Pros:
- The place is a great set-up for a group of people to stay at. There are two bedrooms with King size beds and they'll put out two extra REAL mattresses (which were very comfy) in the living room.
- Great amenities.
- It was a great location for our purpose (but surrounding streets in that area can be sketchy).
- John was very responsive and very detailed in his communication. You can probably find everything you need to know in the info he sends.
Cons:
I think this is more of an issue with the apartment building and its relationship with AirBnB, but there were a lot of restrictions and so many instructions to follow. It was honestly a little overwhelming and not a super easy and smooth process. Specific examples:
1. We asked for the possibility to check-in a little early but something around AirBnB's rules, it was denied. Upside was we were allowed to drop our bags and pick up the keys (WITHOUT STEPPING INSIDE the apartment), which is all we needed.
2. We also asked if we could have a few friends come over just to hang out at the back patio common area (not even to go into the apartment) before going to dinner, but that was also denied. (Maybe this is a rule across all AirBnBs, I haven't tried to have friends over at any of the AirBnB properties I've stayed at before but we were definitely not going to throw a party!)
3. Parking itself had a lot of steps to follow, which is fine, but parking permits weren't ready for us where they were supposed to be and someone else was parked in our spot. The management didn't act like it was really their problem to deal with but luckily the people came and moved their car. The parking permit also ends at 11 am the day we check out but check out isn't until 12 pm... We just left at 11 because we didn't want to move our car just for an hour.
Again, I'm not sure how much of these are issues with the building's rules and management, AirBnB's rules, or John's rules/preferences. Either way, it ended up creating an experience that was a little overwhelming and, frankly, required more coordination than I would've liked.
That said, this is still a great option to stay at in SF and I would recommend it to my friends. I would probably just forewarn them about the rules and limitations so they have a heads up.