We used this apartment as our base for extensive Chicago touring during a weeklong stay.
The very best thing about this accommodation is its location in a beautiful, leafy neighborhood of Chicago called “Old Town.” Despite being very conveniently located just a block-and-a-half from one of the city’s central subway lines, and about four blocks from a bustling restaurant-and-entertainment center, this unit is quiet at night. You can walk to “The Second City,” Chicago’s famous incubator of stand-up and improv comedians who have graced Saturday Night Live and other nationally known comedy programs. We spent an entire week touring Chicago using its excellent transit system, practically at our doorstep. The neighborhood seemed well-populated and safe late into the evening.
The second-best thing about this unit is its surprisingly spacious, remodeled and well-appointed bathroom, with ample shelf space for toiletries and a comfortably sized shower. Plenty of nice, thick towels and comfortable linens are provided for guests.
Access is easy through a private entrance to this ground floor apartment, using a coded electronic lock. A small but comfortable dining table and a compact but very nicely remodeled and well-equipped kitchen with a full-size gas cooking stove and oven, full-size fridge, microwave and drawer dishwasher allow preparation of simple meals. The bed is very comfortable. There’s a huge, clean armoire for clothing storage, and plenty of storage space for luggage in a closet. The apartment is quite spacious.
Wifi during our weeklong stay was good. Lynn is a good communicator, though we didn’t need anything during our visit. Our arrival and departure were simple and flawless. Lynn gave us excellent instructions about the older apartment’s quirks upon our arrival. She has a concise instruction page, plus a booklet of helpful information about the neighborhood and the city.
The apartment has a small window air conditioner, which proved surprisingly adequate on a very humid, 90-degree day. Hot-water radiator heating wasn’t necessary during our visit. The bathroom offers floor heating under its tile, but we never needed it.
As described, this unit is an historic Victorian era home. It boasts ornate hand-carved wooden door frames and solid wood doors and floors, and very high ceilings. These will, indeed, one day be “charming” if they are extensively restored. A beautiful stone fireplace awaits restoration in the living room area.
Except for the bathroom and kitchen, which have been nicely remodeled, this unit has not been restored or remodeled, inside or out. Artistic pressed-metal sheathing on the walls and ceiling everywhere is today shedding its peeling white paint and showing extensive water stains. Windows, including a beautiful cut-glass transom above the door, have not been cleaned in a very long time. Oriental-style rugs help to mitigate the chill of the ground-level hardwood floors, but they also trap dampness. The unit has little ventilation; even the exhaust fan can’t keep up in the windowless bathroom, leaving droplets in the tub - and damp towels - for days. Regrettably, we cannot say the unit was well cleaned before our arrival; the AirBnB fees apparently weren't enough to facilitate sweeping away the cobwebs from around the furniture or the dust on baseboards and inside the bathroom medicine cabinet.