The amenities and location of Joe’s place were great, and for a solo traveller like me, it was perfect. The studio had a fantastic view of Victoria Harbour and it’s surrounds, and it was wonderful to wake up to a wall of natural light that streamed in from the floor to ceiling windows. There is a flight of stairs from street level to the lift up to the apartment, so if you have a lot of luggage, it might be a bit awkward, however for me, it was fine.
Joe was easy to contact, always prompt with his responses and gave great clear instructions for check in and check out.
My one gripe however, is over the electrical blackout that happened in the common areas of the apartment block the weekend I was there. The blackout was caused by a blown ceramic fuse that controlled the lift and all hallway, stairs and emergency exit lighting. As the front entrance gate was operated by a key code and not a key, I was not confident that I’d be able to get back into the building if I were able to leave, so I had to cancel my plans for that Sunday evening. I was disappointed not only because I had to cancel my plans, but also that there was no alternative backup power for the emergency exits, and no maps or instructions to direct you towards the street; so in the case of an emergency, there’d be a lot of people in trouble. The next morning, I took what I thought was an emergency exit, though “in daylight” I still had to use my phone to light the way, but still ended up in the basement (which was a bit scary to say the least) without any clear indication of where the street exit was. I also found that there were a lot of tenants within the building who leave their garbage within the space of the emergency exits, so I had to wade through garbage to get out.
The apartment in and of itself was exactly perfect for what I wanted, however being located within an older styled apartment block, it’s well worth walking up and down the emergency exit stairs a couple of times - just in case another fuse blows.