I frequent SF a lot and usually stay in another AirBnB a block away. That AirBnB was already booked up though since my trip was last-minute for the holidays, so I decided to give Zhi & Vikas’s place a try. I was nervous since there were no reviews and it was brand new. Overall I was pleased with my week long stay and would consider staying here again. Not everything was perfect though and there was room for improvement. Below I’ve broken down things into a few categories:
Heating/Cooling: By far, my biggest complaint was that there is NO central heating/cooling. This unit has a kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom. There were only two space heaters available for the entire unit, so it got incredibly cold at night. I was warm running the space heater in the bedroom and closing the door, but it was noisy, and if I needed to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, it was unpleasant. I know many homes in SF don’t have air conditioning, but I’ve never encountered a home without heating in SF.
Responsiveness: Zhi and Vikas were incredibly responsive! From my first message to my last, every message was replied to within minutes, day or night. This was fantastic!
Cleanliness: Overall I would consider it clean, but there were a lot of hairs (that were not mine) on sheets, towels, sink, shower, etc. I noticed this immediately when I arrived. The microwave, fridge, and dishes were also dirty, so I decided not to use them because of this.
Noise: Despite being on a major road, it was very quiet because this unit (#A) was in the back of the house. I probably would have been very unhappy with their other unit though (#B) since it’s closer to the front of the house and much more noisy. Also, for a basement unit, it was very quiet. I barely heard footsteps from the people above, and never heard any voices/music/TV/etc my entire stay.
Security: It’s SF, so you have to set your expectations properly. That being said, I felt they did everything they could. I liked how there were two separate locked doors to go through, no street-facing windows, and that they had a security camera facing the main door. Unfortunately, two cleaning people walked in on me by surprise one morning. They apparently got confused and were there to clean the other unit next door. Simple mistake, but I was surprised they had a code to my unit since I was not checking out that day and it made me feel less secure.
Check In/Check Out: Very simple. Access is through a PIN code on a door. The night before I left, I got an email asking me to separate my trash/recycling and to take the trash out before I left, and to replace the trash bags. I would have appreciated knowing this in advance though and having separate bins inside the unit for trash/recycling/compost, so I didn’t have to dig through my trash a week later. There were only two trash cans (bathroom and kitchen) and none for recycling or compost. There were also no replacement trash bags.
Location: Great location, but keep in mind that this is a residential area. If you’re visiting family or friends nearby, this location is perfect and still within a 20 minute walking distance to many restaurants, cafes, shops, and parks. If you’re here for a vacation to SF, I would stay closer to downtown.
Price: The price was fantastic, and basically unbeatable for the area.
Misc: I liked how new everything was (recently remodeled/renovated) and because of that, everything worked perfectly...nothing was broken or damaged. There was lots of natural light and lots of windows facing a fenced in back yard. I did not feel cramped at all, and had TONS of space to spread out. There is a rain shower head, which I love! One problem though was that I always seemed to run out of hot water after about 5 minutes of showering. I suspect they need a larger hot water heater tank to accommodate the upstairs residents and the other AirBnB unit, which are probably all sharing the same hot water.
Overall I was happy, but I don’t think this would be my first choice to stay in again. For the price though, it was fantastic, and I would definitely stay here again if my normal AirBnB is not available again in the future.