TL;DR: the included parking spot and the neighborhood are the only saving grace for Carlos' place.
To clarify, it wasn't Carlos' place. The couple who resides upstairs in the same building were the owners and Carlos functioned as the "property manager" for them who communicated with me throughout my stay.
I loved the neighborhood! As a local, I can tell to you that Russian Hill is one of the nicest neighborhoods in SF. The studio is centrally located to the lively Polk Street, the leisurely waterfront, and the charming blocks around where you can take a casual stroll. The included parking spot was a prime amenity.
There were some areas that I'd love to see improved in the future:
1. I wish the photos were accurate. When I checked in, I noticed that there was no decorative rug up on the wall and the rug on the floor was different (there was a jute rug instead). The armchair was missing, instead, there was a large couch covered in a faux velvet, turquoise cover that was taking up space in the studio.
2. I wish the studio was cleaner and well-maintained. On the day I arrived, the towel rack in the bathroom fell off of the wall, the toilet was leaking that made the bathroom reek of mop water, and the fireplace did not work. In the first week of my stay, the cord to shut the roller blind snapped and the closet door next to the entrance stopped staying shut. The internet was constantly dropping too. On top of all this, the refrigerator had a constant high-pitch hum. There were 6 different people (including Carlos) who had to come inside the studio to fix those issues while I was still working from home. The tiled floor was not thoroughly cleaned as you could see and smell how dirty the floors were.
3. I wish Carlos was more respectful of privacy and delivery in communication. I liked that Carlos was super responsive in addressing maintenance issues, but I really wish he had been more respectful in communication. I will share a couple of accounts. Carlos showed up at the studio completely unannounced to fix the internet. Since I was in the middle of a meeting, I asked him to wait outside, but he knocked on the door and demanded that I let him in. On another occasion, Carlos scheduled a repair for the fireplace without asking me about it and announced to me that that they were coming. This was my last week at the studio, so I asked Carlos to reschedule (twice) until after I had left since I did not feel comfortable due to COVID, but he told me that was not possible. To make matters worse, they came an hour earlier than the appointment time that Carlos told me.
A professional, accommodating host can turn around bad experiences. My experience at the studio declined continuously with the recurring maintenance issues and Carlos' lack of hospitality.