Richard is a nice guy, and the location is great. Beyond that, I cannot recommend this place.
First, I had to wait 1-2 hours before he finally answered me to check in (after having sent repeated messages to him earlier in the day with no response). He wasn’t answering his phone or his AirBnB account. Later he said it was due to loosing his phone the previous week and getting locked out of his Airbnb account. I believe him, but if you’re an Airbnb host, you gotta figure out a way to let me check in (some ideas I came up with in a minute of brainstorming: stay at the property during the check in window (he lives there after all), arrange for his girlfriend or someone else who lives there to be available during the check in window, change the phone number on the online house manual to a different phone so that I could get in touch with him, leave a note on the door with instructions for contacting him, use a lockbox, contact Airbnb to regain access to your account, etc.). But it’s simply inexcusable to be completely unreachable if he’s required to be there for check in.
Second, he has a dog at the apartment. This was not advertised in the listing and is an important piece of information. Some people are allergic. Others don’t like dogs. Others like dogs, but don’t like getting dog hair on everything. This needs to be in the listing.
Third, cleanliness. Dog hair everywhere, including on the sheets. Also, a bit grimy. No bath mat for the shower (which is an issue when the floor is dirty and covered in dog hair).
Fourth, no hot water.
Fifth, no AC even though it was advertised. When I asked, he said he had a portable one and would get it out for me. It never appeared. Luckily there was a fan.
Sixth, laundry machine was broken apparently. To his credit, he offered to bring my clothes along with his to the laundromat the next day. But if the laundry machine is broken, don’t advertise it as a perk on the listing. Same with the AC. Same with the hot water.
In all, the Airbnb was really disappointing. I ended up having to waste time during check in to wait an unknown amount of time for him to show up. Later I wasted time to do my laundry at a laundromat instead of having the convenience of a washing machine in the unit. The place was covered with dog hair and generally not super clean. And there was no hot water or AC (which is rather uncomfortable in the middle of summer).