Vanessa’s house is truly an excellent place to stay in New York. Just steps from the 183 st subway station to take you downtown and surrounded by a number of supermarkets and tons of food options. The hot food counters in most of the supermarkets here were cheap and brilliant. Also, try the empanadas at the juice/smoothie place on your way from the station. So good!
The area is very safe and we had no trouble checking in/out. The space is in the basement down a narrow flight of stairs. It was clean and very warm, which was quite comfortable on chilly days. The bed is quite firm but I rather liked that and slept very well on all 9 nights that we were here. There is a private bathroom outside the room and a kitchenette, which were also very clean. I would not hesitate to stay here again, the next time I’m in New York.