NOT A GREAT EXPERIENCE for us, long term guests.
When first arriving at our airbnb in Williamsburg we were excited. We needed a long term stay while our house was being renovated and knew this neighborhood and thought it would be a fun change. The house seemed ideal to accommodate a family of four plus our dog.
Our first impression was a good one. 3 bedrooms, washer/dryer, outdoor space, things seemed in order, and in a thriving neighborhood surrounded by local bars and restaurants. However, after living in the apartment for a few days, it was apparent our first impression was incorrect.
We stayed at Claire’s place from January 23 to July 2, beware, most of the furniture and everything in the apartment is worn out.
The staircase is steep and dangerous for young /older people and even pets. A plastic baby gate (that is not securely attached) is provided to place at the top of the staircase. Useless.
Noise at night happens from Wednesday to Sunday, manly from Clair's bar in the same building.
We had cold winter days and warm summer days.
Highly inconvenient when Claire started asking for access to the house multiple times which happened from the first night on. She also asked for a video of her place a month before were due to leave. Packages (big and small ) for her bar were being delivered to us. They will knock or I would get messages asking if we had a certain package. When you rent a place you expect to be left alone.
The vestibule in the apartment has a closet used for goods for the bar. The first night we were there, around 10PM ,the doorbell rang, it was the manager of the bar asking to access the closet, she came in and grabbed some bottles of liquor.
THREE TIMES in our stay I had to give access to the patio to Claire and her AC repair people so they can work on the AC unit for the bar. We are a busy family, with little advanced notice given I had to scramble to find someone to be there while work was being done. Claire suggested to let themselves in and I said no , first because I don’t find it safe to let strangers in in a temporary house (or my permanent house ) while we are not there. Second, I had to arrange for my dog to be taken to a different room or place as she gets territorial and would not welcome strangers.
A MONTH before our check out , Claire wrote to tell me that she was going to be out fo town for our check out (on July 2) and suggested to come to the house for a walk through with me to “address all the odds and ends” as she had already rented the apartment with a check in on July 3… the day after our check out !! She did not organize her Airbnb calendar, or blocked a few days in between to make the place ready for her new guests. The right and responsible thing to do would have been to take a few days to get things ready for summer rentals, fix the downstairs shower (she sent someone to fix it 4 days before we left but her plumber made it worst) or get new essentials or fix the patio which is in bad shape. I declined the walk though, I reminded her that Airbnb does not call for a “walk through” before checkout. Unheard of ! After this request the last month of our stay was not comfortable.
A VIDEO OF THE APARTMENT? on June 22. (10 days before our check out) she called to ask if I could send her videos of the apartment. She claimed that a prospect tenant was asking for videos. We were there for over 5 months, that last week the house was not organized, we had boxes everywhere, we were starting to pack to move out. I said no to her video request. Even if I said yes , any video I could send with all those boxes and suitcases everywhere would not have made a good promotional video for her apartment.
Going back to the beginning and other details, after assessing the place and seeing the old/dirty rugs and bathroom mats we went to Ikea to get rugs, mats, sheets. I vacuumed and mop the floors that first night. The house did not feel clean. The next day I had a cleaning lady help me clean the rest of the house.
It seems that this place is for investment purposes only, not for quality stays.
NIGHT NOISE , we did not mind the music, we eventually got used to that. Master bedroom is right next to the bar, when the bar closes the loud cleaning begins, Things are dragged, the the metal cover to the basement (out on the sidewalk) is closed loudly.
OUTDOOR SPACE is not enjoyable, the wood deck has been progressively corroding/falling apart, planks are loose and do not feel safe. The wooden chairs and table feel like they can break at any time. The old grill doesn’t work well. The noises from the AC unit for the bar downstairs and from the AC unit for the next door building and the crowd noise from the bar next door make the outdoor experience far from serene. Nothing makes the outdoor space welcoming.
INDOOR TEMPRERATURE: the place gets very cold in the winter (it’s an old building with odd mechanics ) we had to bring space heaters. In the summer, the upstairs gets hot , the small AC unit in the living room is not enough to cool the kitchen/livingroom and mostly so if you are cooking or doing laundry.
We were willing to tolerate all the inconveniences because the location was ideal for our work and school commutes. We were not ok with Claire being after us to accommodate her schedule. She was