My partner and I, along with our 2 small dogs, stayed at the Brentwood place for a month. We have been exclusively living in Airbnbs for 6+ months now and plan to continue this lifestyle for another 12+ months.
Things we loved and otherwise:
Nicole was extremely responsive and made sure to get us things we needed in a very timely manner. A+ host communication.
The check-in and check-out processes were very easy. The middle parking spot worked well even for our Rav4. Pulling in and out of the driveway posed a little challenge since people drive very quickly down the residential street and street-parked cars are hard to see around.
The TV and internet worked well. The internet is stronger upstairs closer to the router. The work desk is downstairs and has a comfortable chair. We setup our own second desk in the second bedroom which there was plenty of space to do. We travel with this desk so please note there is only 1 desk here.
The street has really beautiful landscaping. It would be a lot nicer if other dog owners used leashes and picked up their poop. But the landscaping does help. The place is really close to some excellent places: AOC, Sugarfish, Ralphs. You just have to know which way to walk so you can avoid the few homeless tents which seemed to grow in size during our stay.
The size of the place is no joke. It’s big. Both bedrooms are really big and do let in a lot of light. If you are a sensitive sleeper you should bring ear plugs and an eye mask. It seemed like everyday was garbage day from the trucks and beeps we heard. The windows in the living room are also really nice! We just wish that they had screens so we could open them without worry a dog might try and jump out (low windows). Plus these windows are along the path that all the other units have to walk past so pulling back the curtains was seldom to maintain any privacy in the living room.
The beds were very comfortable and there were plenty of nice pillows. Good storage in the closets and dressers. We expected a couple more hangers would be in the 2 closets consider the 31-day stay requirement. One of the dressers was really wobbly but we put a small felt pad under a leg and it worked great after that.
We didn’t really hear the neighbors much except for some general movement once in awhile. Noise from the streets is an entirely different matter. At one point using the downstairs bathroom, which has a window directly next the entry gate, another renter who I didn’t know attempted to call to me for something. Definitely didn’t need that, haha.
There were lots blankets which made snuggling up after a long day nice. Especially since the thermostat isn’t separate from upstairs to downstairs. For the upstairs to be a comfortable temp the main floor becomes somewhat of an arctic tundra. Good thing we have blankets!
The kitchen has plenty of pans, silverware, plates, bowls etc. I imagine some things have broken over time as there were only 2 wine glasses but nearly 10 coffee mugs. In another review we read about a Nespresso machine and were pretty excited to try it out. We found a basic Keurig when we arrived but no pods. We messaged Nicole and she brought us a miniature drip coffee maker with some cone filters and a bag of coffee. The added coffee bag was above and beyond. Unfortunately the coffee maker needed basket filters. Eventually we bought some to square that away, but if you are a coffee person you might consider bringing your own stuff. Especially since you can’t rent this place for less than 31 days.
The stove is gas which is king in our book. There was only 1 dish towel in the kitchen to we had to use some of the bathroom hand towels to keep them fresh and rotated. The freezer has not 1 but 2 ice buckets inside. But there are no ice cube trays so I guess this is intended for when you buy bags of ice?
The shower gets HOT! After about 5 minutes or more for a first warm up be careful to turn the shower down to keep it at a safe temp. The pressure in the shower leaves something to be desired which was strange since the water pressure everywhere else seems really strong. Nicole was really nice and brought us some fresh towels when let her know some of the other ones were stained or tattered. She even brought us a stopper for the tub so a bath would be possible. It didn’t look like the inside of the mirror medicine cabinet was cleaned when we arrived so we neglected to use that space—except to leave the old shower curtain hooks inside. We also received a new shower liner as the original one was stained and moldy.
The laundry machine worked well once we learned you really need to have the second rinse option turned on. Since it’s an auto-sense water level fill which you have no manual control over, it’s really difficult to get the soap to dissolve while loading as the water only fills when the lid is closed and locked. The dryer worked well. Be sure to bring or buy detergent as there will probably only be enough for a couple loads. It’s stated that only the starter amounts are supplied but for how little it would cost to stock these things considering the cost to stay here it would add a lot of value and enjoyment in the place.
Getting mail or packages here was a breeze! A+ experience on that.
All in all, with a little TLC this place would be incredible. It’s most of the basics and pretty much stops there. For the cost and duration requirement we expected a