This is definitely one of those airbnbs that look spectacular in the photos but in real life is quite different. I recommend staying at a hotel closer to the city, or at least stay in the $70 hotel next door. We were here for 3 nights.
Pros:
- check in instructions were clear and easy to follow
- the bathroom looks remodeled and accurate to the photos
- Pretty quiet
- The ceiling is high
- The window/wooden doors are cute
- The kitchen would have been nice to have a glass of wine in, though you’ll need to get your own dish soap and paper towels
- Host is responsive
- Cord extension is provided
- There’s an AC in the unit
- There was a huge tv though we didn’t use it
Cons:
- The main issue we had was the shower drain would not drain. It was frustrating the first night since we had a long day traveling and just wanted to have a good shower before going to bed. The water would not go down. Even though the shower is cute, it’s not the most functional since all the water ran off onto the rest of the bathroom floor. When I realized, I cleaned up the water with towels, which was frustrating since I was already tired and felt dirty. We ended up opening the drain ourselves to figure out why the water didn’t drain, we took out the filter which helped but if you turn the water on full then it will still not drain fast enough and will spill onto the floors again. We told the host. He graciously sent us more towels, and said the cleaners will help unclog the drain. Unfortunately we had already left the Airbnb that day so we expected the cleaners to come the next day. We slept in and never heard a knock for the cleaners, left the keys in the lockbox, but after coming back the drain still was not fixed.
- Other reviewers mentioned a musty smell, I didn’t think it’d be a problem but I can definitely smell it. If you open the kitchen cabinets for example the musty scent is amplified 10x. I can see there are empty fragrance diffusers which probably tried to help with this but the smell of a humid cave is definitely still here even if faint. You get a little used to the smell after a while
- The main reason I chose this Airbnb over others was the cute backyard. Unfortunately in reality it is filled with swarms of flies/mosquitoes. I opened the back door for a second and immediately closed it in fright when I realized they can fly into the Airbnb. Because the Airbnb is on the ground floor I do think it’s easier for bugs to get in. The back yard now feels gimmicky to me now since we couldnt even use it.
- The furniture looks much older and generally in poorer shape in real life. Looking back at the photos some of the decor seem to have disappeared, the place is pretty bare-bones. The white couch is so stained, and the bed sheets and towels feel many years old. When you walk to the kitchen and look at the floor, you can see the mop streaks.
- If you look at past reviews someone said there was a huge hole on the floor. Yes, you can see where the hole was because the floorboards look different in that one spot.
- You can hear everyone who walks into the apartment since sound travels very easily through the Airbnb door (which is facing the entrance to the apartment). It can get noisy in the morning if you like to sleep in
- I wish I had chosen a hotel since it would have practically been the same size anyway because we didn’t use the kitchen and the back yard. I believe a hotel would have been closer to city center, cleaner, quieter, and would have set more consistent expectations.
- Walking from the Airbnb to center of the city takes ~20 minutes which was more of a hassle than I expected. Consider budgeting ~$10 daily ubers to the cost of staying here
Suggestions for the host:
- fix the shower drain
- Perhaps find better cleaners. For example the bathroom sink faucet had water stains when we arrived and some surfaces like the cart in the bathroom were dusty. There were also dead flies on the wall
- Steam clean the couch between guests, if not at least monthly
- Put a rug at the seating area to cover the mismatched floorboards
- Refill the fragrance or throw it away
- Provide hand soap please
- One of the two pillows were so flat I found it hilarious a pillow could be like that, please replace it or provide 4 pillows instead
- The fridge wobbles a lot when you open/close it