This is a two part review - a general review and then a review for parents.
1. This is a working farm. It’s a tiny working farm, but it’s a working farm. Every aspect of my stay felt like I was on a working farm, from cleanliness to conversation to schedules to ACTUAL GOATS! What I like best about this space is how surprising it is to find a working farm in such an urban area. What a delight!
As is made very clear in all communications and previous reviews - this is a lived in space with lots of guests and animals. You can have as much or as little interaction as you like. If you want to hang out and have dinner and conversation, you can. If you wanna go to your room, shut the door, and enjoy quiet space, you can.
This place is open, friendly, fun, and conveniently located. It’s so easy to get to The Loop!
2. As a parent, I know it can be hard to find an AirBnB that is affordable and welcoming. I was so thrilled with this spot!
We traveled with an “infant” under age two who is walking, talking, and into everything. Our home is probably the most baby proof home among our friends with kids. So obviously, this space was less baby proof than home. However, we felt really comfortable.
With permission, we were able to place one mattress on the floor so we could cosleep and not worry about any rolling out of bed issues. We moved one end table to cover one outlet and the room felt as safe as our home. If you don’t cosleep, there is plenty of space for a pack n play. We could close the door to the room and have enough quiet to wind down for bedtime (or nap time).
The house has a lot going on for a new walker, so supervision is necessary. Some of the stairs have open bannisters, which can feel scary if you don’t have stairs at home. We just stuck close while our son navigated the stairs. The front porch stairs are wide and concrete, so they require supervision as well.
The common areas often have a few people around and they were always super friendly with our son. (They also lent a hand when we loaded and unloaded.) There are many things to investigate and grab, so we stayed close to our son, but did not feel frantic. We interacted with all of the animals and our son totally loved them.
The neighborhood is beautiful and we walked around with our son and he enjoyed it. The Central Station has an elevator for strollers, if needed.
If you have a crawler, they probably will get dirty knees, but that’s pretty well the case always. Any child not crawling or old enough to know what not to touch will be a total breeze in this space.
We felt fully welcomed as an entire family and very comfortable for our stay.