Firstly, Le’Dia is an excellent communicator and responded to my messages quickly and is kind and helpful. She has clearly put a lot of thought into making the apartment welcoming with good quality furniture and nice decorations - there is even a hammock!
The apartment is an excellent size with three bedrooms, one of which has a desk so we could use it as a workstation. There is also a separate large storage room, which was very useful since we don’t travel light! There is a little outdoor deck next to the kitchen, but we didn’t use it as the weather was a bit chilly during our stay.
Something to note is that there is no washer/dryer in the apartment, but there is a laundromat about three minutes’ drive away. Also be aware that the apartment is on the second floor, so be ready to climb a flight of stairs.
The distance to downtown Chicago is only 15 minutes, either by train or car. We spent a couple of days in the city to do a boat trip and an architecture tour via Airbnb Experiences, both of which were excellent.
There is also a huge supermarket called Pete’s only a few blocks away, which has one of the best fresh grocery selections I have seen.
In the surrounding suburban area there are a few buildings that have been boarded up, so I can understand why some other guests felt intimidated.