Overall, I had a nice, simple monthly stay at a great price. Here are some detailed pros and cons to help people with their booking choices:
Pros:
- great deal on a monthly stay (main reason why I booked this place, 1k less than hotels)
- quick communication with hosts
- good location if planning to go Brooklyn often (LES = Lower East Side, more south of Manhattan)
- walking distance to bars and restaurants nearby (Doonybrook bar across the street opens until 4am, so safer to walk at night)
- 5-7 minute walk to subway station
- there's a front locked door entrance to get into the apartment complex
- there's an AC unit by the kitchen area
- simple living room has a pull out sofa but it's broken, so it'll slide around (try to use coffee table to hold it still)
- there's a desk for a working station
- kitchen had all the basic hardware amenities (have to get your own cooking oil, seasonings, etc.)
- easy check-out requirements to just leave the keys on the coffee table and lock the door
Cons:
- have to pick up keys at the Doonybrook bar, so only during their open hours of 12pm-4am, I booked Airbnb a day early to arrive early in the morning the next day at 6am but couldn't get keys until noon)
- it's an apartment complex with really thin walls (can hear neighbors talk and footsteps)
- no elevator in apartment building (have to carry heavy luggage upstairs)
- cleaning service is terrible (dusty floors, moldy bathtub, dirty rug, etc.) - there was trash in garbage bins when arrived and a dirty towel hanging on bathroom door
- no basic amenities available like a soap dispenser in the bathroom (there was a used bottle of dove body wash container with barely any soap left), no dishwashing soap in kitchen, no shampoo or conditioner available (bring your own shower essentials!), and no shower rug (had some weird wooden plank)
- dirty, stained comforter blanket and dirty, ragged towels (bring your own towel!)
- the bedroom and living room light buibs went out towards the end of the stay
- the bed was a bit too soft for me, so I had bad back pain (pull out sofa is more firm and felt better)
- no water dispenser or water filter (buy your own water bottles!)
- no TV cable, but there are streaming apps on the TV (have to log into your own accounts)
- get mail/delivery people buzzing the apartment trying to get into the apartment complex