There are many pluses to staying at Thanh’s apartment. The apartment is located close to the convention center and to Union Station. You could save a bit of money by staying here rather than in the convention center hotels. Moreover, Thanh, our host, was responsive and friendly.
There are however, several caveats to take into consideration before staying in this apartment. First, the apartment is in the basement and DC is humid in the summer. I stayed in Thanh’s place in early June and the apartment was quite humid. A potentially related effect of this elevated humidity is that the sheets and towels develop a slight mildew odor. Thang was gracious enough to provide replacement towels. However, these had a similar mildew odor.
Additionally, although it is a finished basement, there are still many bugs, including spiders and mosquitos, that find their way into the apartment. These bugs hangout mainly on the ceilings and in the bathroom.
Finally, the amenities were sparse. The shampoo bottle was empty. There was a sliver of used bar soap left from prior guests. There was a fridge with two bottles of water which was appreciated. There is no coffee in the apartment, though there were tea packets.
Overall, I found my stay to be slightly disappointing, given the price. The place has the potential to be a quality AirBnB, but it did not meet my expectations.