I stayed here for 6 weeks and I'm going to try to be throughout.
First, location is amazing. It's only a 9 minute walk from Central Square and from the red line. It felt very safe, and I felt okay walking home at night as a young woman. There's a trader joes and a target within 10 minutes.
Second, this airbnb is priced the way it is for a reason. It's not nice, it's definitely had the "landlord special". There are random holes in the trim and closet that are covered in packing tape, you can't open the bottom cabinets in the kitchen because they placed tile overtop of the previous tile, the tile is coming off in the bathroom in the middle of the floor, the kitchen cabinets are very sticky, etc. However, I will emphasize that everything is fully functional.
Third, I never saw any bugs or mice. Huge plus in my book.
Fourth, they don't restock anything in the airbnb. So, once you run out of the initial toilet paper and such, you will have to get your own. This can be an issue because for this room, there is a shared bathroom. It's only gross when you've had the same kitchen sponge for 4 weeks and no one buys another because it's a temporary place. Think less hotel, and more apartment vibes. No one will take out the trash or the recycling.
Fifth, you have a shared bathroom, so be prepared for that. It will not be cleaned at all during your stay. It only gets clean when one of you moves out.
Sixth, what I suspect to be the housing manager, Carla, lives in the room right below this one. If you make too much noise, she will come up and talk to you. This happened to me twice. She also doesn't knock and just opens the door, which was weird. She's very nice though.
Carla also refuses to let you lock the backdoor, she claims it's a fire hazard. I don't think this is true. I think it's because she doesn't want to carry around keys and can come up whenever she wants. Be mentally prepared to know that there is an unlocked door into the apartment at all times. It's convenient when you forget your keys, but most of the time it just stressed me out.
Seventh, the air conditioning was great. During July, this was a total lifesaver. Plus, the control is in the apartment so it's not stuck. on just one temp and can be adjusted.
Your door also locks!
Overall, the place is functional. It's not nice or clean or cute. The location was amazing and safe. Has a lot of quirks. If you need a place to stay that doesn't have bugs and has a functional kitchen, I would pick this.