Okay, I’m going to try to write this review in the most delicate way possible. It’s a long one.
TLDR; The host is nice, safe neighborhood, safe space, good for one or two nights, but you don’t get much privacy. The room is dirty and if you have a smoke or dust allergen you’re screwed, the room is facing the sun and is extremely hot in the summer, there is no key for the bedroom door.
The good: First off the host is a really nice guy. I felt safe staying there, the neighborhood is safe, etc. He has two cats which are very sweet. I really enjoyed that. The bed is also very soft and comfortable.
The neutral: This Airbnb doesn’t have AC. I didn’t realize this until a couple hours before check in, it isn’t mentioning in the listing description, but it is crossed out under amenities. This is my bad for not checking for this, not the hosts fault. The house in general doesn’t get too hot, but the bedroom and bathroom are facing the sun and it will not cool down even with the fan the host provides you. So where you’ll be sleeping will be very very hot.
Let’s talk about the bad: The fan… my allergies were awful in this home and I could not figure out why. The fan was placed on an open window outside, so all night long I could hear people outside, cars, smell weed from neighbors smoking outside. So I took the fan down one night to sleep with less noise. That’s when I saw the fan was caked in dust. Heavily caked. That same day I used the mini fridge the first time and there were weed stems in it, some weed remnants on top of the fridge, and even better blunts butts on the ground and the base board covered in dust. I later found insects in the corners of the room. People had been smoking in there, which would’ve been fine for some people, but I was told this was a non smoking house and it really made it hard for me to breath with all the allergies incased in the room. I didn’t discover this until a couple days in, but it explains why my allergies were so bad in this home.
Believe it or not, that’s not the worst part at all. I saw another review comment this, and the host backlashed at them, but no where written in the description did I expect someone else (the host) to be sleeping right next to my bedroom and the bathroom, in the living room with a curtain around the bed. Literally 2 feet diagonally from the bedroom door. That was not in the description when I booked. Based on the listing description I thought he and/or him and his wife had another room in the house they would be staying in.
The “studio” the host talks about in the description is not a studio…it’s the living room. My first day I walked in and they were doing a photo shoot in the living room right in front of the bathroom. It was awkward, but I really needed to shower after arriving. There was another day the host was doing a shoot, and I had just gotten up, need to shower and his two cats were smushed inside the tiny bathroom. He then told me the woman in his studio he was shooting that day was allergic to cats. He then asked if he could put them in my bedroom so I could shower. I guess I really had no choice at all…. It was literally either do it, or I couldn’t use the bathroom until they were done an hour or two later. So I packed up all my bags and let them in. Cleaned myself, up then had to gather the cats again and put them back in the bathroom until the shoot was finished….
My first day I couldn’t connect to the wifi. The host invited himself into the room to help me, even though I told him I was uncomfortable with that because I had my clothes out everywhere. I also found out only upon check in, that yes the bedroom has a lock on the door, but evidently there is no key. He didn’t mention this until after I arrived. So basically you can lock the bedroom door when you are there, but it has to stay unlocked while you’re gone. He has clients coming in all the time and there’s no telling if someone could mistakenly go into your “private bedroom” while you’re gone. This is important especially when you take everything else into account.
Lastly, one night I got in late, I had been drinking and the next morning and afternoon I needed to rest. The host texted me to ask if he could come in the room, because he has studio equipment in the closet of the bedroom he needed to get for a shoot that afternoon. I was resting and when I got up to go to the bathroom, he was right by the door where he keeps his bed….in the living room. I immediately went to lay back down when I was done, and he he asked if he could get stuff from the closet. I told him I was again uncomfortable with him going in there, because my personal belongs and clothing were all over the room (there is no cabinets or closet space to place your belongs. The closet is filled with the host belongs). I could not find what he needed in there, so I again had to pack up my stuff and let him in the room when I was still in pajamas and I wanted was to sleep.
It wasn’t until after all of that occurred/ was occurring when I discovered how filthy the room was. Just because the cleaning fee is only $5 doesn’t mean you deserve to sleep in