This is a super stylish apartment located in the great neighborhood. Everything you need is right there: the bed is comfy, internet is good, AC is chilly (especially useful during NY heat in August). I didn’t use kitchen/laundry at all - lazy lazy - but they are right there in the apartment as well. And that leopard bedding in the pink bedroom is just awesome. I’m painting my walls pink too. Bedroom windows overlook buzzing Allen street with hip crowd, nice coffee shops and red brick apartment buildings with exterior stairways - so New Yorkey! Small window in the living room has pigeons cooing on the window ledge outside and a tiny piece of blue sky in between two adjacent brick buildings! Very cool. Kinda like in a movie. Then you run down the stairs, open the porch door and step our right in the busy street. I mean how much more of the New York vibe can you get just from the place you stay at?!

There’s Starbucks, huge Whole Foods, Fedex, trains to Upper Manhattan and Brooklyn - everything is a 5-min walk. Few short stops and you are in all the touristy places like Times Square, Bryant Park, Upper Manhattan. There’s a J-train at Delancey/Essex (5-min walk) that goes straight to/from JFK - watch out for the cool Manhattan view while you ride. Chinatown, Little Italy, Brooklyn Bridge, Freedom Tower, these are close too. Sometimes I’d just walk, watch people and accidentally stumble on the places of interest from the guidebook.

Communication is great. When I arrived at the address I was greeted by Shannon, Elisa’s friend. They are both really friendly and professional (really no any difference from the hotel, just a better way to experience New York in my opinion). Big thanks to Elisa and Shannon for making my first Airbnb experience perfect. It was easy, cool and absolutely zero stress.