Not worth the cost...
Calvin's apartment is ok overall, but it's not worth the high nightly rate. Sure, it's in the trendy Yorkville neighborhood and close to good public transport, but the quality of furnishings, lack of kitchen items, and noise issues make it not worth it.
First, the quality. Not all the furniture and items in the pictures are actually in the apartment. The furnishings are sparse at best and the quality is low. There is no kitchen table or chairs, only really a couch and cheap coffee table. Eating wasn't comfortable in the apartment.
Secondly, the kitchen was as basically stock as really can be. 3 tall glasses, 4 large plates, 4 small plates, 4 bowls, a basic set of cutlery and a limited supply of kitchen utensils. There's a set of pots, but only a small fly pan that's not very useful. There are no mugs for tea or coffee, wine glasses, or other sorts of glasses. There's a cutting board and a cheap set of knives, with one missing.
It really feels like you are renting from a college student. That would be completely ok, but not for $300 CAD -ish a night.
Thirdly, the noise issues...
The building fire alarm went off 3 times in the first couple days I was staying there. One of those times was for over 20 minutes at 3am. The others were during the day, but interrupted a conference call I was leading while I worked from the apartment. It seems this building has fire alarm issues.
The road noise. This apartment is overlooking The Avenue, which is a main artery running North/South on the west border of Yorkville. Thus there is a lot of traffic noise, especially on the weekend when the jerks rev their engines. It is city living, but definitely takes away from the charm of Yorkville staying.
I checked in with only having 4 standard towels with no kitchen towels, bath hand towels, bathmat, and such. Plus, there was an iron, but no ironing board. Calvin did correct this the next day by buying some more towels and an ironing board. I appreciated that being corrected.
A couple other bad things:
- Check in for the Airbnb is at the building (Cumberland Tower) front desk. Expect to fill out short term rental paperwork for the building in order to get the keys to the apartment.
- There is only one set of keys. If a couple stays there and goes out separately. it is tough to coordinate the ins and outs.
- The bedroom is small and there's not much room for your luggage or much of a place to unpack things to
- The shades in the bedroom don't really block the light. They are more for privacy
- There is no kitchen table or chairs. I mentioned this problem to Calvin, but he argued that there isn't enough space in the main room. There is definitely plenty of space for a table and chairs. This really should be added.
- No salt, pepper, coffee, tea, or any other kitchen supplies you would find at most other Airbnbs
And, some of the good things:
- Yorkville is a great area.
- Close to the subway
- No noises from above. Although the apartment is in the 7th floor of 20-something floors, I never heard anyone walking around above. (but street noise and fire alarms)
- Lots of dish soap for the sink and dishwasher. Also plenty of laundry soap and dryer sheets.
- Now there are plenty of towels
- The bed is comfortable enough. The pillows are nice.
- The internet is super-fast and reliable
There were some good things about the apartment, but more bad things than good things. Again, it wasn't worth the money spent.