Helena’s place had both excellent points and some things that might not suit everyone.
The excellent things are: 1) Helena was such a lovely host. She’s kind, thoughtful and a great communicator. She goes out of her way to help, including lending me a hair dryer when I forgot.
2) we had our own bedroom, private bathroom and connecting hallway between the two, so we felt like we had our own space to relax and unwind. Great set up.
3) the location is excellent. Really close to the casino, public transport and great restaurants.
4) we had access to kitchen and laundry at any time which was convenient.
5) free parking was available too.
Other points are:
The common living area and kitchen are set up basically like student living with not many decorative touches or shelving, making both areas feel quite cluttered and uncomfortable.
The place is also shared with another house mate which we didn’t know about before, he was very lovely though. This wasn’t a problem for us as we were out a lot and only home at night, but for those wanting a place to relax in more, there’s really only your room to do so. I’m sure with a few additions it will be great.