We had an excellent stay at Jake's place. The pictures accurately depicted the unit, and the amount of space provided within the unit was excellent for our group of five.
Access to the unit was well described, and felt secure going through both back (default) and front entries. Stairways were not overly intimidating/burdensome, although the back is "fire-escape-esque", so stiletto-wearers beware? It is indeed on the third floor (between other residential units above and below), so recommend packing light to avoid heavy burdens during check in/out.
A wide variety of indoor footwear (slippers) were provided and extremely comfortable for use. Additionally, use of these slippers ensured that the nice wood floors throughout (with some area rugs) stayed very clean and pleasant throughout our stay.
Nice finishes are installed throughout the common areas (kitchen, bathrooms, etc.). The unit felt very modern and kept up to date.
Bedrooms were comfortable, and contained enough ports for charging our electronics. Sufficient bedding (linens, pillows, etc.) was provided for our party on each bed, although not for the living area, so we moved some around temporarily to accommodate.
Bathrooms were well appointed, although on the slightly smaller side. The showers contain common use body wash/shampoo/conditioner dispensers, which was a very nice touch as well.
The kitchen was well appointed, with a wide variety of pots, pans, big bowls, colanders, and baking sheets. Some of us greatly appreciated the complimentary ground coffee and coffee pot provided. The ice maker/dispenser in the fridge door makes crushed and cubed ice, worked very well. Do be aware, there is no garbage disposal in the sink, strainers are in place to catch debris and can be manually emptied.
Clothes washer/dryer (stacked unit) was provided and worked well. Inherent to the design, some may find it difficult to reach all the way in back of the top unit.
The central HVAC system worked well, cooling the unit in a reasonably consistent and timely fashion (not instant, but the results are good when it gets finished). It does need to be tended to occasionally, as it will go to sleep if it doesn't think any one is occupying the unit.
As far as general location goes, the unit is conveniently located for travelling by public transit (roughly 7-10 minutes walk to Orange Line Halstead station, within 3-5 minutes walk of one of the local bus stops). There is a grocery market about 10 minutes walk away, and several chain stores (e.g. Target, Jewel-Osco, Trader Joes) one subway stop away, allowing easy pickup of any essentials you may need.
If you're traveling by car, there is a designated (small) parking spot in the back. We had no issues with using the stall as instructed (we used Zipcar a couple times in a pinch), so long as the same due care is used as with any other alley access location (go slow and be cautious).
A car may be useful if traveling to points south of the area, as most subway/rail routes require you go Loop-bound prior to heading to places like Hyde Park, Museum of Science and Industry, etc. Otherwise, we found public transit to be our preferred method of getting about.
Word of caution: This is a unit in a multi-residential area, so as other reviews have noted, there are occasionally children (and canine) footsteps audible from the unit above. If you are sensitive to noise, consider bringing earplugs or other noise dampening equipment. It also would be ideal if you can be out and about during the day, as that's when the noise is most frequent. For the most part, we didn't find it overly bothersome, and the other benefits of the unit well outweighed this minor inconvenience.
Finally, Jake always responded quickly to any questions we asked through Airbnb's messaging service, and ensured that we had all the information we needed to have a great stay. We would recommend this listing to anyone who asked us where to stay when visiting Chicago.