One star. We left our 4-night planned stay after 1 night. I should have refused to check in but I didn’t know if I’d be able to find alternate accommodations on no notice.
Velma and her husband were very kind about the whole thing and even called a car service to get us and our bags to the next olace we’d booked. Nothing against Velma as a host. She was very helpful at checkin and provided great communication prior to our arrival. But (if you’re familiar with the phrase “putting lipstick on a pig” ) she’s working with a pig that could use a lot more lipstick.
The smells alone were physically nauseating to me. Mold/mildew? Stale cigar smoke? Not sure... just not palatable to me. What the hosts refer to as “character” in a historic building, I would refer to as frighteningly dilapidated and disgustingly dirty.
The listing photos are accurate but my fault for not looking more closely or zooming in to see the deteriorated conditions. The place has very few light fixtures. Multiple burned out bulbs in the fixtures that were present. Missing ceiling fixtures in the living room had bare exposed wires.
Our stay was in January. There is one boiler for the building and it was blasting heat, so the host had turned on window air conditioner units and opened windows. The window a/c in the bedroom had an issue that caused it to stream water into the room every time it cycled on. Not a few drips, a steady stream. The water went behind the blasting boiler onto towels that were piled there.
The toilet seat was broken. Doorknobs on the interior doors to the bathroom and bedroom were falling off. The handle to the shower water fell off in my hand.
I wasn’t willing to climb creaky, narrow staircases to a 3rd floor walkup only to be unable to relax. The living room furniture was so filthy I did not even want to sit down. The beds were very uncomfortable and no extra pillows were in the apartment. I’m providing this review in hopes of setting the expectations of future guests to know that as the other reviewers said, Velma is great! But you should only book her place if you aren’t bothered by peeling paint, chipped wood, plumbing issues, and strange smells.