5-star host. I highly recommend Jon and his place!
Pros:
Location. Close to LA but convenient enough to have access to the whole “Valley.” Safe neighborhood. "Fancy” supermarket a few blocks away. English spoken around here. No helicopters, no sirens.
House. Newly-renovated, on a quiet street. Classy neighbors.
Host. Never met the guy. Jon works evenings … so the house is basically empty. By the time he came home, I was already asleep. No parties, no kids, no dogs, nothing!
Room. Small but nicely-decorated. Comfortable new matters. Large closet. Clean. No odor. Includes a small refrigerator and a portable AC unit.
Bathroom. Very clean. Newly-remodeled as well.
Communication. Jon addressed all my concerns in a timely manner. When I first moved in, the room was infested with crickets. Jon took care of the problem the following morning. Very happy!
Price. My opinion is that, considering the location/neighborhood, you are getting an excellent value for the money.
Cons:
Jon’s schedule. Jon works an evening shift (see above). It took several texts to have him respond to my concerns (again, see above). I never did meet Jon. By the time he got home, I was already asleep.
Written “rules of engagement.” It would have been nice to have a short “how-to” manual from the host describing, among other things, the parking situation (can you park on the street, which side, on which days, etc.), AC expectations (can a guest open the central AC vent), and the neighborhood (stores, restaurants, etc.)
AC. Even though the house has central AC, Jon keeps the vent in the guest room closed. Therefore, while the house itself stayed nice and cool, the guest room would get pretty hot (it registered 86 degrees on my second day) and stuffy by the time I returned in the evening (around 8:30 PM). It took hours to cool the room (walls) down! I brought a small fan with me … so I was fine, but I think that most people may find the room too hot to sleep comfortably.
Bed. It has one (very hard) pillow and an old thin beat-up throw blanket (not a real blanket!). While there is certainly no need for a blanket in the evening (too hot – see above), I felt cold by 2 am! I think it may be time to invest in a new thick blanket.
Mini-fridge in the room. This particular one made a strange musical sound about every 10 minutes or so. Confined to a small room, I found this extremely annoying and had to shot the fridge off for the remainder of my stay. Jon graciously agreed to let me keep my food in his refrigerator.
TV. There is none in the room. Not an issue for me (no time for TV) … but it may be a deal-breaker for some folks.
Bathroom. It’s not connected to the room. Not a big deal … but I generally prefer to stay in properties that have a bathroom connected to the bedroom.