I had a lovely week-long stay at Cathy's apartment, which offered everything I could hope for from an entire apartment stay!

Here are the qualities that, for me, made this apartment a perfect stay:

The Apartment Itself: Beautiful; I loved everything from the travel theme to the hardwood floors, and it feels so spacious with the high ceilings and many windows - I especially enjoyed the bay window! The decor struck me as magazine-worthy but homey, at the same time, as opposed to model-home pretty-but-hollow. This is an apartment with a warm personality - and that personality is a White Sox fan :) I don't watch much TV, but the awesome, huge TV tempted me into watching a few shows, from what are possibly the most comfortable couches I've ever been on.

The Hosts!: Cathy and her husband Jeff have that extra touch of thoughtfulness that elevated my stay to a truly great one. I only met Jeff briefly, for a quick and simple handover of the keys, but I saw traces of their consideration throughout the whole week, starting with how Jeff had the air conditioning and fans running so the apartment would be cool for my arrival, the note and surprise in the fridge from Cathy, how all the drawers and closets were freed up for my use, and the text check-in midweek to make sure everything was going smoothly. They gave me the independence that let me feel it really was my own Chicago apartment for the week but also the surety that if I needed anything, whether a recommendation or a problem-solve, they were happy to help and easy to get a hold of. Thank you both!

Location - Wicker Park is a terrific neighborhood-- while I was in town, all my Chicago friends wanted to meet for dinner here, so I barely left! - and Cathy's apartment makes the best of Wicker easy to access. Multiple times a day, I'd head down several blocks to places like the Damen El stop, Big Star for tacos, shops like Transit Tees and the Secret Agent Supply Co. On the way to the Damen stop, there's gyms and bakeries. Right beside the apartment, there's a laundromat, great corner mart, Walgreens, Divvy bike stop, and right-there coffee shops (though I often took the slightly longer walk to Wormhole Coffee for their specialty lattes or Stan's Donuts for, well, the donuts).

I walked almost everywhere, including to nearby neighborhoods like Ukranian Village, and always felt safe in this location, including walking alone at night!

The WiFi: I worked while here, and the WiFi was lightning fast throughout my full work days and did not give me a single blip of trouble all week- I can't always say that about my home Internet! Definitely a business-traveler friendly location; the coffee Cathy left for me was great at getting me through those early work hours.

Absolutely a place I'd recommend and gladly rent again - I miss the Wicker Park apartment already!