The accommodation was really clean, private, and felt very secure (having 3 separate door codes to get into the building, the maisonette with the 4 available rooms, and your own room). The general instructions were very clear, and communication was provided as described regarding check in. Being able to self check-in was helpful and flexible, especially after a long journey when it can be difficult to provide exact arrival times. The rooms are basic but do represent good value for money.
As has been mentioned in other reviews the walls are thin and you can hear other guests quite loudly but it didn’t bother me personally. The only thing that I would say is that in the room I was in, number 2, is in the basement at the back of the building and so it did smell a little bit damp and it was cold in the evenings. This wasn’t too bad in late September/early October but I don’t know if a heater of some sort might be needed in the winter months.
The local area of Pilsen felt safe and had a number of good bars and restaurants close by. There were also a number of different bus routes into various parts of the City available right on the doorstep, although I found the buses are more reliable on weekdays than weekends or evenings when you can sometimes face a long wait.
A tip for anyone arriving via O’Hare Airport, you can take the Blue line to Grand where you can pick up the number 8 bus to 18th Street, which is just around the corner, an Uber from the airport was too expensive for me on my own. Also, if you plan to use the public transport or ‘CTA’, buy a Ventra card as soon as you arrive at the Airport/Train Station, which you can pre pay or top up. It took me a couple of days to figure this out and my contactless Debit/Credit cards would not work on the CTA (not sure if it was because they are from overseas), so I was constantly trying to find change of dollars and quarters for the buses, as it’s exact fare only of $2.50 per ride which works out expensive if you need to transfer a few times.