The vibe of this listing is unmatched. When we arrived at our apartment, we couldn’t help but notice the smell of damp laundry and musty furniture. Upon entering the bedroom, we were greeted with the sight and sound of the laundry machine running — we thought, is there someone else here? Are they returning at some point? It was a few hours before the host responded to our questions. Apparently, there was a delay in the previous resident’s checkout which must have caused the cleaner to rush out of the apartment with the laundry still mid-cycle. That being said, the bathroom, kitchen, countertops and floor appeared relatively clean.
Over the next two nights, despite opening windows and turning on ceiling fans, the stale air in the bedroom did not dissipate. On Saturday night, we went to sleep listening to the booming subwoofers of Trinity. In the morning we woke up to screaming seagulls and trash pickup in the alley.
Then there was the AC unit, a recent addition to many spaces in the PNW and practically an emergency measure thanks to climate change. This being the case, it’s understandable that the AC unit is rather haphazardly placed above two buckets besides the window. There are instructions to not allow the buckets to overflow. We avoided using it as much as possible.
Lastly, there was something spooky about this place. Palpable, almost. If haunted spaces are your thing, then this one might be right up your alley. The decor and wall hangings allude to a different era, and there are a number of charming and bizarre details that underscore the age of the building. Perhaps nothing was more creepy than when we studied the floor plans included in the safety information folder provided and could not draw a match to the layout of our space 👀 😬 — was any of this “real?” Needless to say, we succeeded in freaking ourselves out a tiny bit and had a hard time feeling very comfortable in the apartment.
As far as the location, it’s very centrally located with many restaurants, coffee shops, and bars nearby. You can enjoy oysters at Occidental Square, walk 10 minutes to International District/Chinatown, and walk 20 minutes to Pike Place Market. This also seems to be the rendezvous location for many of the city’s walking tours, underground tours and ghost tours. There is a small encampment right across the street occupying Pioneer Square, which is symptomatic of a much wider issue that we noticed throughout city. Of course, the unhoused people themselves are not a problem, but rather the lack of affordable housing and social services. Worth mentioning for anyone who hates seeing poor people.
I wouldn’t highly recommend this Airbnb, but in a pinch, it will suffice.