I rely so heavily on reviews when making a booking decision. I usually will only book an air b and b with 40 plus stellar reviews. When I booked this unit had no reviews but it was in walking distance to my child’s dance program so I felt it was worth taking the risk. I think its always important to list what was good first.
The good
*Fairly priced.
*Depending on your travel reasons you may like that its close to the hospital.
*The listing says pet friendly if you have a pet.
*Key fob access building
*Giselle is fairly responsive.
*Laundry on site.
*Close to a bodega and coffee shop
*Very close to subway and markets
*Unit is pretty quiet inside with mostly offices inside
*Couch that previous review mentioned being broke looks replaced.
The not so good and why I rated this listing a bit lower.
*Each day I saw questionable people outside the unit sitting right out front of the unit often doing drugs. In the morning there was often remains of it on the dirt of the nearby trees. Inside the unit it felt safe.
* The building is not lux (listing should have said old building with updates) this felt like false advertising. It is a very old building with updates but still incredibly old. The photos look different than in person. The hallways looks very rundown but its just old not their fault but by no means a lux experience.
*Pillows and towels were stained looking and need replacement. I actually soaked the towels in a bucket of oxiclean to remove most of the staines and re-cleaned the entire unit a day after I checked in. It could have been cleaned better.
*It was not managed only by Giselle. Property management was involved and a superintendent. I mention that because on check in for whatever reason the code was not working for us and we were left outside and the area is pretty sketchy at night. There were junkies and mentally ill people approaching us and Giselle had the propery manager call us and I really did not have a way in the building until a tenant saw me and my daughter standing outside in the dark with questionable people approach us and let us in. Giselle later told us the code did work and other renting got in and there was not a willingness to come to the unit and see if we were safe. Even if there was a code entry error on my part which we tried multiple times after talking to air b and b they felt she should have come to the unit to help us get in.. Air B and B did let me know a host should do this and she is not able to use a property manager or superintendent as her listing did not disclose this. They said it went against their host guidelines and asked for permission to correct her on this but I felt really uncomfortable staying there if they were going to talk to her so I asked them to follow up after I checked out.
The unit advertises access to a laundry room but when you come in their is a rules list that tells you that you need approval from property management to use the laundry room and when you comtact them you cannot use it on weekends. Air b and b did say this was a false listing they asked me to send a screenshot. They told me once again Giselle did not disclose the property management part. If you have an issue your also asked to call property management and if they can’t reach the super they say “sorry there is nothing I can do he’s not answering his phone.”
The listing also mentions the use of PPE form cleaning personal and this was not the case. I am seriously immune compromised and this was the main reason I booked the unit. We had a clogged toilet and the super entered the unit without a mask. The cleaning lady does not wear a mask. I know because she knocked on my door at 9:52 on checkout was 10 am I felt pushed out of the unit when I was gathering my final items and she was not wearing a mask. I am going into all these details because my daughter did get ill on her stay and the lack of safety measures were evident and that was the main reason we choose this unit. We wear masks everywhere even in 100 degree weather outside.
*The area was pretty sketchy especially in the evening but there is some security outside. One afternoon a man pulled down his pants and exposed his private parts to me as I was walking by. I don’t feel this is Giselle’s fault you can’t control an area but I think because of the location of the hospital it does attract a mentally ill population and likely those trying to score perscription drugs and its good to know what you may see if you stay here.
*There was a roach in our unit and one in the laundry room. When I asked Giselle why pest control skipped coming she said they came the week prior while I was out but this was not true as we did not leave the unit the week before due to my daugther being ill. When I told her this no reply.
Giselle was quick to reply half of the time she was super helpful and other it felt dismissive. I think she did try as much as she could I just think having so many people manage this unit lessened the experience for us.
There are reviews on some of her other listings that state similarly on helpful versus not so helpful responses. She also gets many positive reviews so I think its important to share that some of had different experiences than us at other locations.