Giving it 4 stars. This is a hard but honest review. It’s not a place for you if you want privacy (especially if you are an Asian) and sensitive to light and noise.
Steven is a professional host, his mother Irene who lives in the main house is kind and helpful. We do appreciate her help but she doesn’t understand boundaries.
1. No privacy. During the first couple of days, Irene spent ~5 hours showing off her family and lifestyle. She also asked what our parents do for a living, if my partner is silver spoon kid, which really made me uncomfortable. I like small talks with hosts but those content are inappropriate. The first time my letter arrived, she asked if she could see what’s in the letter. After a week, she knocked our door, saying our room smelled bad and came in to do cleaning.
2. Make rules. Even we rent for a month and Steven explains, Irene doesn’t allow package or mail delivered. Make sure you deliver to a PO Box. Second, trash rules. She asked us to put each item into small trash bag then into large trash bag but it still leaked. She scolded us angrily. I told her the thinness of trash bag is the cause. I had followed all her rules till that day but I was enough of everything she did. It was the first time I say no to her. I don’t think saying no is an issue since everyone has the right to but apparently she became crazy over nothing, knocking our door super hard, smashing things outside to make terrible noise, yelling at us hoarsely. I felt this was a horror movie and I worried about my safety. After that, Irene stopped disturbing us and we finally got our life back.
The studio itself is old-style and has basic equipment.
Pros:
1. Great price.
2. Close to everywhere. Can drive to Chinatown and all casinos in 15 mins.
3. Big fridge to store the food. Big studio space too.
Cons
1. the curtain can’t block light. I always wake up at 5-6 because of sunlight. However, after sunset the rom is dim due to limited lamp light.
2. The window air conditioner creates terrible noise. I don’t care about car/motorcycle noise from street but the air conditioner has such bad noise and it’s like an airplane take off directly above our head.
3. Limited kitchenware. Bring your own pan, pot, seasoning, spatula, plastic wrap and foil.