The place itself: 5 stars
We really enjoyed the unit itself. It was extremely clean, beautifully remodeled and furnished, and full of the basic necessities not typical of other listings. It was full of coffee, snacks, shampoo and water. So nice!
The downside: 1 Star
Potential guests should be warned that they are below a large (16 person) AirBnb that is conducive to excessive noise, late night parties and smoke.
This Airbnb is the lower level of a house separated in two by a two-sided-lock door. We could not believe how awfully loud the unit was from noise permeating from the upstairs unit. Our evenings and sleep only got worse each day with 3 different groups renting out the Airbnb above us. In our frustration, we found the host’s listing for the upstairs asks guests to not wear shoes, have parties, or play loud music after quiet hours. Nights 2-4 violated all these requests. No where on the upstairs listing does it say why: that the downstairs unit exists to the upstairs guests and that they share thin walls, their stairway door and a shared HVAC system to encourage them to be more respectful to the guests that are below them.
We banged on walls and ceilings, spoke with the upstairs parties on multiple occasions, contacted the host multiple nights... and nothing changed. The handful of times we spoke to the upstairs renters, they were unaware of how thin the floors and walls were, turned the music down, and then within a short time it was always back to excessive noise. One excuse at 2 AM was “sorry, we’re just celebrating. My daughter just graduated high school.” The renters were always cordial and apologetic in person, but it did not stop the sound from permeating in every room of the lower unit. Because we were so quiet, no one knew how thin the units were but us. On the fourth night, our apartment filled with smoke from the party which shares the same HVAC and you have no control to turn it off!
Also, from one of the two bedrooms share a wall and window above to the other unit’s entry , it was extremely loud every time someone walked up and down the entry stairs with shoes on. Because the large Airbnb unit upstairs does not have outdoor access, people use the entry way as outdoor hangout -- right outside the bedroom. We even switched to the back bedroom during Night 2 because it was much quieter... only to be woken up to the parties migrating above us later in the nights. This was so unfortunate.
The host: 3 stars
We appreciated Ray’s responsiveness and cooperation during our stay, he was well aware when a fight broke out and pretty responsive in the multiple messages about not being able to sleep. However, the host, like us, had no actual control over the noise. The host offered us a little compensation (about less than 1 night) in return for not posting unfavorable review. To better serve other travelers we decided not to take them up on that offer.
I wish we had seen this feedback in retrospect, so we hope it helps others. Rented as one house this place is great. But as a separate unit it unfortunately is not.