Pros
+Location!
+Very clean and lovely apartment
+Well stocked with thoughtful inclusions, such as umbrellas, games, books and even a cart for groceries
+Comfortable bed, good shower pressure. The hot water worked well for me, unlike some guest comments.
+wifi worked well
+The host left detergent in the apartment, which isn’t the norm, to help me more efficiently do laundry in the one day I had there. Appreciated this gesture.
Cons
~The host and I struggled with communication (more detail below). My being in transit possibly contributed to the challenges, but it really influenced the experience and our dynamic.
-Advertised as having a dryer but it doesn’t. It has a cycle in the washing machine that helps draw out excess water but there is no proper dryer or clothesline.
-Would be helpful if they had purified water in the apartment.
-While there are large windows in all the rooms, the apartment is 100% interior with no direct light and it can feel a bit like a fishbowl (there are shades for privacy)
-As others have mentioned, the architecture does create a bit of an echo chamber. It didn’t really bother me in the short time I was there, but it could be problematic for light sleepers.
More detail regarding communication:
I had a tremendous challenge with the communication….in both Spanish and English (note that my Spanish is quite good and for some of the communication confusion, I was with a native speaker who was just as confused as I was).
1. I chose the apartment for 3 reasons: location, washer/dryer, ability to do 100% self check in. The self check in was critical because I knew my flight was arriving in Mexico City quite late. I wrote Clau 7 days prior to checkin to alert her that I would be arriving at 2am. She did not respond with any concern about my arrival time. Their process is to send checkin instructions within 48 hours of arrival. When I received them, I wrote again to ensure that I would have no problem getting into the building in the middle of the night. She said I shouldn’t have a problem but “there are no services after 10pm.” To me (and my native speaking friend), this suggested that security might not be available to let me in. In a panic, I wrote to clarify what that meant and whether I would be able to enter the building or if I needed to find alternative accommodation in the hour prior to boarding my flight. It took 2.5 hours to clarify that what she meant was that she would not be available to answer any questions about self check in but that security would indeed be able to let me in.
2. Check in instructions: the check-in instructions are detailed and clear. However, they emphasize that one should press a button on the building door to get the attention of security. Upon arrival at 4am, the button didn’t work and has been non-operational for some time. Security will respond to knocking on the glass door but it took a bit at 4am. Knowing this, made entry into the building at subsequent entries more or less easy. Considering Clau and my multiple exchanges regarding “services”, it would have been helpful if the check-in instructions accurately reflected how to enter the building.
3. The listing indicates there is a dryer. This is inaccurate and needs to be updated.
4. There was a big plastic bottle (garrafón) under the kitchen sink with what looked like water but no label. I asked if this was purified drinking water for guests. I didn’t receive a response until after I asked again, 8 hours later. The response I received was unclear. It said I can “drink water from that filter.” Not sure what she was referring to…maybe the water dispenser on the refrigerator but no real idea.