We enjoyed our stay at this B&B in Austin, but this will be a mixed review.
This unit is in an excellent location, less than a block from 6th Street, very convenient to several dining and bar locations, and a few short blocks from a large shopping area with a Whole Foods market and other high-end shops. Also very convenient by short drives to Austin’s famous SoCo (South Congress) district, with its quirky shops, restaurants and bars… as well as access to the center city area north of Lady Bird Lake, and virtually everything else Austin has to offer.
The reserved parking space just below the unit is excellent, well lighted and easy to access. The host was readily accessible and helpful, and the coded entry lock system worked perfectly.
Inside, the unit features a large bedroom with a queen bed and a single, tiny bedside table, whose surface had to be cleared of 3 candles in order to be useful... and a nicely remodeled bathroom with plenty of space for toiletries and a pleasant, if unorthodox, overhead “rainfall” shower head.
There’s also a closet in the bedroom, with limited hanging space and a few small drawers which were stuffed with spare linens when we arrived. If you enjoy thick foam beds, this one is for you, including a 3-inch thick foam top layer.
Wifi was excellent throughout our stay. Air conditioning and heating also worked well, with an easily-adjustable thermostat.
The kitchen, only slightly remodeled (with granite countertops and a nice sink) is small, but contains a full electric cooktop and oven, a full size fridge, electric teapot, electric coffee maker, and a small toaster. The limited counter space is reduced further by a small countertop microwave.
Although the unit features a large dining area adjacent to the kitchen, there’s no dining table and no dining chairs. Two hard metal bar stools at the island containing the cooktop are the only available seating for meals. If you’re a “candle fan,” you’ll appreciate the extraordinary number of candles scattered about the apartment. Three in the dining area alone (despite the absence of an eating table), two more in the living room, three in the bedroom and one in the bathroom.
In the living room, a single upholstered chair is the only comfortable seating in the unit. The hard, uncomfortable futon (not-at-all a “sleep sofa”) sits across from a barren wall containing the TV, whose electronics consume the entire top of a small basket/box below the TV. A large coffee table in front of the futon provides the only available horizontal surface space in the unit, but is cluttered with magazines and books.
There is no other furniture or facility for placing suitcases, other than the floor, forcing us to use the futon as our “luggage-placement” area (eliminating the futon for seating).
There’s a “stick” coat rack.
This unit is advertised as an AirBnB “Plus” apartment. Having read carefully the criteria for “Plus,” this apartment does not qualify. Although the bathroom includes excellent Egyptian cotton bath towels, the hand towels and wash cloths are “Walmart” specials. The quirky “Marfa” themed art is appropriate, but otherwise the unit’s decor is either unremarkable or nonexistent. The very limited surface space, absence of an eating table, absence of any dresser space for storing clothing contribute to the feeling that this unit falls short of “plus.”
On the large deck outside the door, it would, indeed, be possible to watch a late afternoon sunset (and enjoy yet another candle), but that scene would also include watching the parade of construction and service vehicles, dumpsters and other trash containers in the messy service alley right outside. Walking access to the unit is from that same alley, and requires threading your way (with luggage) among the muddy potholes and trash dumpsters on either side of the stairs.