The bed was rather heavy when it arrived, so it's not an easy item to get up stairs without a buddy. Between two people it took us probably about an hour to assemble, very simple! The other reviews were right, the slats are a bit more on the cheaper end so several of ours split around the edges while we were trying to get them into the brackets, but none of them actually broke. They do also have a bit of a smell, which seems to have subsided since we've assembled the bed a week ago. The only bummer is that the queen size does leave some space around our mattress, but I just pushed it all the way down so the pillows cover the gap. It's not a huge space, and is easily covered. Overall, I'm VERY impressed with the quality for the price, the gap thing isn't a big deal at the end of the day. Looks and feels great!