As a first experience with airbnb, this was a decent experience with a few bumps along the way, mostly because of unfamiliarity with the area and actual time between points.

The room was very large, a good size for parents and kids. It's at the top of the first set of stairs and right next to the bathroom, which made it very convenient. We didn't take advantage of the shower so can't speak to that, but I did notice that there wasn't extra toilet paper. We didn't run out while we were there, thankfully, but it came close.

We didn't meet Alissa while we were there, because she was away for the weekend on holiday. We had some trouble with the lock on the door to our room and it took a while to reach Alissa's husband, so we brought the things I was most worried about with us when we traveled to Manhattan.

We checked in at around 4, got back out around 5 and took quite a while getting acclimated to our surroundings and transit options.

The rest of the house had enough for us to do what we wanted: Eating breakfast there before heading to the ferry, late night snacks and Wi-Fi for checking in and investigating options, tasteful decor, seating in both the kitchen and dining room, plenty of space in the fridge and clear signs throughout the space.

Car parking is on the street (no problems there, either).

We discovered that the 244 bus stops running at midnight (we missed a ferry connection) and the 240 stops at the bottom of Clinton, three blocks from the house, so for folks who aren't much into walking, that's a kind of hike up the hill. It's not much of a hill, but with sore feet and messy weather, it could have been less pleasant.

There are three churches within easy walking distance. We didn't go anywhere else on Staten Island itself, so can't comment on anything local.

In general, I'd call it a positive experience. Most of what happened to us had to do with failing to do research on transportation timing. Ferry runs every half hour most of the day, bus about every 15 minutes.

At the other end, depending on where you're headed, there are better and worse ways to go. We opted for the longest possible method for getting to the Met (M5 bus), and it took us well over an hour from catching the bus to actual arrival at just about noon. Transfers only work with an actual rechargeable farecard, so watch out which sort of card you purchase. Paying cash will not get you a transfer to the subway - only a farecard will do that.

Given our travel agenda, it's likely we won't stay on Staten Island again, but then with adults who know how to get up and out in a reasonable amount of time, it should be a fine choice. And I'll definitely use airbnb again.