My partner and I very much enjoyed our stay at this Airbnb. Quite honestly it has been one of the nicer ones that we have stayed at. The actual decor is slightly different from the photos in the Airbnb listing (my assumption was that those were taken with unit being staged), but this wasn't an issue. Just simply noting it. There were a few things within the unit that were detractors such as:
* Toilet paper holder being very loosely attached to the wall
* Gap in the bottom of the patio doors that allowed cold air into the main living space
* Brightness of the light in the bathroom
* Around the unit was still very up and coming and it was a little close to some not so nice areas of Oakland (not sure I would be comfortable going for a run in the neighborhood)
* The doors to the back deck not having blinds on them
Top things we liked about the unit:
* Modern kitchen
* Layout (we got to get a pretty good feel for a type of unit we would like to get if we were to move to the Bay area)
* Back patio was amazing
Aside from the minor things just mentioned, our stay was great. Ethan was a great host and was very responsive to messages/questions. An example of this was that we noticed that there was not a microwave in the unit (a microwave was NOT listed on the Airbnb listing, but we forgot about this) so we reached out to see if we could be able to access one. Ethan went out and bought us one, which made re-heating food 5 times easier than having to warm things up in the oven or on the stove top. It is worth noting that, while the unit is pretty close to a shopping center (including a Safeway), it is still outside walking distance from the more hip and lively areas of Oakland like Temescal or Grand Lake. It is also a little too close to a few areas that looked to be a little more rough. That is not to say that we didn't feel safe though at this Airbnb. My partner felt safe in the immediate neighborhood, but we wouldn't want to stray too far from that area. Overall, Ethan was great and we would definitely stay at this unit again!