I’m stating a precursor for this review by acknowledging that each individual has different levels of comfort in terms of their surroundings & experiences. HOWEVER, as someone who doesn’t have the confidence to stay in this type of neighborhood outside of DC, I would NOT recommend staying at this Airbnb. I was surprised and a bit frustrated since most of these recent reviews on the location Anacostia were overtly positive and described as “very safe” and a great family environment.
I personally felt a great lack of confidence in the area’s safety.
Specifically, upon arrival to the neighborhood our driver was concerned & wanted to make sure we knew the place we were staying at, one night past 11:30pm there was yelling and arguing in the street outside of our Airbnb for over 5 minutes. The neighborhood had lots of broken glass and garbage on the streets, there were people intoxicated walking around at daytime, and while waiting for our bus a woman from her car asked if my mom and I needed help/knew where we were going, and told us to stay safe. I’m grateful for the intricate security system Laura installed for the entrance door! Laura also left to go on a trip the 2nd day of our stay & didn’t let us know she would be gone until she had already left. I highly recommend researching the area beforehand which I mistakingly did not do.
Regarding the Airbnb itself, Laura had a guestbook with a TON of great info on the DC with her favorite places/activities/restaurants. It was fairly clean, there were lots of kitchen appliances to use, and the Airbnb is super close walking distance to the bus stops! It was spacious enough for 2, & was convenient to cook there. Also, footsteps from the floor above our room were actually really loud & were between 10:pm and 1:30am.
Our host did respond quickly to our questions asked through the website. I don’t doubt that Laura is a lovely person and host, but my experience here just wasn’t great.