Laurie was nice, interesting and interested in our plans. The bed was so comfortable and the room was full of books, especially ones my daughter had read as a young reader. The shower was strong and hot. The fellow travelers were interesting. The house is in a safe neighborhood and just blocks from the subway. We (60 yo mom & 23 yo daughter) walked around at night and felt safe. Laurie gave us lots of information about nearby restaurants. She had bagels and chocolate croissants(yum) for us each morning. She has a wonderful garden in the back. It took us about 30-40 minutes to get to downtown NYC on the subway from her house. It was a great vacation!