The house was in a perfect location, and for the most part we enjoyed our stay. However, there were some serious problems as well. Most importantly, the listing said there were several extra beds that simply didn’t exist. The listing stated that the third bedroom had a queen bed, two double beds and two air mattresses, but in reality it had just one air mattress. We were not expecting to be sleeping on air mattresses, so one guest ended up sleeping on the living room couch (which, luckily, was quite comfortable). It didn’t help that bedroom 3 is a first-floor bedroom very close to the street and the shades were broken so they wouldn’t go all the way down, so there was little privacy in that room. When I messaged the host about this, he insisted that the air mattresses were the same as real beds and said that I should have known that the listing made a mistake.
Other things that were broken include the dishwasher (wouldn’t turn on), the freezer (leaking water inside it and it didn’t get cold enough to keep ice cream from melting), the kitchen sink strainer, the bathtub drain plug, the Keurig. There were also tons of ants in the kitchen. The kitchen cabinets contained a ginormous amount of Tupperwares but only had four dinner plates and four small plates (another indication, besides the lack of real beds, that the house isn’t really set up for 8 guests like the listing claims). There was only one drinking glass, too - lots of small mugs but only one tall water glass. The kitchen cabinets also had a bottle of KY warming jelly and a large amount of supplements and medications - this cabinet was unlocked and the meds were not in child-proof containers. When I messaged the host about this, he said that the meds were in a high cabinet so my kids shouldn’t be able to reach them. The cabinet is right over the kitchen counter, and easily accessible by pulling a chair over to it or climbing on the counter. There were also prescription medications in the fridge, in an unlocked case. The KY jelly was just weird - not something usually in the kitchen, in a rental; it just felt unprofessional.
The house also wasn’t super clean - the pots and pans contained crumbs and food scraps, and there was hair on the walls in the upstairs shower. When I messaged the host about this, he said that his housekeeper had missed ONE hair and he’d never had anyone complain to this degree before. I don’t mind one hair in the shower (I have long hair and I know it gets everywhere) but a host should clean the apartment thoroughly between each guest’s visit. If there was hair obviously visible in the shower, what other shortcuts might have been taken? Sheets not washed? Etc.
Arverne is also directly in the flight path of JFK, so there were planes thundering overhead all day and night, which you could hear from the bedrooms. For me it wasn't too loud to sleep, but it was definitely noticeable, so you might feel differently.
I felt the host was defensive and not apologetic about the issues with the house. He tried to make them my fault, which they weren’t.
I would recommend this house if you don’t mind sleeping on air mattresses or if your group is only four people, if you don’t mind medications easily accessible, if you don’t mind a broken freezer and dishwasher, if you don't mind audible planes overhead. Otherwise, for the money, you might prefer to stay elsewhere.