Reka's apartment/house/room was a reasonably-priced place to stay in a great location.
Reka refers to this room as an apartment (or maybe this is just what Air B n B's translator has decided upon). Upon arrival I learned this is basically a house that had been broken up into two sections... a top and a bottom. The Top had a few rooms for rent and the bottom did too. There was a stairwell behind a door from the top to the bottom... I'm not sure if this is officially used by the downstairs guests or not. I just head some noises from behind the door and was curious about them... until I learned there was someone staying down there! This house/room felt a bit like a deskless hostel. The house basically consisted of upstairs "common areas" and "individual rooms" and "individual rooms" downstairs. I'm not sure what the "common area" was like down there... or if it existed. Each room had it's own key... but there was only ONE house key to the "upstairs".
A few things to note:
The good:
1) The kitchen has some pots and pans and utensils to use. I was able to make a few simple meals in there to eat. Note that some of the drawers/cabinet doors were a bit old and rickety)
2) The shared bathroom was clean and nice.
3) My room was clean and tidy and comfortable.
4) The view and yard were great!
5) There was an empty refridgerator to store things in and a freezer too (overgrown with ice).
The questionable/annoying:
1) Check in was just OK. Reka said she would send a "booking questionaire"... something I don't ever remember recieving or completing. I was thanked for filling it out though.
2) The security deposite was confusing a problematic. Just hours before my arrival Reka sent a request for about $120 (I don't recall exactly) using Air B n B's "resolutions" functionality. Nowhere on that request did it say when or how the money would be returned to me. After verbally confirming (via message) that this would indeed be returned to me (2 days after leaving), I decided I was OK with paying it. I don't know what the issue was but somehow my attempt to pay triggered Air B n B to re-review the credit card I had on file and some odd errors came up. I was told I might not even be able to access my account for a while.
Eventually Air B n B "approved my booking" and said my card was approved again. This was all semi-stressfull because I was trying to do it on the train over with very minimal cell coverage (tunnels). Eventually Reka agreed wave the security deposit due to all the funkiness. I don't know if it was something I did, something Reka did, or some issues on Air B n B's end... but whatever it was, it did not end up being a smooth process. Finally Reka sent me the check in instructions just a bit before my arrival. They were comprehensive and helpful.
3) When I arrived, one other guest had just arrived too. We were both staying in the "upstairs" of the house but discovered that this is only ONE house key. This was confirmed with Reka. This system can make for some odd locked/unlocked scenarios depending on how many guests there are, how long they are staying, and who wants to be in and out of the house. I don't really understand why we cant each have our own house key. If the ONE key goes missing... that's not good!
4) There are security cameras all around the house (and IN the house - the common area as you enter the door). I understand the helpfulness of these in terms of liability... but it's also not the greatest feeling either. Not the end of the world... just be aware that they do exist.
5) My room was really, *really* warm the first night I was there. It was only late May and not that warm outside. With no fan or AC I was forced to open the door to the outside and some bugs came in. Sleep quality was not the greatest due to this. The next day I learned that the radiator in my room was on slightly. A few other radiators in the house were sligtly on as well. I turned them all off this was considerably helpful to bring the temperature in the bedroom down. As someone who likes to sleep in a cold room, it was still fairly warm and I had to open the door again the second night. A fan in the room would be really helpful... or a screen on the door. If you like to sleep cold, be prepared to share the room with a few bugs.
It should also be noted that if you are coming in via the train station, it's a VERY steep walk or bike ride up to the house. There could be a bus that runs up there too... double check first. Because of the steepness... surprise, you have a stunningly beautiful view!
I would only recommend this place if there are no other similar spots available in the price range. This was a fine place to stay (beautiful really!), but it did require jumping through a few hoops and accepting with a few "odd" inconviniences. After re-reading Reka's listing description, it seems that a few inconsiderate guests have made this room/house a bit more inconvinient for all of us. Unfortunate and difficult to fault Reka on this... but I think a few modifications and up-front disclosures might help make the stay be more enjoyable for the future ocupants.