We were conflicted as to how best to write this review. We will do so with a "pros and cons" approach so we can be fair. We will begin with the pros:
- The space has a fantastic view of the bay area from Oakland. The telescope on the patio really allows for you to see the San Francisco skyline, and pictures of San Francisco at sunset from the listing are truly spectacular.
- The hosts provided a complimentary bottle of wine, two glasses, and an informative book to assist travelers during their stay in Oakland. The guidebook helped us determine where we would eat while at the listing.
- The location is very close to the Oakland airport, and perfect if you are renting a car that will be returned to the airport. We had no trouble finding the listing, and no trouble getting to the airport the morning of our departure.
Now for the cons:
- The listing was unfinished. When you enter the space, the doorframe is coming off from the main drywall in a way that not only is uninviting, but also creates a draft and safety issue. There were parts of the drywall that were cracked throughout the listing, and there were significant gaps (approximately 1-2") between the baseboards and the drywall. The pictures in the listing were carefully taken to not show these issues.
- The listing was dirty. Throughout the space, areas were unpainted, and there were fingerprints, grease, dirt, and grime on various door frames as well as throughout the space. This gave us the impression that the space had not been cleaned in some time.
- The bathroom door that leads to the patio does not lock. It is not that a lock on the door does not work; the door does not have a lock. We used a chair in the space to jam the door to ensure our safety and privacy.
- The hot water in the listing did not work. We allowed the tap in the bathroom sink to run for 10 minutes, and the water never got hot. We allowed the water in the shower to run for 5 minutes, and it never got hot. As a result, we did not shower in the listing because the hot water did not work.
We think this listing has a lot of potential, but we were not satisfied with our rental. We are longtime Air BnB renters, and we found that this listing did not meet our expectations for an Air BnB rental, particularly that of a Superhost. When we communicated our concerns to Air BnB, we learned that the host was not prepared to provide us with a partial refund because the host did not believe a partial refund was warranted. It was only after we provided pictures we took of the listing to Air BnB's customer support that Air BnB provided a partial refund.
With improvements, this would be a great space. As of when we stayed in late October 2018, we would not recommend Air BnB renters stay at this space.