I would recommend Cecilia’s place for medium stays.
Pros
- Excellent location, right across from the subway and several bus stops. The area is full of restaurants and groceries and pharmacies and feels safe.
- 2nd floor walk up.
- Good value. Relative to other 1-bedrooms, the price is very reasonable.
- Well-stocked kitchen if you’re planning on cooking a lot.
- Decent amount of space to hang out and closet space. Tastefully decorated and didn’t feel like you were living in someone’s apartment.
- Easy check in and check out. Cecilia’s friend kindly waited to let me in when my flight was delayed and helped me with my luggage up the stairs.
- Host is super responsive to any and all questions. She was kind enough to schedule a call before I moved in to go over some logistics.
- If you can play it, there’s a piano.
- Big workspace area with desk and light.
- Quiet neighborhood, no loud noises.
Cons
- The air conditioner is installed in a window in the kitchen, and doesn’t really circulate to anywhere else in the apartment. So unless you plan to spend most of your time in the kitchen, the rest of the apartment gets very hot. I was here during a heat wave, and I was couldn’t spend much time inside the apartment, and there were a couple nights where it was really hard to get to sleep. A fan would help.
- The internet is wired, which is extremely inconvenient. I had to buy a USB-C cable to use it, and it meant I could only use it at the desk or sofa, not in the bedroom or sitting in front of the AC. Hopefully Cecilia said this will be fixed.
- Overall a little run down, old and musty. The staircase always smelt funky, the toilet seat is creaky, and the bathroom a little tired.
- There is no door to the bedroom, meaning even when the blinds are closed, the area is flooded with light.
- Host only provided one set of sheets and a towel for a 33-night stay. They were dusty so I washed them. Duvet had no cover, so I bought one. There was no shampoo, soap, conditioner, shower gel, kitchen cleaning equipment, sponges, dishwashing liquid etc
The air-conditioning limitations and the sunlight were slightly uncomfortable and part of the reason I decided to check out early. Cecilia was considerate enough to refund 3 out of 11 nights remaining on my reservation, but obviously that still meant I lost hundreds of dollars. It’s her right of course since this was a long-term reservation, but just something to keep in mind if you decide not to stay the full month. Overall, my stay was okay. I would recommend it for short and medium, but perhaps not long term stays.