Our experience at Ryota’s apartment was to summarize in one word, “okay”. We chose this listing because all of our other options were booked. Although the reviews did point out some negative aspects, most of them were positive. But once we arrived at the apartment we were disappointed. I’m writing this review for others considering this listing. Here are the good and bad things you should know:
Pros:
- The location of this listing cannot be beaten at this price. The nearest station is right around the corner located two stops away from Shinjuku on the metro. The area has many restaurants and shops nearby, not to mention, the beautiful Shinjuku Gyoen (which we visited numerous times). Although there were many izakayas in the area, it was relatively quiet and peaceful.
- All the basic amenities such as cutlery, cups, linens, and soaps were provided, although there was no cutting board in the kitchen. The Zens Team offered to accommodate which was nice but I bought one for myself. We had no problem using the wifi during our stay as well as other electronics such as the washer and the IH.
Cons:
- The biggest issue we had was the odor in the apartment which we believe came from the washer. It lingered within the apartment from the moment we checked in till the moment we checked out. They had a febreeze next to the washer which we hoped would cover the odor, but the entire thing was dried up. We also noticed the air in the apartment was very damp.
- Cleanliness was another issue. It felt like the cleaning was rushed before we checked in since the people before us checked out on the same day. We found some trash under the rug when we were vacuuming. Going back to the odor, it didn’t help that we were not allowed to take out the trash. We were living there for 10 days so the trash accumulated into a big pile, and to no surprise, it started getting smelly.
- The bed is VERY squeaky. The slightest movement created loud squeaks, which made it difficult to sleep. We ended up using the futon more often.
- The walls are paper thin and you can hear the neighbors talking and moving around. There were several occasions where the neighbors were so loud in the middle of the night we could not sleep. On the topic of neighbors, the entire building seems to be rented out on Airbnb. The apartment didn’t feel like someone’s home, it felt like a hotel.
- This might seem trivial, but the shower curtains were very short, and every time you shower water gets everywhere.
Overall, our stay was decent but disappointing. If we knew all of these factors beforehand, we probably would have chosen somewhere else.