Charles is a nice guy, and well-meaning. The apartment is spacious, and a 10 or 15 minute walk to the Bywater. The backyard is good for dogs, friendly ones as it is shared with the other duplex (who also have a dog).
The apartment also shares very thin walls with the other duplex. The first thing Charles said to me when I arrived was that I had to be quiet as the neighbors just had a baby. You could hear the baby through the walls, and I’m sure they could hear when I coughed, or flushed the toilet.
A few days in and my phone was pinging. Charles could hear my dogs moving and wanted to know why they were walking around, and was afraid they would wake the baby. I explained their mealtime routine of water, outside to pee, back in for food, but began to take them out for longer and more frequent walks to wear them out so they would move about indoors less.
Later, Charles came to speak to me in person. He seemed apologetic about the neighbors, and said they complained about a previous guest who walked down the hallway in heels. He explained that he can get fined by the city if neighbors complain about Airbnb noise or vibration or odor.
The last night I was woken by bangs, followed by the wail of sirens. As the cops sped by, I heard one of my dogs get up... “Nooo!” I whispered and ran barefoot quietly down the hall to stop her. As I sat on the carpet with her keeping her from moving, I sneezed, and froze. Did someone hear me? Would my phone start pinging with complaint again? Then I realized this was no way to live. This vacation was on the bucket list for my older dog, who loved New Orleans when she was younger. Walking her till she was exhausted, holding her down just to keep her from moving... this was not the way it was supposed to be. I packed. It was 4 am when I quietly put on a pot of coffee, then quietly showered, then we slipped out in the early morning.
If you can live quiet as a mouse, this place is a good value for money. But Charles seems stressed about the neighbors, and the neighbors seem stressed about their baby. Me, I wish I had paid a little more for a place we would have enjoyed our vacation.