A mixed bag
We stayed for 8 nights in Allende’s property.
The good: The property is located in a quiet street off the busy Irving Park Rd. This is a small, independent house, with 2 bedrooms, a living room, a dining/kitchen area and a bathroom in one level. The basement, with washer/dryer, was made available by the host. The street seemed to have a lot of parked cars all the time but we never had an issue finding a spot right in front of the house. Although houses are close together in this neighborhood, there was no noise from neighbors. The house had plenty of furniture and the air conditioning worked well. There was also a remote-controlled ceiling fan in the larger bedroom, which worked well. The TV in the living and bedrooms were large, providing streaming channels. The WiFi worked fine. The appliances - fridge, microwave and the stove top - were adequate. A coffee-maker was provided, which we didn't use. Bathroom supplies were also provided. The host was responsive all the way from before booking to questions while we were in the house. Upon our request, he had also arranged to put a small desk in each bedroom to facilitate office work. We very much appreciated these accommodations. It would have been good to have had some instructions about the fan (we didn't realize for a couple of days that there was a remote) and the sofa bed in the living room (we couldn't get it open, see below).
The not-so-good: The property is not too friendly for those (like us) who may want to cook their own meals. The kitchen utensils, pots and pans need a complete revamp. While the plates and glasses were few but usable, there were no bowls, the cutlery was sparse, the “non-stick” cooking vessels were in sad shape and unusable, and the overall selection was inadequate. We had to get cooking utensils of our own to compensate for this. There was no dishwasher, and that wouldn’t be a big deal, except that there was no water pressure in the kitchen sink - the water came as a thin stream, slightly better than a trickle, and washing dishes was a pain. Some general maintenance is also due for the place. The blinds facing the street were difficult to operate (needed for privacy), the bath tub taps were dripping all the time as they couldn't be closed fully, and there was water leak from the ceiling in the basement washer area (this, however, didn't impact our stay). The towels, though provided in adequate number, were wearing thin. The bathroom had no room for keeping our toiletries. For those thinking of commuting to the downtown - the streets can get quite busy and a few miles could take tens of minutes.
The bad: The state of the beds could be the show-stopper for anyone considering a stay in the unit. The master bed mattress was rock-hard, but we got used to it due to necessity. In the second bedroom, the mattress was so spongy that you sank like a stone. It was totally unusable and one of us had to sleep on the sofa-bed in the living room (we, however, couldn't figure out how to open it into a bed, so slept just on the sofa).
Overall, the property has some good things going for it, including a super-responsive host and the relative value compared to units closer to downtown. But the host must take a good look at the stuff that needs replacement, especially the mattresses. The kitchen utensils and towels need a refresh, the blinds need some work and some repairs are in order including water supply in the kitchen. However, these are easy to take care of, and the property would be much more attractive with these fixes.