Good: Apartment is very clean and although small set up to maximize space. Perfect for 1-2 people. The shared bathrooms were fine - clean and seemingly never occupied. Glad that there is a shower in the apartment and there was always hot water. Bed was very comfortable. Fridge/freezer & small kitchen set up was nice. The apartment building/neighborhood was surprisingly quiet for such a central & accessible location. Easy walk to Midtown or to the Villages. Union Square subway makes easy access to other areas or if one doesn't want to walk. Good value for New York.
Bad: Shared bathrooms do not have sinks with mirrors in them and that is not in the description. The apartment only had the kitchen sink and no mirror above it so very difficult to shave. Also the heating/pipe system was making loud knocking/cracking sounds throughout the night making it hard to sleep. When we texted the host about it she never replied. Probably a seasonal situation as the radiator wasn't on in the apartment but the heat was on in the rest of the building and so the bypassing might have been causing the sounds but it would have been nice if she responded. Halls smelled of cigarettes & pot but we never smelled it in the apartment.
Ugly: Stairs. Mentioned in several reviews. They appear on the verge of collapse - they are on a downward slant from the wall and have seemingly thin pieces of metal for support. My wife & I are small & fit and the first time we walked up the stairs together you could feel them slightly buckle under the weight. The rest of the trip we walked each flight separately and stayed against the wall. Unfortunately for the host I'm sure there is not anything she can do about it as it would be the building owners responsibility to fix them, but it was very unnerving.
It's 4 star apartment in a 2 star building which is why we gave an overall 3.