I really wanted to love this place: the space itself has so much potential. With just a few thoughtful details and a really in-depth cleaning, the beauty of the space might well be realized. As it is, the reality of it definitely falls short of the lovely photos on the site.
To be sure, the bedding, towels, the kitchen and bathrooms were clean. I felt, however, that this cleanliness was undercut by an overall lack of attention to detail. The air conditioning units in particular seemed rather rickety, were very loud, and one was, in fact, quite impossible to reach or adjust at all. I can see how the very high ceiling (that is part of what makes the space so special) and the peculiarities of the layout don't lend themselves to an easy cleaning job. But the fact remains the final impression leaves something to be desired.
The other drawbacks that affect my review here were, in fact, more particular to us:
The fourth-floor walkup in the intense heat proved to be more of a problem than I'd envisioned.
The subway stop nearest to the place is on a line (M) that doesn't run after an unspecified time in the evening, or on weekends. This caught us quite off-guard the first night, and as we often returned from Manhattan on the late side, this definitely was a drawback for us. (Never explored the J line.)
I do want to add that communications with Chris & Kaoru were very prompt and helpful, which we were definitely grateful for, so 5 happy stars for that!