This was not my best airbnb experience. But let's start with the good:
The location is excellent, wedged in between Old Town and Lincoln Park, easy access to the zoo, lake shore drive and the subway. Parking in this area is a non-starter so if you have a car make sure to reserve a spot ahead of time using spot hero or similar, I was able to get a spot about a 5 minute walk away for relatively cheap.
The unit is well appointed, has good internet and all the major streaming services in the even that you will have a lot of downtime. It has an adorable little garden in the back, and the neighborhood is likewise adorable.
The listing clearly states that this is a garden unit, but I think the photography undersells just how in-the-garden the unit actually is. There is *very* little natural daylight and while we were here, there was an inescapable moldy/musty/wet-cat-litterbox smell. It was extremely damp the entire time we stayed. Between the dank, the damp, and a steady stream of house flies and spiders, it was hard not to feel like we were in a cave. There was a lot of rain before and while we stayed, which probably didn't help, but because of this fact alone, I wouldn't want to stay in this unit again.
At the time of writing, the host also uses a third-party service for identity verification and concierge services, however the site smells very much like a scam/phishing venture with no discernable information about who the company is or where your data (and your driver's license) lives once you upload it. I expressed discomfort at using this service with the host, and Donald was understanding and willing to handle identity verification via the official airbnb chat system.
I am appreciative that Donald was willing to meet me in the middle here, and he was otherwise extremely responsive and a solid host. I would happily stay at other properties hosted by Donald.