This place is definitely unique just like the host said in her own description: "if the idea of a cat in the house, or hearing me make a cup of tea in the kitchen makes you shudder, my place wouldn't be the right place for you." In other words, her place is not for everyone. If you read other reviews, you can tell that most guests' experience was either fantastic or horrible. Okay, enough rambling, I now want to give a fair review based on my own experience.
Pros:
1. The place was very nice and clean. The decor was amazing. The loft itself looked like an art museum.
2. The 2 cats were so cute!
3. There were some snacks provided, the cookies were from Italy according to the host, and they were the best not-home-made sweets I've ever had.
4. The bed and sheets were fairly comfortable.
5. The host provided everything that you might need at a home, well except a TV, but who needs a TV considering everyone has a smartphone, tablet, or a laptop nowadays haha.
Cons:
1. The place is titled as a "private" room in a loft. I get that the place is truly a loft, but I can't see ANY "privateness" about it. The bed is in an open area on the first floor, and the main entrance, as well as the garage door, is ALSO on the first floor. That means the host has to enter your surroundings to get out or get to her car, so she could (has the ability to) see/spot/glance at you sleeping, but I don't know if she purposely does that (hopefully not, otherwise it would be creepy and weird).
2. I read another review saying that they had to tippy-toe inside the house, and now I can totally get that after the stay. The host has a very detailed list of rigorous rules that the guest needs to follow, Yes, she absolutely has all the rights to do so, since it's her loft, and the loft is a giant open space, but I definitely had the feeling of always being cautious and prudent inside the house. Despite being super cautious and trying to be respectful, I still couldn't avoid causing annoyance to the host. I came home very late on the second night (I told the host that I would come home late prior to my arrival), and I turned on the exhaustion fan after my shower to get rid of the moisture (The guest's full bathroom is on the second floor). I wasn't aware that the exhaustion fan was right under the host's room, and the noise was able to breach through the ceiling. The host came down, pounded on the bathroom door, and requested me to turn off the exhaustion fan because she had to wake up early the next morning. I apologized and turned off the fan. I admit that I wasn't being considerate, but in my defense, it was late, and rules on bathroom exhaustion fan usage were not mentioned in the loft description or on the list of rules (I have asked the host to amend a new rule about the exhaustion fan to her rules).
3. Although there are a bunch of rules for the guest, I don't feel like the host was strictly sticking to her own rules. 2 occasions to point out: 1. One of the rules states that: "It’s an open loft space, so sound travels. If I’m here, please silence notifications and use earbuds/headphones for phone calls, zoom, and streaming." I adhered to that, but when I was downstairs, the host was playing her radio (radio is streaming right?) out loud on the second floor, which I could clearly hear due to the fact that it was an open space loft. 2. It was not on the rules, but when I first arrived, the host told me that one of the cats could never go out into the garden, while the other one could, which means that I need to be careful when I open the main entrance door. However, every morning I woke up, the door is already 1/6 way opened by the host - big enough for a cat to go through. I was confounded, as I didn't know if I should keep the door open or shut it so that one of the cats wasn't able to sneak out. This could be due to a miscommunication of some sort though.
In conclusion, the host's loft is not for everyone. I have these recommendations for those who do want to try it out:
1. Read the description thoroughly, 3 times if you can. Check out the pictures and combine them with the description.
2. Strictly follow the rules (the ones she tells you prior to your arrival and the ones she tells you verbally when you arrive).
3. Tell her your plans, your special habits, and the situations you might run into when you are staying there.
4. Don't expect "privateness" or privacy.
5. 10 PM - 7 AM are quiet hours. Give and expect absolutely no noise during those hours and expect all the noise (squeaky floor, radio, etc.) outside those hours. Therefore, wear the earplugs she offered if you plan on sleeping in.
5. If you plan on a long stay, I highly recommend booking only a couple of nights first. It's way less troublesome to extend your stay than having to cancel it halfway through.
6. Getting to know the host :). She sounds like a nice and caring person. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do so this time due to my itinerary, but I would talk to her if I could.
P.S. If you ask me to use 1 word to describe my stay, I don't think I have a word - it wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't great. Since she seems to have a good taste in snacks, arts, plants, etc. I'd love to come back to