airbnb reviews are always a bit of a swing and a roundabout - so, first things first. In the customer service stakes, check in and communication with Kira were great - she was prompt and helpful in response to my questions. The apartment is located in a clean and comfortable neighbourhood with nice ambience - and is close to a range of shops - and to a great pedestrian and cycle friendly elevated 5 mile walking track.
Kira's basement apartment does have the feel of a yet to be fully completed/finished work in progress. It's compact and warm. It is not aesthetically pristine, so if you are looking for a sparkling, fully refurbished basement apartment with everything in brand new order, this isn't it.
One person's funky can be another person's tired and in need of being upgraded. The tiled floor is an interesting proposition - it has significant rust stains and accumulated patina that make it look dirty, even after cleaning - and it has a number of broken tiles on the step from the stairway to the floor surface that I've suggested to Kira pose a trip/fall hazard - and would be an easy and inexpensive fix.
The very deep and very narrow triple stainless steel kitchen sink is neither functional nor fit for purpose - it looks like something suited to a commercial/institutional/laboratory setting, not to an apartment. The very modern bathroom has a double shower arrangement that fits into the funky category.
The selection of board and other games are fantastic, as are the books that populate the bookshelf in the bedroom - everything from the DSM IV to Maus to Gabriel Garcia Marquez to books on architecture and design and philosophy and poetry and classics - in both English and Spanish.
So, this apartment is a bit of yin and yang - a balance between the physical aesthetic and the material contents. It's a 7/10 from me.