I stayed at this Airbnb for over 6 weeks during COVID. Here are my pros and cons:
Pros:
- Location: The area is phenomenal! Right in the middle of Little Italy (literally your block is Little Italy) between LES and Soho. All of the shopping and eating is right at your doorstep.
- Food: There are two Trader Joe's within 15min walking distance of the apartment plus a local Mulberry Market about four blocks north. A million restaurants are outside the front door as well.
- Noise: It was so quiet, like unheard of for Manhattan quiet. I was never woken up by noise at all which was incredible. You're in the back of the building so you get zero street noise.
- Size: This was the perfect size for one person. A good amount of closet space and a small living room was great for entertaining the couple of friends who would stop by. The rooftop was also a great add on to the space. I would say one person or a couple could stay here comfortably.
- Water: water pressure was great and the shower got hot quickly and stayed warm.
- Management: it is worth mentioning that this apartment is run by a management company not a single person. You're not going to get the cute little touches you might find at other Airbnb's but if you have questions about something breaking (my shower curtain broke) they will get back to you right away and send someone to fix it. They responded to emails within 24 hours and were really helpful.
Cons:
- Cleaning: There were no cleaning supplies in this Airbnb. Just a tiny bottle of soap and a single sponge. For a short stay, this would have been okay but I was living here for 6 weeks and had to buy a bunch of supplies to keep the place clean. That added to my overall cost and brought the value of the place down for me. They literally didn't even have soap in the bathroom to wash your hands.
- Bedding: This might seem nit-picky but that mattress was AWFUL. I luckily have a lot of friends in the city and one of them brought over a mattress pad so I could sleep. The mattress is just really cheap and caused a lot of back pain, mind you, I'm only 30 and very active so if you're older or have back problems this is not the place for you. The actual bedding itself could also use some love, it was very cheap and had clearly been used a lot.
- Kitchen: The actual kitchen itself was 5 stars but again they didn't supply you with oven mitts or dish towels, just basic kitchen things, for you to actually cook. You'll also have to purchase olive oil, salt, and any other super basic cooking staples in order to make a meal. If you don't plan on cooking this also won't be an issue.
- Heat: This only bothered me a little bit but it's worth mentioning that because NY law requires landlords to heat the buildings in the winter it was insanely hot in the apartment. Better than insanely cold! I did sleep with the windows open most nights and I was there during a blizzard. If Temperature bothers you it's worth keeping in mind.