My husband and I stayed in Sylwia's bedroom for six days in mid November. We had a hard time getting to her place from La Guardia airport and the trip was long and exhausting (1 1/2 hours total via train and bus) so we were hoping for a quick and easy "check in". Therefore we were a little perturbed when the room wasnt ready when we got there. They quickly put clean sheets on the bed and cleaned the bathroom which only took 30 minutes or so but felt like an eternity when we were so exhausted. From then on the experience was very good. The bed was comfortable, the room was clean and had all the necessities (mirror, chair, desk, hair dryer, umbrella and hangers) and the bathroom was nice (good working toilet and hot showers). We couldnt get the internet to work so we didn't use it the whole time we were there.
The walk to the PATH train station which leads into downtown N.Y.C. is 15 minutes which isnt much but if you're going to be walking all day that 15 minute walk home (especially in the cold) can feel long. I didn't mind it much but my husband would've preferred to stay closer to the heart of Manhattan.
The entire time we were there we did not see Sylwia, or anyone else for that matter, and there was no communication about anything. We just took our cues from what she had put on her listing. I personally didnt have a problem with this but if you want a host who will spend time visiting or will help you with directions around the city, this is not the place for you. If you want privacy, this place will be perfect.
We had full access to the kitchen which was wonderful and saved us a lot of money but the fridge is tiny and you'll be lucky to fit one to go box in there so check for room before you bring home food.
We were given a key upon arrival and thus had complete freedom to come and go as we pleased which was nice. The traffic outside the window wasn't very loud and there were double curtains to help keep the light out in the morning. Because there was no communication about checkout we ended up just taking things into our own hands by locking up, leaving the key in a hidden spot and texting her where the key was.
Overall a good experience and I would recommend it. Because of the few negatives I would rate it an -A. In the end, the positives outweighed the negatives.