Gabs review

This is the most difficult review I've had to write so far because there are good things and also some not so good things about my experience at Gabriela's place. The guesthouse is quite nice if somewhat "musty" smelling. I had 2 primary criteria in choosing a place. The first, that the accommodations have 2 beds in separate rooms; the second, was that smoking be permitted on the grounds (I never smoke indoors in my own home either). I assumed that a facility that advertises wifi would actually have a functioning wifi. The first 2 criteria were satisfactory, the assumption i.e. the wifi was definitely not satisfactory.

Both beds (1 in the actual bedroom and 1 in the living room) were very comfortable & the linens and blankets were of good quality as were the towels in the bathroom etc. If I had stayed there at some time other than mid-winter (Jan. 8-15), I'm sure I would have enjoyed the pool and the outdoor dining table. In the event, the weather was cold and rainy so the fact that there isn't a table for dining in the guesthouse was an inconvenience requiring us to eat with plates on our laps. The kitchen equipment was fine but the curtain pole for dividing the tiny kitchen area from the living room/2nd bedroom was quite flimsy and came crashing to the floor at our first attempt to open/close them. The curtain isn’t really necessary anyway. The TV and audio system were functional, but not of particularly high quality. The biggest negative was the wifi system. It barely registers in the guestroom so when I had to do work requiring strong and fast internet access (every day in my case), I had to go to the main house to get a strong signal. Gabriela and her daughter Julia were kind enough to permit me to do so. Otherwise I had to use the iPhone's 4G/LTE connection if I wanted any internet access speed while in the guesthouse. As I was using a prepaid cell phone plan, this turned out to be quite expensive - it eats up the data plan. Gabriela and Julia were kind enough to allow me to use their printer for some short but important documents. This was much appreciated. We didn’t get the opportunity to use the bicycles because of our work schedule, but that would be a bonus.

The guesthouse actually consists of a small suite - bedroom, kitchen/living room with sofa bed, bathroom/shower and a separate room with a bed, toilet and shower that is usually occcupied by a foreign exchange student. My sense is that for the price - $200/night including the cleanup fee and Airbnb’s “commission”, the entire guesthouse would be about right. I was left with the sense that it’s somewhat overpriced - at least for the winter season.

My overall experience was acceptable but not as satisfactory as other Airbnb places where I have stayed in the area.