We initially reserved the house in March 2021 for a week stay in November 2021.
PROS:
1. House is much like you see pictured on the site. Good layout for a large group/multiple couples.
2. Very "walkable"! You can easily access public transit, several great restaurants, bars, event center as well as museums, breweries, etc.
CONS:
1. Parking - Yes, there is street parking in front of the house. However, it has a 2-hour limit and is costly. It's good for unloading and loading, but that is all I would use it for. There is a garage about a block away. Therefore, you need to budget for an additional $20.00 or more per day for the garage parking fee.
2. Outdoor area - Not sure when the last time it was cleaned, but it required cleaning prior to use. The table and brick flooring required signifiant cleaning, and I left it cleaner than I found it.
3. The bathroom on the first floor has a window that is open to the courtyard. For privacy you must restrict anyone from being on the patio when you are in the bathroom or put up a towel for privacy. The master bathroom is a shared bath (master bedroom and two other bedrooms share this space) with one door from the bedroom and another from the hall. Both of theses bathrooms have a privacy issue.
4. VERY STRICT CANCELLATION POLICY - Obviously this is not a problem if you do not have any life events that require a change in your plans. However, be aware that you are dealing with a management company that does not care and will not work with you. At all! Nada! Nothing! Use it or lose it! If you are familiar with Airbnb as a whole, you know that the host has the absolute authority to make any changes they choose to their rules on a case-by-case basis. The host can make any allowance to their cancellation policy as they wish; it is not an Airbnb policy that one is not allowed to make changes to a reservation. Sonny was unwilling to be flexible in any way. He was unwilling to consider any suggestions, i.e.: shorten stay, reschedule the reservation for a week later in the year. We were flexible and open to dates in the upcoming year, even asking him if there was any compromise he was open to at all. Every attempt to work anything out with him by me or the Airbnb representative was met with resistance. his response was always the same: "We have a strict cancellation policy." We initially reached out to Sonny over a month prior to our scheduled date for his consideration and explained our situation. On several occasions early on Sonny made reference that I should go ahead and cancel my reservation. This left me with the impression that he was hoping to keep my money and have time to rebook the house (double payday). Now obviously I do not know if that was his intent or not but it was definitely the impression we got. Now of course Sonny was well within his legal rights to uphold his strict cancellation policy. I understand that. Our family made the decision to keep our initial reservation in an attempt to have some benefit from the thousands of dollars we had invested, and we made the best of the situation. We were not able to be in NOLA for the purpose we had initially reserved the house for due to a significant illness and a death in our family. I have often used Airbnb and have never had a concern or complaint with a host prior to this. We do have family and friends who are Airbnb hosts, so I am very familiar with the concerns and challenges a host faces. I recommend the you do a little research about your host when you are considering an Airbnb. I know I will be much more diligent in the future with whom I work and where I spend my hard earned money. Best of luck in your search!