This stay was ok, and came with a few pluses and minuses.
Pros:
Extremely cheap.
Not too far from city center
Cons:
(Things that cannot be fixed by the owner)
The size of the place is TINY. Really only suitable for solo travelers on a short stay. The bed was too short for me (6'2"), and I couldn't sit on the toilet without my knees hitting the sink. The sink itself was about the size of one on an airplane.
The location is simply ok. There are a few really good hole in the wall restaurants (Nana's African cuisine and El Grito tacos!), but otherwise not much there. I'd say this made the place quieter, but the walls were so thin that you can hear people coughing in the other rooms, and the seagulls were noisy outside.
If you are a solo female traveler, you may not feel comfortable walking around at night.
(Problems the owner can fix)
No shampoo or soap was provided for the shower. I specifically asked about it, and was told "I may wish to bring my own" which apparently was code for no there isn't any. I've never stayed somewhere that didn't provide this (except large beach houses), so it was frustrating.
The fridge didn't seem to turn on and the freezer smelled horrid. I ended up not using it at all.
The pillows and the mattress are absolutely dreadful. Lumpy, worn out, and squeaky. It's better than sleeping on a cot, but not my much. Also the headboard was simply screwed into the boxspring.
No WIFI is annoying for international travelers.
Lastly, the doors quickly and automatically shut behind you (like a hotel door, but swifter.) If you lock yourself out, Elaine says you need to call a locksmith (turns out you don't, and she has a building maintenance manager that would come for half the cost, but that was not communicated until after the locksmith was called.) Most places either have a key code, or you have to lock the door behind you. To have a fast shutting and automatically locking door, with no way of getting back in except to wait for hours for the lock smith is not good. Also, the locksmith noted that automatically locking doors are the easiest to get into (he unlocked it in less that 6 seconds with a ragged thin plastic sheet. You could probably break in with a piece of laminated paper.)
Overall a mediocre experience, with a mediocre host that seemingly owns the whole building and is not on the premise. This truly felt less like an airbnb and more like an unregulated hotel.