Before I start, I want to say a few things:
(1) I stayed at stayed here twice, though the second time was only because I had already been charged & didn't want to lose money & things did seem slightly better the second stay (details below) but still not up to what I expecting
(2) Almost everything that I'm going to list would be relatively easy for the Hosts to fix & I would be willing to give it a third try if the Hosts address the issues
(3) Over the course of my two stays, I paid approximately 900$ USD (~175$ USD per night) for a place in Canada, which is hotel pricing
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REVIEW
When I arrived at the building around 10:30pm, the check-in process went
smoothly, the building itself was clean, security was good and the A/C in the room was on & welcoming.
I couldn't connect to the WiFi, but I figured it'd be addressed in the morning, so I dropped my bags & went to bed.
However, when I woke up it was clear the Hosts had never spent a night here, because if they had, they'd immediately see its many shortcomings.
WiFi issues -1 Star
I asked the Hosts the morning of if everything was in order & they said it was.
After checking in, there's no WiFi & no response until 12+ hours later.When I was given access to an alternate network, it appeared to be a shared network & the speeds were subpar, even on my phone just watching YouTube everything was buffering & dropping quality.
2nd STAY UPDATE - The proper WiFi was available & worked reasonably well. Not great, but acceptable.
I'm keeping it as an issue because it's something that should have worked on my first stay.
Sleeping is awful -1 Star
- Bed is uncomfortable
- Two of the four pillows are pretty much empty sacks
- Curtains only cover 75% of the width of the window
- Stained mattress (yellow)
I'm not unreasonable, I don't expect a Sealy bed & blackout curtains, but this is sub-par. I tried to adjust it so they cover at least the part where my face is, but that didn't work well either since the other side stops at the middle.
When I checked out my first time, I took off the sheets to help with the cleaning, to discover a huge stain on the mattress, kinda gross.
2nd STAY UPDATE - An additional pillow was added which helped, but the bed was still stained and uncomfortable & the curtains still didn't cover the window properly.
No supplies whatsoever -1 Star
- Fridge is completely empty other than an ice-pack in the fridge
- There's a washer/dryer but no detergent or anything else
- There's a sink but no dish soap
- There's a coffee machine but no milk
- There's not even ice cubes in the tray
This can easily be addressed by having at least some barebones necessities & maybe a map on the fridge of where to get supplies.
I don't need there to be a fully-stocked fridge & if it's a long-term stay it'd be ok I'd expect to get everything, but having nothing at all & no information for where they recommend I go to get something seemed lacking.
The building is in Chinatown, I can't read get around by reading the signs, so a simple map to some recommended stores / restaurants would have gone a long way.
Neighborhood & overall appeal -1 Star
- Area seems really sketchy at night with a surprising amount of drunks & homeless (I live in San Francisco so I'm used to homeless, but here I felt somewhat uncomfortable walking at night with people yelling).
- The unit itself looks nice online & it is, it does indeed look nice in-person, but there's little substance.
- The view out the window is into a warehouse full of boxes.
I wasn't expecting an amazing view or for it to be in a posh area since it is on the border of Chinatown, but for ~175$ USD/night, it's a little high.
The building seems to be all AirBnB rentals (can't confirm but it's how it seemed) so maybe one floor up would be high enough to have a view so it'd be ok, but my floor (4th) had a view of boxes & the streets of Chinatown
Bathroom isn't accommodating -1 Star
- Towels are scratchy & require two for a typical human
- Nowhere to put soap/shampoo- Shower head only half works & is very low-flow...very
Again, I know it's an AirBnB not a hotel & all that, sure, I get it. But the scratchy towels barely wrap around me & I'm only 5'10 average build, it's crazy.
Conclusion
A number of my criticisms could be addressed fairly easily & inexpensively, however, for $ I75$ USD I cannot forgive or overlook them.
Maybe at 100-125$/night, sure. But 175$ USD is hotel pricing for what feels like an empty IKEA showroom that the hosts have clearly never stayed it.
The only positives are:
- Check in/out process is smooth
- Building & unit are clean
My complaints I think fairly drop the rating to a 0, however, those couple positives combined, earns this place a whole 1 out the of 5.
Summary of requested fixes:
- Make sure WiFi works prior to check-in
- Get a better bed & preferably one that isn't stained
- Install properly fitting curtains
- Provide a map for where to get stuff / restaurant recommendations
- Have dish soap & laundry detergent
- Add a picture of the view from the window so we know what to expect
- Buy better towels & put a rack to hold the soap
- Fix the shower-head
Or if you don't want to make any of my suggested improvements, that's fine, but don't charge 175$ USD per night, that's just too high given all the issues.
It's a