First off, Dan is a great host and very responsive during my stay. He also sent over useful travel info about DC.
Next let me list pros and cons.
Pros:
1. Fast and stable WiFi connection.
2. Free street parking with almost-guaranteed space. During my four days of stay, I went back to the apartment at different times of the day and there was always one or two spaces available.
3. Great kitchen appliances and fridge.
4. Bed is queen size.
5. Good AC/heating.
6. Nice setting in the apartment, as good as pictured.
Cons:
1. Overall a small apartment. Before I go on, I do want to point out that a floor plan with dimensions is included in the listing’s photos. So maybe it’s partly on me that I had the wrong expectations.
The bathroom’s space is about three-people standing. The shower and the toilet take two-people standing space. And you can literally only fit in one person in front of the mirror/sink. As a result, there’s barely any space around the sink for putting things. Men who only need a cup for brushing teeth are probably ok, but women with cosmetics will definitely be mad about that. My girlfriend and I took everything we do in the bathroom’s sink at home to the kitchen’s sink instead. I have to say this is a bad experience.
There’s not much space left in the bedroom with a queen bed. The two bedside stands are so tiny that they can only hold a handful of things, literally. The suitcase rack in there is useless, because we had a large suitcase and didn’t bother to drag it into the small bedroom. I’d rather it’s a small closet or table.
The dining table is small, as pictured. It looks nice in the picture, but it’s really small.
2. Noises from three sources.
Source one: upstairs neighbor. Once they are home, there will be constant running footsteps from one end of the apartment to the other end. I would guess that’s a child. The ceiling is thin so footsteps are loud. Sometimes they also have music and chatting going on after midnight. Those are not crazy sounds but the soundproofing is not good, so it feels noisy.
Source two: the outside unit for AC/heating. It’s right outside of the bedroom window which is above the bed. Because the walls are thin, the operation noise goes right into the bedroom.
Source three: construction behind the house. Can’t see over the backyard, but there was construction going on every morning during my stay.
Due to all the noises, I had to use earplugs to get an uninterrupted sleep.
3. Subpar bed and sofa.
All photos are definitely taken at the beginning of this listing, which is a few years ago (see oldest reviews). I’m okay with the normal wear and tear, but the bedroom now has a completely different bed (inferior compared to the photo) and no small table (the one with a vase on it) as pictured. The mattress is on the soft side and the suitcase rack in replace of the small table is useless.
The sofa isn’t as good as pictured either. It’s the spring one and the support is also soft.
I spent the day out and went back mostly for resting. But the sofa and the bed are both undesirable. This is not great.
Adding to that, this place definitely can’t fit in four people as noted. Having two adults is already hitting the capacity limit IMO.
Conclusion: what I value the highest is the quality of the rest in the place where I stay. Unfortunately this place has all the goods on the outside and doesn’t meet my expectation.