Overall
- 3 stars: cute space, convenient location, tough parking, extremely soft/squeaky bed
Pros
- Interior: The space is charming and cozy. It has a great view from the deck, an equipped kitchen for making most things and two TVs with all the apps (Disney, HBO, Netflix, etc).
- Proximity: this house was no more than a 15 minute drive to most everything we did during our three week stay. For reference, we spent the majority of our trip around the north east and east sides of the city.
- Views: driving home to the house has breathtaking views of downtown and the hills surrounding the neighborhood, it was one of my favorite parts of our stay.
- Dog friendly: the space was dog friendly which we were grateful for, however there’s not much grass anywhere nearby, so keep in mind if you’re bringing a furry friend.
Cons
- Parking: listing said it had dedicated parking, didn’t find out until about a week before booking it did not. We were given the option of a refund but we proactively booked this spot months in advance and didn’t have other viable accommodations choices that close to our trip. Hosts offered a discount and we took it. Parking is first come first serve. The only spots available every evening were under a sign that said no stopping anytime. We saw cars parked there overnight though so we followed suit and didn’t get a ticket over the three weeks of our stay.
- Noise: We received a message a few days before our stay letting us know there would be loud construction during work hours. It’s likely that work (in an unfinished unit adjacent to ours) was planned well in advance. So, we would have appreciated a heads up about it when booking rather than a few days before this trip that included plans to work from home. Again, they offered to refund us or give us a discount and we took the discount given the lack of other available options at the time. One other thing worth mentioning is the paper thin walls. We could hear folks upstairs doing *all* kinds of things. The floorboards also creak so if you’re sensitive to noise don’t stay in the lower unit.
- Bed: honestly curious if this bed is broken. Springs squeak loudly and it’s so soft your head and feet will be elevated while your body sinks nearly to the floor. It was so bad we tried to find another place to stay after the first few nights of no sleep but everything else was booked. Don’t stay here if you need a medium or firm mattress.
- Host Communication: in addition to the issues listed above about parking and construction, as soon as we arrived inside, we noticed a fire alarm hanging from the ceiling by a few wires and an issue with the garbage disposal. We messaged the host letting them know we found those issues and were told someone would come by to check it out. They never did. Or if they came while we were gone, there was no follow up on the conversation.
Tips:
- Oven works but is hard to figure out how to turn on, host could leave instructions about how long people need to let it click before confirming the flame is lit inside.
- All of the reviews mentioning it’s a “rough” neighborhood are code for it’s a “brown” neighborhood. If you’re hoping to stay in a wealthy/white neighborhood, try the west side of the city.