Overall, for $3K/month, I would NOT recommend this Airbnb for a long-term stay if you are looking for a private and quiet place suitable for WFH. I WOULD recommend it if you’re just staying for a few days or for temporary recreation.
HOST - Nanou came off as a very hands-on host, which has caused a handful of miscommunications in this long-term experience. Firstly, Nanou entered our unit without our permission to bring in some of our packages that had been outside for a couple of days (we were out of town). This made us feel violated and weirded out that she had come in — even AFTER I had actually texted her explicitly asking her NOT to bring our stuff in for us. We caught her on video walking through the Airbnb with her shoes on, tinkering with the appliances, and generally just looking around our belongings. Prior to her coming inside our unit without permission, Nanou would approach and talk to me through the screen door about how I needed to turn the porch lights off, or to lower my music a little bit. Both were pretty awkward moments- she literally confronted me through the screen door while I was taking my medication in my underwear. Personally, I felt like it was 100% fine to just message me to remind me to turn off my lights or to lower my music.
We had a bad experience with the next-door neighbors as well. They would rev their cars continuously in their driveways and host large, SUPER LOUD gatherings that went into the hours of the morning. One of them actually came out and yelled at me for unloading groceries in front of his gate because “your driveway is empty, go park your car there”. It’s Nanou and Hans’, not mine, but he didn’t understand ofc. I messaged Nanou for help since I saw she had accommodated other guests with street parking but she just responded that “parking in front of garages is never a good idea” and did not offer to help at all. It is worth noting that Nanou and Hans’ driveway IS actually left empty 100% of the time; they park their bike and car in the street out front as well, with Nanou’s motorcycle taking up 2 spots ALL THE TIME to reserve a spot for their other car. That is a weird discrepancy that stuck with me and confused me as a guest.
There was another incident where we had a mix-up about sorting the trash + recycling, and Hans (the co-host) came out to the trash bins while I was breaking down boxes. He proceeded to ask me to my face if I was “familiar with recycling from where you’re from”, and that “your generation of young people should care more about the planet”. Like, my dude, we mixed up the recycling and trash bins, we apologized and fixed our part, there’s no real need for you to come out in person and lecture me about climate change 😭 seriously, it came off as invasive and condescending in all honesty.
SPACE - NO A/C GOT US MESSED UP!!!!!!! The heat wave this past month was EXCRUCIATING for both of us, especially with no air conditioning in the space, so we actually left the Airbnb for a week to avoid the heat. It was unbearable. The plug-in fans in the house do very little to alleviate the heat. Nanou told me it would be 'all good' this summer without A/C, but if you mind being moist and sweaty all the time, definitely bring another fan or your own cooling unit for good measure in the summer. Also, side note, but there is only one window you can open in the bedroom. The other window faces Nanou's backyard and is permanently closed. Unless you want to risk someone looking in or just being too close for comfort you should keep the curtains closed on that. My partner woke up one afternoon to someone chilling right outside the window. They legit could've been staring inside if they turned around.
CLEANLINESS - Upon first arrival, we noticed the bath towels had a weird odor to them (smelled like they hadn’t been dried fully or were used and not washed thoroughly), some sink supplies like the hand soap were already empty, and the rag we used to wipe the living room table nearly turned black from the accumulated dust. The vacuum provided did not do a satisfying job at cleaning to our standards so we bought another one. Some of the kitchen supplies - particularly the coffee machine and water boiler - did not look the cleanest in the beginning. We noticed some of the utensils and supplies in the drawers had a thin layer of sticky residue as well. My partner has a dust allergy and had to bring an air purifier specifically for the bedroom due to the amount of dust accumulated under the bed and near the curtains (only one window in the bedroom is allowed open halfway).
LOCATION - For our long-term stay, we had a difficult time in this particular location given the noise levels and parking situation. We both worked from home throughout the day and night. There was a month of random street fireworks anywhere between the hours of 12-3 am which caused a good amount of uneasiness and interruptions. There are street vendors that come nearly every evening with loud car horns and microphone ads- nothing against the vendors, more against the constant, expected disturbance to work calls and whatnot. As for PARKING, my god. Parking on this residential street is impossible, and I say that as an LA native. The cars on this street will take up 2 spots with 1 car to reserve space or just to hog spots throughout the entire day(?) We received a couple of street sweeping tickets, which were honestly difficult to keep up with given how each street has a different day/time and the