Not great. Not bad. Alright, is the word I'd use to sum up our stay. I would probably stay elsewhere if I returned to DC. It's not that Marina and James were bad; it's that every other host I've had was better.

Pros:
- location is stellar, quiet hood, but close to everything
- apartment is large and clean
- climate control works well
- most typical things are provided (e.g., shampoo, soap, linens, etc...)
- unexpected niceties (e.g., fruit, juice, tootsie rolls)

Cons:
- Apartment is not as well maintained as the pics imply. Some tears in furniture. Walls are marked up. Some paint chipping.

- Mediocre communication from host. I contacted host a few days before arrival, never received confirmation on their side that things were still good-to-go.

- Water pressure in shower is meh.

- James and Marina live on the floor above. The floors must be thin, because we could hear every footstep they or their dog took.

- We never met Marina in person, but James made us a little uncomfortable. He was over-the-top polite and nice most of the time, but would switch to awkwardly passive-aggressive mid-stride.

- I sent a text to find out if there were kitchen utensils (spatula and/or tongs) and the response merely blamed another guest for screwing up the utensil(s). No resolution or apology, just accusing others.

- Kitchen was underwhelming. It's only partially equipped (missing utensils, the only stove-top skillet is tiny, dull knives). Cooking anything with the stove-top makes the kitchen overly-hot due to poor ventilation.

- Internet speeds were mediocre for an urban apartment, topped out at 2-3 Mbps.

Most of my complaints are not direct violations of the expectations spelled out in the listing, which is why I still gave 3 stars. But overall, I don't think James and Marina should be in this business. They don't seem to enjoy it.