Probably this would be much better for short stays, I stayed for three months. Paru as a person is very friendly, sweet, and sharing. She shared her own and her mother’s cooking several times with me, although she didn’t have to. I thought that was very sweet, and it’s delicious Gujarati cuisine (sending thanks to her mom again)! Paru is also very accessible and responsive by phone or in person whenever you need, and helpful with practical questions in general.
But I think she has a serious shortcoming for a host: She doesn’t handle disagreements well. In a moment of disagreement, if you object to something, she immediately starts yelling and scolding, and doesn’t let you say a word. I found that extremely offending and disrespectful. Our disagreements were over very simple things that could have been resolved by a calm discussion. There has been many cases where I was disturbed by various things, but never took a complaint to her because I wanted to be tolerant and respectful—only once I asked her to be quieter in the mornings when I sleep because she was waking me up with loud phone calls, and she yelled at me; though to be fair she did keep quieter afterwards. When she is disturbed, she doesn’t hold back from complaining, and expects you to abide immediately. After yelling, usually she regrets and tries to make up later but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s extremely offending.
Our disagreements generally stemmed from the fact that we had very different conceptions of what Airbnb is about. She expected me to take on the duties of a roommate, even though I wasn’t one. Her idea of cleaning after oneself is not just leaving the spaces you used clean, but to do actual cleaning like scrubbing the bathtub and taking out the kitchen trash. I always cleaned my own room and cleaned up my mess in the common spaces after I used them, but didn’t expect to share the regular cleaning duties of the whole apartment. In times when I did neglect something and she warned me, I always did my best to amend. But I don’t think I should have been held responsible from general cleaning duties. As an Airbnb guest I had very little space allocated in the kitchen and the bathroom, I had no control over the the apartment, I couldn’t invite friends over, and for me this was all natural and expected, exactly because I was not a roommate. Paru keeps saying she doesn’t charge for cleaning, but she does cut a $120 service fee each month. I can’t think of what that fee must be for if not for bedsheets and toiletries (i.e. just handwash & toilet paper), and I don’t know why I had to pay that much for bedsheets that I was expected to wash and dry myself. She is conscientous about what she holds as her specific duties, but you should be on very clear grounds as to what these are. Again, these disagreements could have been resolved very easily, but only if both sides are respectful to each other in a civilized discussion.
The apartment itself is very small but orderly. You do need to reserve some time for commuting to the center, but the neighborhood itself is cute and you can find most of your needs very cheap. I think the heating could be better especially in winter, but Paru is responsive on that issue. And there’s no recycling bin in the apartment, so you have to do your own recycling.