There is no delicate way to say this: this neighborhood is unsafe for visitors. The front stoop/ main entrance to the apartment is the center of a cash for baggies business that starts in the morning and lasts all day. The hosts are aware of the problems and disregard them while promoting a “family” apartment. We are both experienced enough as travelers to navigate and enjoy “authentic”/ non-tourist neighborhoods, but this was very different.
We arrived on a Sunday afternoon (between 4 and 5pm) and saw multiple people loitering, sleeping, and urinating in the street; there was also an active group of men meeting cars and bicycles to trade small envelopes for cash. The front stoop of the property was the central hub for this trade, and the alley next to the front door was constantly busy with vehicles and runners making quick stops.
We mentioned our concerns to the property manager as soon as he arrived to let us in — the response was that he was sure that these were not “hard drugs” and the locals were familiar with the trade and never had trouble by minding their own business. He insisted that we could rely on Uber to get us safely to the front door if we were really worried— which he suggested anyway since the Metro is actually a 20 minute walk away. Even when we called an Uber at noon on Monday, the driver was approached by a street salesman before we got into the car; the driver independently told us it was good we leaving a “not friendly” street.
The host insisted that we were the first and only people to worry about this atmosphere, but the review posted the day before we arrived (for a guest who seems to have to stayed right before us) mentions the exact same concerns. Reviews from 2021 and earlier don’t reflect the real and unsafe state of the house.
The hosts are familiar with the situation and continue to mislead guests about the family-friendly nature of the rental. The playground across the street from the rental was an especially popular place for single adults to hang out/ nap, or sit and carefully watch the street; we didn’t see a single child or young family during our stay.
We are both seasoned travelers and have no expectation that the world will be sanitized and familiar to our comfort— but this was a fundamentally different situation. It’s not safe to be an intruder in an all-day cash and carry trade; even if elements are decriminalized, the reality is unsafe for interlopers to have to step through to get to the front door. We left this apartment within 18 hours.