Bob's place was like visiting an old friend. It was cozy and charming. My husband, my 10 year old daughter and I felt at home. From Bob's comfy sofa to the well stocked kitchen, our stay at his place was very comfortable. we loved his mugs in the freezer, his dishes and cutlery and convection oven. His place has high ceilings so it feels very large though it's not. But you don't feel cramped. There is tons of natural light and the view into the backyard makes you feel like you are in the country. One of our best evenings was listening to a CD on Bob's nice music system that we bought from gospel street singers from walking Central park. The sound was excellent and we all just laid in the carpet listening to it over and over again staring out at the tree outside as tge wind blew and rain poured. The neighborhood is quiet so there were no issues with noise at night. Bob was very attentive and very responsive to our questions via text. We were a little sad when we left his place and that we didn't get to meet him and his wife. The only thing I would forewarn someone about staying in that neighborhood is that it is not fancy, it is a bit gritty.And that's the reason I didn't give it a five star. My best friend would never stay in a neighborhood like that. It would not be a vacation for her. But for us it was part of the cultural experience. There is an elderly Black neighbor, slow moving, that sits in his chair in front of his apt that would greet us every morning as we head it out. My husband loved that he could buy "salt" fish with plantaines for breakfast from the Dominican market in the corner like in his native Trinidad and Tobago. He would wake up early and hang out there. In fact for a corner store, we were impressed how reasonably priced everything was. The store clerks were funny and cool. We also shopped at C town to stock up and the Chinese food restaurant which had amazing food. It was fresh and tasty, not like cheap, greasy Chinese back in San Diego. Other folks were selling clothes in the corner street and we bought 2 windbreakers that came in very handy. The subway was very close and on non commute times, you can get uptown on the A train within 15 minutes. Otherwise it's about 25-40 minutes depending on how far you are and train delays or station closures which we experienced a lot. But we felt like this is what the typical average New Yorker experiences. We also took one bus and the wait time was too much so we stuck with the subway. Overall our New York vacation was awesome and we can't wait to start saving for our next trip there. We would love to stay at Bob's place again.