I was greeted by husband Yossi and blossoming wife Marina with a bundle of joy on the way. She kindly gave me a tour upon my request. Enter a freshly renovated nook in a two-story townhouse. The use of real estate exceeded my expectations as it is essentially one big room that cleverly couples a bedroom, kitchenette, dining room, and workspace all in one! The cozy kitchenette is equipped with refrigerator, conventional toaster oven, hotplate, coffeemaker, and sink. Two laptop friendly areas include a humble dining table w/tall modern stools for two as well as a work desk and comfy chair. The bedroom neatly ties up the space with two nightstands and a closet to house your luggage unleashed.
The charming first floor level apartment is nestled in quiet family-friendly Kew Gardens Hills neighborhood. Linger long enough and you’ll find there is a lot more residential ethnicity than you would suspect just looking at the commercial stuff. The neighborhood has not only Chinese, Korean, Afghan and Latino citizens, but also diversity within the Jewish community, including a growing number of Bukharian Jews, from Central Asia. The location is generally close to just about everything you might need and offers a generous invitation to discover the variety of nearby kosher restaurants along Main Street.
Things I loved about this space was the level of thoughtfulness in hosting. The last guest happened to leave behind a MetroCard which Marina gladly shared. The freezer keeps an ice tray with rubber bottoms so you can pop the ice cubes out - clever. There's an HDMI cable available so you could connect your laptop to the mounted large screen TV if you’d like. Travel size Pantene shampoo and conditioner for your exclusive use await you in the shower along with fresh towels readily available overhead. You’ll find earplugs if you’re a light sleeper. If you need to expand your breathing room, there’s backyard access. Free parking is always a plus! All simple items but brilliant to making a guest feel right at home.
My only quirk about the space is that it isn’t immediately near the subway. This might actually be the blessing in disguise that contributes to the small town feel of the area. And likely the reason why you can see the sun instead of high-rises and indulge trees and flowers instead of the noise of Manhattan.
Marina was pleasant, accommodating and helpful. Our communication was always conveniently prompt. I rarely needed to ask her for anything because she covered all her bases! She and her husband even provide an informative binder complete with direct contact #s, house rules, transportation, locations of grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies, banks, you name it! With service like this, it’s no wonder more and more people are checking out of hotels and into Airbnbs.
Helpful local tips, amazing amenities, thoughtful touches, outstanding hospitality, quick friendly responses, and stylish x sparking clean space - the recipe for the perfect staycay. I would recommend Marina any day.