I would NOT recommend. I have stayed at a lot of Airbnb’s and this was an extremely frustrating, uncomfortable and disappointing stay. My boyfriend and I were really excited for this stay because the photos and amenities looked so nice. We even splurged a little to stay here. But from the moment we arrived, it was a terrible experience and we left exhausted, frustrated, and feeling like we just wasted our money and a trip.
To start, check in was a huge pain - they require you to verify your identify in order to get an access code which is fine except we never got the email to do so and when I arrived, the app and links wouldn’t work. The front desk nor their remote supervisors could even troubleshoot why they weren’t working but they also wouldn’t provide me the access code to our room without it. After a very frustrating hour, they eventually just let us in to our room (which is something they should’ve done while they figure out their technical issues and improve their process). The front desk personnel were pleasant but just not helpful at all and their customer service line in the app is just a rotating group of people with generic responses. They kept pinging me after to complete the verification process and I had to explain to a new person every day that I couldn’t because the app wasn’t working for me.
When we got to the room, it was NOT the room that was pictured in their Airbnb photos. The room was clean but it felt a little cheap. The sheets were scratchy, the dresser was wobbly, lamp shades were dinged up. The in room washer and dryer was convenient but left our clothes soapy. The shower doesn’t have a shower liner so water gets everywhere and becomes a slip hazard.
But the biggest and most disruptive offender was the noise. The walls and windows are thin and the room overlooked the Hugh Carey tunnel to Brooklyn (not a pretty view) so there was traffic noise which I know is to be expected in New York City. But there was also construction on the sidewalk outside that started at 8AM everyday and then construction on the tunnel DURING THE NIGHT. Needless to say we didn’t get much sleep at all with 24 hour construction (I ended up getting sick from being so worn down) and working from our room during the day was really annoying and counterproductive. While I know the construction is not within Sonders control, I think most real Airbnb owners would’ve disclaimed that somewhere or notified their guests leading up to your stay. If not, at the very least they would’ve tried to make amends or accommodations somehow. Sonders couldn’t accommodate a room move. Eventually, after a lot of back and forth and videos and pictures exchanged, Sonders gave us a very small discount but not nearly enough to make up for all of this. I don’t mean to sound unappreciative or petty here but we paid a lot to stay and the discount felt like an empty gesture.
A few other random things that happened during our stay - the room smelled like weed likely from our neighbors, the TV doesn’t have cable just chromecast which didn’t work all of the time, and they limit you to 1 request for anything so when we needed more towels and then more laundry detergent they wouldn’t accommodate the latter. It’s also not a great part of town and it’s a bit of an eye sore. It’s located close to a few subway lines though.
Overall, this was more than disappointing, it was bad. Sonders operates more like an impersonal hotel than an Airbnb but also doesn’t have all the services of a hotel. It’s also not cheap. While I’m sure some of these issues are isolated incidences, not all of them are, so it’s not worth the risk and Sonders will not do much to make amends even if you bring it up to them during your stay. Their slogan is “a better way to stay” and that was unfortunately not the case for us.