Matthew's loft in downtown Chicago was a lovely space with a fantastic shower and nice radiant heat on the main floor. Both decks were beautiful and well maintained. In warm weather, they would be fantastic. Overall, our stay was very good, but there are several things that future guests need to be made aware of, including one critical error in the advertised listing.
On the good side, the location is very convenient, with lots of restaurants and a subway stop just a block away. We rented a car and the garage was great. We did several walks including the riverwalk which was only about 1/2 mile from the apartment. There is a nearby Whole Foods with underground parking for shopping, and a CVS right across the street.
The space itself is very attractive and clean, with high ceilings and a nice view from the front deck. The subway runs right behind the house, but other than a very low rumble, it did not bother us at all during our six-day stay over Thanksgiving weekend.
The living room furniture is pretty good, with pillows and blankets available. But there were not enough comfortable seats to have visitors. The bar stools are fine for the counter but are not for lounging around the coffee table.
The main drawback is that there is only one private bathroom. The second bathroom, advertised as a half-bath in the description, is actually shared with a multi-person business. This meant that when the business was open, we were not comfortable using the bathroom, especially if we were in our pajamas. The bathroom was convenient at night and on weekends, but we still had no confidence that we would not see a stranger at any time, when we opened the hall door to access the bathroom.
When the business was open, it was quite loud, with multiple people speaking loudly and animatedly back and forth to each other. We heard their voices clearly through a locked door which seemed to be permanently closed. It did not seem that there was any soundproofing between the office and the apartment and it made staying in the apartment unpleasant during office hours.
On the morning we left, someone tried to get into the apartment before 7 am. We presume this was the cleaning lady, but she spoke no English and apparently didn't understand that tenants were still on the premises. Luckily, we had locked the door from the inside, otherwise she would have entered the apartment without warning.
In our view, all doors with access from outside should have locks that can be operated only by renters. The lower-level deck needs a lock too, rather than just a key lock. This lock was left open, but people from nearby balconies could easily climb onto the deck so this should be fixed. And a second half- or full-bath that is exclusively dedicated to the rental unit should be added, or the space should be accurately described as a one-bath unit with a shared second half-bath in the hallway.