Let us start with the great: Justin’s place is located in a great and safe location with restaurants and bars and a subway nearby. The apartment is spacious and modern. The apartment is first floor so you can walk right in and has two floors and 2 outdoor spaces . There is AC, the bed is comfortable and everything is fairly new. Justin was also a nice and responsive host and helped with our concerns which are listed below.
Our concerns: The photos shown on the listing are not at all accurate to what the apartment decor actually look like so we did unfortunately take a star away from accuracy. We booked this place based on photos showing a kids playroom, minimal furniture, none of the owners belongings and very bright light. The furniture is still nice and high end, but totally different furniture and decor, arranged completely different than shown and the apartment is full of personal belongings, (Again, this would not have been much of a problem if the photos just depicted the actual apartment). We actually thought we were in the wrong apartment at first and were a bit concerned. (We were traveling with an 18 month old so we were expecting something completely different- the apartment is not situated at all for kids and the photos shown depicted it as kid friendly).
When we called Justin to address our concern he was responsive, kind and understood why we were upset. He told us he didn’t have time to find a photographer and that they were the stock images from the place he bought the apartment from. We were a bit upset at first because this has never happened before but Justin was able to offer us a bottle of wine and a reimbursement for a nights stay which we appreciated.
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Please note that currently check is a bit more complicated than we were use to. The apartment is located by the Graham L stop but you have to pick up the keys a mile away at the Lorimer L stop. It’s about a 10 minute walk. Totally fine on a nice day, but you also have to return the keys here to make sure you account for that in your travel time. They keys are located in the bagel shop on the wall which wasn’t explained to us (we were just given an address and the code to get keys), and the address given was actually to apartment next door to the bagel shop so we did have some confusion. Again, Justin was available by phone and helped us find the keys fast. Without a kid and luggage, walking 10 minutes to get the key and return the key isn't that big of an issue- just not super ideal in new york city when traveling with luggage.
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We also want to mention, Justin let us check in 2 hours early which was gracious of him and did give us a bottle of wine for the inconvenience as well as a refund of a night’s stay. He felt bad but we do think the photos should be accurate to what the place actually looks like and are surprised no one has mentioned that in the review before.