This is a 3 or 4-star apartment with photos that make it look 5-star. It's fine, it's just not great. For a weekend or even a week, it's a good option because of the location. For a month, I'm out a lot of money that wasn't worth it.
PROS: amazing location (close to tons of restaurants, Central Park, subways, etc.), comfortable bed (cheap sheets though), host is responsive, quiet building.
CONS:
- Much darker than the photos make it look (especially the living room, which is always dim), and the couch is not comfortable.
- Kitchen is lacking in amenities (there are some cheap/broken but serviceable pots and pans, a couple plastic cooking utensils, and a set of Ikea knives, but that's about it). No oil, salt, pepper, spices, etc. I had to buy a wooden spoon because there was no utensil to stir food with. No strainer to make pasta, really nothing to use in the oven except one sheet (and I couldn't even tell if it was a baking sheet or part of the oven). Also had to buy sponges and dish towels (there was no way to wash dishes), garbage bags, paper towels and cleaning supplies (apartment had only dish soap). To be fair, Ian did offer me a $25 credit for some essentials, but it's really not a fully-stocked apartment at all. The kitchen is also tiny (even for an NYC apartment). If you're going to be eating out mostly, or you're cool with frozen meals, then the kitchen isn't an issue (the fridge/freezer are big).
- The surfaces of the apartment were clean, but the corners, windowsills, and baseboards were filthy. For such an expensive cleaning fee, I was surprised. The shower curtain is very moldy, the toilet paper holder is broken and useless, there's a broken drawer in the kitchen... there's just a lot that would be very easy to fix that would make this place much nicer. It's clear the photos were taken as soon as this apartment was rented/purchased and it's been a few years. The rug in the living room is pretty dingy now, a couple things are broken, there's a big mess of wires hanging down the whole wall in front of the TV...
- Loud construction starts at 7am every day. That's obviously temporary and not the host's fault, but it was a pretty big bummer considering I stayed a month (April, 2021).
-There's no view whatsoever. Which is fine, the photos just sort of look like there is one.
Overall, if the photos were current and accurate, the apartment was cleaner, and the price was a bit lower, this would be a good option. It's not currently set up for longterm stays if you're actually living there, and as someone who has lived in NYC her entire life (half my life in the neighborhood this apartment is in), the price does not reflect the value. But Ian is nice, the neighborhood really is fantastic, and the apartment's location is prime.