let's start with the good: the value, the location, the size and style of the apartment are great. close to Venice Beach and centrally located as far as LA is concerned (airport, other beaches, west la, central)
The Bad:
cleanliness
On the surface everything seemed clean in the apartment however, in the bottom drawer of one of the bathrooms was a used towel with hair clippings all over. if the staff could miss something like that it makes me question the thoroughness of the job they do before/ after check ins or check outs. After further inspection, we also saw the stove wasn't properly cleaned.
check-in
The instructions provided are unnecessarily long and could be made much more clear.
In the message received in airbnb are 1 set of instructions which provide steps but within it has a link to a webpage with more details/instructions but, they are not identical to one another making the process confusing. Finding the lockbox located in the alley was challenging because I arrived at night and all the instructions say is to Google search a street name which is located behind the complex however there is no other detail of exactly where that box might be located or what it looks like.
Additionally, they didn't send parking instructions upfront eventhough I paid for the spot. It should have been included with the instructions but since it wasn't this added to the confusion since it wasn't clear how to access the garage.
Lastly when I tried calling, the phone either rang out with no response or the person who eventually did pick up didn't speak English. I had to send a few messages and wait about 10-15 minutes for a response. After traveling for 7 hours the last thing we want to do is wait around without a proper response worried that no one would get back to us that evening.
I dont think they should not list a phone number to call if they won't be answering or if they dont have someone who speaks English on the other end. The night we were checking in we called multiple times but no one answered. Finally after the 3rd or 4th time someone did but he didn't speak English.
Also, communication is clearly an issue because during our stay on 2 separate occasions strangers tried to come into our apartment! The first time was unannounced individual who opened the door realized we were inside closed the door and ran off. Not sure if that was staff or a simple mistake or a thief. The 2nd time, it was a separate airbnb group who was looking for their apartment but their instructions somehow mentioned our apartment number for some reason
Check out:
we were permitted to stay until 11 am. At 10:05am someone rang the bell (presumably staff) but they ran away instead of simply explaining themselves. it felt rushed and unprofessional.
overall
A few minor changes can do wonders for this property and the overall experience. there seems to be a whole team of people responding and handling inquiries but they don't seem to be organized very well which leads to confusion and unnecessary hiccups along the way