This ended up being a private room in a hostel/hotel of sorts. Everyone staying here is a traveler so if you’re expecting to rent out someone’s home this is not the place. Overall the stay went well, and everything was mostly as described. Check in was smooth and there was always a helpful attendant at the front desk.
The building itself seems quite old and is not the cleanest- as you’re walking through the hallways it gives off a shoddy impression, with dim lighting, smell of cigarettes, and almost seems run-down. You can occasionally hear people talking loudly in the other rooms.
Thankfully the rooms themselves are much nicer, renovated, and true to what is on the listing. However, they could have been cleaned better prior to move in- there was quite a bit of dirt and dust particles on the ground in the corners of the room. The sheets and towels are clean and you are provided with ample soap, shampoo, body wash. Our bathroom was newly renovated but also gave off a string smell of cigarette smoke. Configurable AC in the room was working at full blast and was a relief in the humid summer.
Overall I think this is a good place to be if you don’t plan on spending much time in your room. You will be located in midtown which is pretty central to Manhattan. We could see the Empire State Building from our window. The only downside is at times there is a group of shady characters who like to hang outside the entrance to the building at times. A couple of times some guys in that group tried to say something to us as we were on our way in but I’m not sure what they wanted because we just ignored them. Those were the only minor safety concerns I had; I usually felt safe while inside the building and did not think the other guests themselves were shady- it was a pretty wide array of other travelers.