This was a lovely two-bedroom, two-bath condo in the trendy 12-South area of Nashville. The condo was gorgeous and recently renovated. The place was spotless (more on that later), the strong natural light was terrific, and the decor was fun and stylish. The communication with Isabeau and Shaun (I&S) was good, and they quickly responded to messages. One should note that there is no elevator to get from the street level to the condo entrance on the 2nd floor.
Downstairs there was a restaurant that had breakfast and espresso coffee drinks. We didn't hear any noise at all from the businesses on the ground floor, including from the cycling studio. The place was within walking distance of many restaurants and businesses on 12th Street.
There was a lovely outdoor patio with beautiful landscaping. When the temperature was not too hot it was a lovely place to sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine. I&S also provided an unexpected "treat" which was a nice touch.
So why did I take a star off? The original listing did not specify that **in addition to the $140 cleaning fee** you would be required to attend to a variety of cleaning tasks. Yes, we could have canceled the reservation before we went but we had already selected the place in coordination with the couple we were traveling with. Canceling would have meant starting back at square one. In retrospect, once I had been told of the cleaning tasks, I wish I had canceled the reservation. The concern about cleaning the place (or risk more charges or a bad review) hung over my head throughout the trip and I felt I couldn't fully unwind. Lesson learned.
There were two tasks we were asked to do That I took issue with. These included making sure all the dishes were cleaned and put away or having the dishwasher running by the time we left. We were asked to bag all garbage and put it in the outdoor dumpster which was across from the parking area. There would possibly be additional fees if the trash was not disposed of as requested.
We were told, "We just ask that you leave the home as you would one of your family members as it helps our cleaning crews..."
The thing is, if I was staying at a family member's house, I wouldn't be asked to pay a $140 cleaning fee, much less the rest of the cost of staying there.
Also, I was asked to download a separate app called DACK to communicate with I&S. I did so but then saw that Airbnb states "For your protection and safety, always communicate through Airbnb." I asked I&S for clarification, and they said communicating through the Airbnb app was fine.
In summary, the property was clean, stylish, and well-located. I&B responded very promptly to messages. However, the cleaning mandates in addition to the $140 cleaning fee were a turn-off and we wouldn't stay here again unless that policy was changed.