Ozzy was a super communicative host who was able to accommodate guests last minute and even willing to extend a stay last minute as well.
Ozzy’s Airbnb was well-placed on the border of Bergen-Lafayette/Communipaw, just a short walk from Grand St. with a super easy commute to Grove/Journal Sq via a short bus ride. There was a very easy commute to NYC and downtown JC/Hoboken via bus to PATH. The apartment is in a historic row house on Astor/Summit, and check-in was super easy as there was a keypad that allowed contactless check-in.
The apartment was moderately spacious with comfortable, roomy, firm beds that could be pushed together to make a larger bed. There was a small, modestly equipped kitchen with a microwave, coffeemaker, teapot, and some pots/pans and utensils. However, there was no coffee or tea or any other amenities, but Instacart has no problem delivering from any of the area grocery stores such as ShopRite or Acme. There was a stove without an oven in the space for some light cooking, though the right burner seemed not to be working very well.
The bathroom was OK, but the toilet is in a very cramped area. The toilet seat wouldn’t hold itself up, so if you’re a male guest, you would have to hold the seat up in order to use the toilet. Someone on the larger side also won’t have as great of an experience due to the fact that it’s pretty cramped and you can’t really sit comfortably as a larger person, but it’s a NYC area apartment so that’s not actually too surprising given the great location. The shower was spacious with good heat and great water pressure, but it seemed the bath itself didn’t work, as the middle knob for the shower was broken.
A few small issues included the fact that the previous guest apparently saw a water bug and so a device was provided by the host after the fact to ward off the bugs, and there was a bag of trash from the previous guest that was apparently missed hanging on the cupboard next to the fridge. The internet was also extremely slow - you couldn’t really stream anything such as Netflix as it would just buffer endlessly, and if you’re working from the space and require high speed internet, this definitely would not work for you as the internet was way too slow. (Mobile data was faster.) There was also an issue with the air conditioning unit in the living room area as it didn’t work for the first day, but Ozzy’s husband came over to help fix it pretty much as soon as the issue was reported. One other issue that may not be an issue for others is the fact that you could smell weed, cigarette smoke, and trash that drafted in from the outside. It was a pretty strong smell and so if the smell of smoke/weed bothers you, this could really negatively impact your stay.
Overall, it was a pretty decent stay and the host was super responsive and welcoming! If you’re looking for an affordable, well-located space and aren’t really planning to work from the Airbnb, this would be a great place for you due to the location and the fact that Ozzy was really responsive. This is the kind of space that’s best for a 420 smell-friendly solo traveler or a couple who is planning to mostly just go into NYC or downtown/Hoboken and not really spend a lot of time in the apartment cooking or anything along those lines. Pretty much, it’s a great home base to explore NYC from with a really accommodating host.