in our paperwork was there a mention of a check-in fee. We'll see what shows up on the credit card bill, although we refused to pay it. We rented through VRBO who then went to Holiday Velvet who then went to the Dutch rental company. Very confusing. We never received anything in advance from the Dutch company. The instructions said we were to meet at the unit but there was no house number! And the name provided didn't exist as a known human. We had to make many phone calls from our cell phone. We'll see how that shows up on our U.S. phone bill! Once we actually checked in (and brought our blood pressure down), we enjoyed the unit very much, but for the bathroom fiasco. This is NOT viable for anyone with mobility issues.

The apartment we stayed at in Rome was minuets from the Pantheon. You could see it clearly from the terrace on the 2nd floor.
Unfortunately, that was the highlight. The first apartment I reserved was unavailable (after accepting my deposit) leaving me to scramble for the right place during Easter in Rome. I was offered a substitute which I accepted in desperation. It was completely misrepresented- one shower not two. Two beds-not three. The "bedrooms" were odd spaces where thin walls had been thrown up. Very disappointing. I will give three stars for the location and the fact that they tried to help me by securing an apartment after they lost the first one, and they were very nice about it. I rate them only a three for the lousy apartment and the misrepresentation. Pictures can lie!!

Apartment itself (Daisy Apartment in Rome) was top notch, spotlessly clean, elegant and in a superb location (a few minutes' walk from the Vatican). However, in advance of our stay, there were a couple of errors made on our booking form online (which had to be notified by us), and several times it occurred that specific questions we asked in emails weren't answered unless we asked again. So, an overall good experience in terms of the actual apartment, but the agency are a little sloppy at times.

On our recent trip all of our booking had to be changed due to illness. Holiday Velvet helped us enormously to sort this all out without undue penalties. Thank you.
We find their site easy to use with a reasonable range of properties on offer, and have always been able to find an apartment to suit our needs at a reasonable price.
The only issue we have is paying in cash to the owners. When arriving in a new country it is sometimes difficult to have the required amount of cash in a new currency when ATM's only allow a limited withdrawal each day. But we did notice that many of the owners are moving to credit card payments so maybe this will sort itself out.