We ordered two of these beds in black for our daughters. Assembly time was just over an hour for each bed and was pretty straightforward. All the pieces were clearly marked, instructions were good, and holes lined up, much to my husband's delight. The beds were packaged very well. One of the boxes arrived soaked on one side but since the interior parts were packages so well, nothing was wet. The beds themselves are fairly sturdy. They can be bolted to the wall for more stability, but we haven't done that yet and not sure if we'll bother. Our girls are 12 and 9 years old and can scramble up and down the ladder easily. My one daughter complains that the rungs hurt her feet (they're round instead of flat) and when I climbed up, I could see why. We're going to do as another reviewer did and purchase pipe insulators and cover the rungs. Other than that, no problems at all. Great value for a great price. Our daughters love their beds!