Somewhat mixed feelings about this one. Many good things! Irina was nice and friendly when she met us for a check-in. The place is conveniently located in Williamsburg (though a bit further away from the liveliest part, but it can be a good thing). Lots of nice restaurants within walking distance. The bed was super comfortable. The apartment had everything we needed. Allen and Irina even had a Christmas tree up, which was super nice of them! (We visited right after the New Year).
But also we found that photos misrepresented the place quite a bit. The photos are photoshopped to make everything look new and shiny, sort of a fancy loft place. In fact, this is a ground floor space in the hosts’ house with older furniture. Nothing bad about it - but it wasn’t what we expected from the pictures. We also didn’t hear from the hosts about the check-in time and whether it worked for them until we already landed and were in a taxi to get there. Finally, I have to mention the floors above us creaked every time someone took a step or too. And the heating system was incredibly loud (although it was nice to have working heating at all in the winter).
In the end everything worked out fine and we are grateful to Irina and Allen for opening their house to guests. I just wish the communication about the apartment, including the photos, was a bit more transparent.