We were very hopeful about staying in Valerie's place for 4 weeks while we were staying in NYC and we were pretty disappointed with our stay. While the location was good for what we needed, there were many things about the apartment that were not ideal (especially at such a high price point!)
1. The apartment is clearly lived in by the owner when not rented, so the kitchen does not have place for a guest's dry goods or other kitchen items. Same with all of the other rooms--the fact that there was the owner's stuff EVERYWHERE made it very hard to make this place our own.
2. The listing is much older than it looks in the pictures. The kitchen pots that are provided are in very poor condition (one smells like burning plastic every time it is used).
3. The host does not provide more than a couple rolls of toilet paper, so if you are staying here long term, you will have to buy your own TP, soap, etc.
4. The woman who is the contact while you are at the apartment (Rachel) was sometimes delayed in responding to messages.
5. The heating is centralized in the building, so every morning get ready to wake up to super hot air on your feet (since the bed is right by the heater).
6. The water in the shower was not reliable. We took many cold or luke-warm showers. This started to get better towards the end of our time there.
7. The apartment has a very strange smell that we couldn't seem to get rid, and the bed is not very comfortable (the tiny couch isn't comfortable at all).
8. The toilet has very weak plumbing, so the toilet plugged multiple times. The owner provides a super cheap plunger that doesn't work. Therefore, we had to wait for it to get unplugged until Rachel could send someone to plunge the toilet.