Of the three Airbnbs we stayed, each for 2-4 months in the Berkeley/Emeryville/North Oakland area, this was definitely on the nicer side, and we would definitely recommend it for individuals, couples, or small families with a baby who need a place to stay in the East Bay.
Things we loved:
- Applicances: water pressure and shower were best we have experienced on the west coast, the gas stove worked great, and the in-unit washer and dryer definitely make this place livable for long-term stays. Dishwasher worked great too, though the fridge and TV are a bit on the small side. The sofa bed is easy to use and comfortable for 1 person, too! Ample kitchen cabinets and storage space. Closet worked great and bathroom was very nice. Having the small bedroom desk and the small kitchen table was nice to have 2 work areas for me and my fiancee.
- Accessible: fairly safe 10-min walk to BART on a major road makes getting around the Bay Area easy! There was a good coffee shop (States Coffee) that we walked to frequently, and it's right near Homeroom to-go for comfort mac-and-cheese. Quick drive or longer walk to restaurants on Telegraph in the heart of Temescal. Street parking is pretty ample as long as not street cleaning day. Easy access for highway into SF by car, too. Bus into berkeley is also quite close (i think 5 mins walk to the bus stop that goes straight to campus).
- Wifi: Super fast internet speeds and great wifi, had no issues with it whatsoever so that was great for working from home!
Items to be aware of: just minor things but these came to mind for future guests to know!
- Parking: Carlos had guided us to block 2 garages. We encountered multiple times (unclear if it was the same person) leaving us notes on our car asking us to move it, and several times someone put the windshield wipers up on our car. Carlos was responsive and appeared to do as much as he could to address it (by talking to the building residents who he thought it was), but it was still a bit destabilizing and annoying to wake up and wonder what kind of random, unsigned paper note someone would leave us even though we were literally told to park our car there.
- Ants: There was a significant quantity of ants in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom. We bought ant traps on our own and they seemed to work well but we battled ants for pretty much the entirety of our stay.
- (Building) neighbor music: For airflow we liked to open the windows to let some fresh air in during the day while working from home, and it seemed like pretty much every day the neighbors were having some sort of cookout where they played audible music from 10am-5pm pretty consistently, nearly every day. We could also hear their conversations as they sat outside on their porch. Not a huge deal, but good to know if you're someone who likes fresh air while you WFH!
Overall, we would definitely recommend for a stay of any length to an individual, couple, or a couple with a baby at most. It served as a great home base for us and Carlos is very nice and accomodating!