I stayed here during COVID (Feb - mid-April 2021). I have lived in LA for about 3 years and used it because I didn't want to get into a new apartment lease. This AirBnb had a full kitchen and a good location which was hard to find, and a good price. I wasn't expecting anything special given the price, but there were a few issues I ran into during my stay.
The Good-
1. Good location
2. Full kitchen
3. Diane is very quick and responsive to my issues/concerns
4. Small touches like laundry detergent, laundry basket, and fabric softener
5. Good size table for WFH during COVID
6. Parking is great for LA!
7. Diane let me check in early
The Bad
1. When I checked in I noticed there were spiders (daddy-long legs) mostly dead and cob webs / spider webs in the corners of the ceiling throughout the apartment. Either the unit hadn't been occupied in a while, or there was a spider problem. Regardless I soon discovered there was a spider problem where I woke up multiple mornings to large daddy long legs by my head and spiders in the bathroom. Spiders/pests are expected on the ground level of an apartment, but the level of spiders in this unit definitely signified there was a problem. Diane had an exterminator come and spider problem got a lot better. I think it may have just been that time of year because I didn't see any spiders the last couple weeks. Like many places in cities, there are silverfish. I don't mind them except I did find them in the silverware drawer on multiple occasions. This leads me to #2
2. The insides of cabinets drawers needed a wipe down. There was dust hanging from some of the dishes.
3. Bathroom had odor coming from it - sink / toilet. Black mold seemed to build up quickly on toilet. It didn't smell for the first few days but then it got quite odorous.
4. The unit entrance is shared with a tenant above so there doesn't seem to be that much privacy.
5. No true outdoor private space as depicted in the photo
Overall, if you are looking for a budget studio to stay in Santa Monica this does the job, but the unit does not seem to be well maintained. Also if you are tall like I am, the bathroom mirror is right under the stairway to the unit upstairs so I had to crouch to see myself in the mirror. There is another mirror to use in the bathroom that is eye level.