As soon as we walked in, the apartment looked nice and cozy, well decorated, and just as pictured in the listing. However, there were a few things that were not expressed in the listing that we would have liked to know about beforehand.
For one, we did not know that the windows would be so run down. It’s clear that the building is pretty old - from the outside, the windows look like they´re about to fall off. The living room windows were especially problematic, as they let in a lot of water while it was raining even with all of the plastic wrap and duct tape trying to hold them together on the inside. Nashe also expressed to us that we were not allowed to open any of the windows, but we’re not sure exactly why. These windows definitely need to be replaced soon.
In addition, the walls of the building are very thin. We were able to hear our neighbors’ loud music and even their normal volume conversations. This was very disruptive, especially because one of our first nights there our neighbors were playing really loud music or some type of show that kept us up for most of the night. It was particularly loud in the room with two beds. It would have been nice to know about loud neighbors before booking.
Now, the shower. During our initial walkthrough with Nashe, she explained that the shower had a few quirks. This is understandable, but the shower turned out to be a hassle almost every time we tried to use it. First of all, the water pressure was almost non-existent unless you turned the hot side all the way up. However, when you do that, obviously the water is scalding. There is a water boiler machine in the kitchen that’s supposed to allow you to better control the water temperature but actually just makes the showering process overall more complicated.
I would not recommend trying to work from home from this AirBnB. When the wifi did work, it was spotty and unstable, even when you’re in the double bed room where the router is. There are plenty of cafes nearby where you can more efficiently work from.
The floors are crooked in this apartment. This might be expected in an old building, but there were certain sections of the floor that were actually scary to step on. Creaky floors are one thing, but when the floor literally sinks when you step on it, it’s a bit concerning. This is especially apparent in the hallway entering the kitchen and at the base of the stairs by the washing machine room.
One last thing you should be aware of is that we had dust/dirt falling from the ceiling in different parts of the apartment, most notably in the living room above the dining table and in the room with the one full/queen bed. Don’t leave any open cups or food laying around that you don’t want any dust to get on.
HOWEVER - in spite of all these points, we enjoyed our stay for the most part. Nashe was awesome at communicating even though we only saw her in person for the initial walkthrough. Note - we spent most of our time outside of the airbnb. This apartment is in a great location, Roma Norte, and we were able to walk to most of the spots we wanted to go to. There are plenty of cafes, restaurants, puestos, and shops nearby that will fill your time. Even my vegetarian girlfriend was able to enjoy plenty of tasty food at vegan/vegetarian restaurants nearby, in addition to ordering veggie options at most restaurants as well. Roma Norte is definitely a wonderful area to stay in when visiting Mexico City.