The star-rating system hides the nuances of this review. So read on. First the good…
This Airbnb has a killer view of the water, the Rogers Center, and the CN Tower. It’s pretty amazing. And the neighborhood has a lot of convenient things within 2 blocks, like a mini-Sobey’s, Starbucks, a tiny-yet-pretty-good convenience store, etc.
The TV in the living room is huge. The TV in the bedroom isn’t, but it’s perfect for being right at the food of the bed (also, a lot of places only have 1 TV, so this is nice).
Appliances all work and seem pretty clean (except that that gross, filthy toaster…burn that thing), although we never tried the washer and dryer. That said, I believe the linens are washed in them, so I think they probably work fine.
Communication with the hosts was always very prompt, and self checkin was smooth.
And of course, the price is very nice compared to others in the area.
Now the not so good…
First, this location has some HUGE drawbacks. It’s across from Rogers Center and the Gardener Expressway. The traffic is fairly loud, and if there’s a game or event, it’s insanely loud outside (if there’s no game, it’s just highway noise). Second, it has no dedicated parking. This was not revealed until day-of. Every other condo-based Airbnb I’ve stayed in had dedicated parking, so I spent 50$ for 48 hours of parking.
This place is pretty run down, and the pictures don’t really match up….
Whoever painted it must have been blind. Seriously, the paint has been so sloppily done at various times that you have to wonder about the person who did it. And the way, the shelf laminate in the very dimly-lit bathroom is peeling in several places, as is the laminate above the sink.
The whole place desperately needs to be deep cleaned (hair and lint along baseboards, including in the bathroom). The vertical blinds are filthy, some are missing, and/or warped, and one set closest to the TV wall has tangled cords/chain…they work, but be really careful with them. This is unfortunate, because this condo will definitely get hot without them, so they’re a vital part of the condo.
The water pressure in the shower is not good. When you turn the water on, it seems fine, but it remains cold. So I asked the host about that, and she told me for the water to get hot, the knob had to be forced past the point where it feels like it stops. This worked, but it immediately caused a drop in water pressure. The shower works fine, and is mostly pretty clean, but don’t expect good water pressure. Also, there’s no excuse for a shower NOT to have a hand-held shower head in this day and age. Zero. If you are renting your place for people to stay in, hand held shower heads are pretty standard. They cost maybe $40.
The toilet is inexplicably really low. I teach kindergarten and the toilet is the same height as our kinder toilets. This means that your legs will fall asleep if you have to sit for more than a minute. And don’t even think about working out your legs, because the next day will be torture on that toilet.
This is NOT a scent-friendly space. The linens and towels give off very strong scents, like those Downy Unstoppable things. Now, if you like those things, great. You’ll like that it smells nice. But for anyone who has a hard time with perfumes, this can be bad. My wife has chronic migraines and perfumes can trigger those, which happened the first night. So be aware of that…it definitely smells good, but if you’re sensitive to perfumes, maybe find a different spot.
The furniture could use a serious update. First, the couch is so cheap and hard, you can feel the support beams in the seating. It’s brutal. The card table and folding chair in the little den/nook is hardly functional for two people to eat or work at. There are two fairly useless bar stools, as if the small kitchen counter that is mostly occupied by the kitchen sink, is a breakfast bar. Finally, one night stand next to the bed seems silly if two people are staying. A second night stand would cost very little and would make that bed room more functional.
Ok, so that’s a lot of not-so-good. This place has huge potential, a killer view, and a nice, functioning kitchen. So, if the paint and cleanliness aren’t vitally important to you, grab this place. It’s not a dirty place, per se, but whoever is maintaining it for the hosts really does it as lazily as possible. If they sunk a couple grand into this condo with a totally new paint job and a deep clean, and maybe a real couch, it would feel pretty swanky.
Would I stay there again? Yes and no. If I am in town with my wife, definitely not. If I am alone, I might. The parking situation is really shitty, though…the hosts could spring for a parking space, and it would increase the value of the rental immensely, and wouldn’t raise the price of the rental all that much. It would also allow renters to completely bypass the front desk, which we were explicitly told not to talk to. So…I give this about a 2.5 out of 5 for traveling with wife, and a 4 out of 5 if I’m traveling alone. Her standards are higher than mine, but I’m a typical guy in that respect.