Accommodations were pretty spartan, but for this kind of price the other options are basically go to a hostel or stay in someone's bedroom. I liked that I had the place to myself, that it was clean, and that it was a short walk to the metro and some decent eating options. I would definitely recommend it to a friend. Also, Christopher was a great host.
Regarding the area, I walked around it a bit in the morning and it seemed pretty nice - kind of a diverse middle class urban professional neighborhood. I felt reasonably safe walking from the metro late at night, but I could see a woman on her own who's not used to city life being a little intimidated.