I feel a little guilty about this, but it needs to be said. While Susan was certainly a nice person and very welcoming, my wife and I did not enjoy our stay. The room is a nice size and Susan's apartment is structurally pretty great - it's just not clean. I'm not a neat freak at all and I've lived in an old studio in urban Los Angeles - I know how these buildings can be. My real complaint is with the dirty floors, the bathroom and the state of the bed, pillows & linens. These were not things I can overlook because they made us uncomfortable and all we really wanted was a bed to crash in after a long day. I want to believe that the bed linens were changed and the room was cleaned for our stay, but it wasn't clear to us that had happened. Even if it had, it was very clear that the bathroom and other common areas had been neglected for some time.

I hate to be a jerk about this, but I think a host has a few simple obligations - ESPECIALLY if that host is going to make a business out of a spare room. I don't fault Susan for the state of her home, it's perfectly fine for her and, to be honest, if a stranger came over to my house on a bad week I would have a lot of dirty spots to explain too. I just don't think I can call her a good host because she didn't make any effort to prepare a space for guests. It would take about $90 to get a mattress pad cover, some new pillows and fresh linens - the cost of one night stay for us. Cleaning the bathroom before people come over is just common courtesy. A good host would have done that much.