Staying at Neil's house cannot be separated from Neil himself. He is kind and considerate and interesting. Getting to know him was one of the unexpected benefits of this trip.
AirBnB is NOT a hotel - that IS the idea. I stayed at his house, and it is a completely different experience. Much more personal - again, it's someone's *house*. I felt like staying with a distant relative whom i'm getting to know for the 1st time. You come and Neil says "Hello! how are you doing? what are your plans? are you settled, do you need something?" etc. Definitely not the stark loneliness of a standard-issue hotel room.
The location is amazing; the price is excellent; there is a large working desk; a large comfortable bed; large TV with cable; very fast WiFi (a definite plus); I used the kitchen freely and he even declined me washing my own stuff, he'd put all in the dishwasher; the house is clean. You do have to bring your own toiletries but, seriously, do you really use the cheap hotel soap or nondescript shampoo? He gave me towels as needed.
The few things to consider:
- there is little noise insulation but then that is a common theme in most houses built in North America so no difference to other AirBnB places
- I was staying at a room that used to be his office so there was no closet and there were things of his in the room, it didn't bother me since I live off my suitcase anyway and there was enough space for everything, it was not cramped at all, and, again, this is AirBnB, it's part of the deal and what makes it different and special - staying for 10 days at the same place, actually having things around you look at was nicer than a dry room, but that's me. Neil has other rooms so make sure to ask which one you're renting if this is important to you.
- Shared bathroom: Neil keeps it clean, and after 10 days, there was only one time that I had to wait for 3 minutes and that's it. Plenty of hot water all the time.
I highly recommend staying with Neil and would happily stay there again if I needed to.