Makia was a good host during my time at her home. She was friendly, kind, understanding, and trusting. My train to NY was delayed by 7 hours and she went above and beyond by accommodating my late check in.
What made my stay warrant a 3 star review, however, was the condition of the property and the inaccuracies within the listing description. Simply put, there was an important amenity listed but it was not functioning during my stay. To be specific, the listing described a lockable bedroom for privacy and safety. But the lock was broken. It neither locked nor did it even keep the door closed/shut. For whatever reason, it was not repaired prior to my stay nor was the situation communicated with me at all before my arrival. It was quite disappointing as privacy and safety are very important to me; Id like to be able to leave my things in my room without having to worry about it being misplaced or stolen. To be fair, though, Makia did arrange for the lock to be fixed sometime during/after my stay. However, I did not want to risk my safety or the safety of my items/property any longer than I had to, so I cut my stay short. Because of this particular disappointment, I deducted one star from my review. But I expect and hope that for you, dear reader and prospective guest, the doorknob will be fixed by the time youd have read this message. I am only writing about it to keep in faith the spirit of transparency.
The loss of the second star is actually for a few other reasons:
1) The pictures on the listing do not reflect the state of the apartment (as of the writing). There was a lot more clutter in the areas not shown in the pictures. It was clean, just not particularly tidy.
2) Due to the age of the building itself, the creaky floors are obnoxiously loud. Youll find that most townhouses in NYC are the same way but the floors in this building were especially loud & creaky. I could hear those on the floors above and the floors below walking around their apartments and every time they flushed the toilet. It was a bit of an nuisance hearing that while trying to sleep. And on top of that, every time I would walk across the living room or to the bathroom, the creaky floors would announce my comings and goings to the neighbors as well.
3) The neighborhood felt somewhat unsafe at night. The streets were not lit well and the general feeling of the streets at night didnt exactly scream warm & welcoming, much less safe.
But what list is complete without the pros about this listing:
1) Close to the subway
2) Laundromat a short walk away
3) Close to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens
4) Close to a grocery store