An excellent Airbnb with an amazing host. I was a visiting PhD student who came to Toronto for a research internship. I stayed in this Airbnb for about three months, starting from mid-Jan to min-April, and in these three months, I did not run into any problems in the experience. The place is really good as well as it is relatively inexpensive when compared to Toronto's rental prices.
There are a lot of things that I loved about the place. Here's some quick list of things that I loved about this Airbnb experience.
1. Communication - William is a super responsive host. It is quite amazing at how fast he responds to your messages and queries. On average, he responds back within 5 minutes and facilitates almost any request/feedback that you would have regarding the place.
2. Ambience - The house is located in a very quiet neighbourhood. The Airbnb is on the second floor of the house, and you would have a couple of neighbours. The neighbours are very quiet and super friendly. During the three months of stay here, I was on a tight research deadline. The ambience, good communication as well as a well thought out space ensured that I did not have to worry about anything other than my work itself.
3. Well-thought-out space and resources - The Airbnb itself were well thought out. William provides the Airbnb with a manual that tells you about all the things that you need to know about the Airbnb, which includes the wifi password, nearby restaurants, hospitals, emergency contact number etc,. Many times, I needed some arbitrary things like paper clips, stationery, USB chargers, table lamps, laundry baskets, soaps, shampoos, lotions, bathroom slippers, mirror, coat hooks, study table, Toronto visitor guides and maps etc,. and the apartment contained all of these. It's tough to get all of these right, and having these things in place shows William's efforts for providing a good Airbnb experience to the guests.
4. Shared space - There are two main shared spaces in the Airbnb - the bathroom and the kitchen. William comes in every alternate weekend and cleans these two spaces. Additionally, the neighbours who share these spaces are very hygienic and keep the place very clean. So, you are also expected to keep it clean after usage :)
5. Heating, Mattress and lighting- I stayed in the space, during peak winters. The house was warm and cosy. The mattress and the bedding provided is of good quality and is very comfortable to sleep in. The room also has a large glass window with a curtain, and you can push the curtain to the sides to get natural light. The lighting provided in the room ensures that the room is well lit. If you are on a longer stay, William offers to clean your room in between, when he is here.
6. Friendly nature - Almost everything about this place was friendly. There was a time when I got locked out of the house by mistake. William stays in a place which is about an hour drive from here. He was kind enough to drive from his place in the night, get me access to the room. Additionally, the neighbours in the apartment are very friendly, and you would most likely meet them in the kitchen where get to have nice conversations :)
7. Location - The house is located in a nice and very safe neighbourhood. I personally used to walk back very late in the nights, anywhere from 11 pm till 3 am, and the road/street was perfectly safe to walk in with no fear of mugging or robbery. furthermore, even on days with extreme weather, the sidewalks in this road are regularly clean off snow, so it made things very easy. The place is also close to a lot of restaurants and other facilities. downtown is about 10 minutes walk from the place. There is a bus stop just outside the house door, which makes most parts of the city quite accessible to you. Additionally, there is also bikeshare just opposite the house that you could use if you plan to stay during the non-winter season.
8. Kitchen - The kitchen is shared amongst housemates. You have a mini-fridge to yourself. The kitchen is also equipped with shared stuff for basic cooking like utensils, plates, pans, baking, aluminium foils, zip locks, rice cooker etc,.
The only major discomfort I had in the entire stay was the laundry. The apartment does not have in-house laundry. Having said that, there is an external laundry place (called Coin-O-rama) is about 5-8 mins walk from the house. The laundry is very cheap (4.5CAD in total for wash and dry), as well as has nice seating facilities and is equipped with WiFi.