If you are looking for a place in Capital Hill, Seattle as your base, this unit may be for you. There are creature comfort details that are phenomenal! Here is just a partial list: 1. The best quality paper goods like soft tissues and the best absorbent paper towels 2. A thick block of note paper and pens 3. The best stocked kitchen of any Airbnb we have ever stayed in, including things like oven mitts, parchment paper, a blender, a water filter, food treats like instant oatmeal, a frozen meal in the freezer, a variety of good quality teas, organic coffee, generous amount of coffee creamer, etc 4. Fluffy, thick and clean rugs 5. A small fan in the bedroom 6. Mirrors of all shapes and sizes in great locations (like a full size mirror in front of the door). 7. Fresh flowers
With all that being said, here are a few things about the place that you should note:
1. The mattress in the bedroom is *super* hard.
2. The unit has been changed since the pictures on Airbnb were taken (there is a different coffee table and rug, there is now a full sized refrigerator in the kitchen, etc.)
3. The unit looks much bigger in the pictures than it felt when we arrived.
4. You need to “jiggle” the faucet in the kitchen sink as you close it, to stop the water from running. A good plumber could probably fix that right up.
5. The bathroom maybe difficult to manoeuvre since the space is so tiny. If you have issues with safety in entering and exiting a tall bathtub in a small space, consider contacting the host to see if a safety rail was added as we suggested. I could not get the tub to hold water for a bath, as the plug did not seem to seal the drain. (Enter the plumber again)
6. The unit is on the bottom floor of a large building of apartments. To enter it you must go down stairs to a carpeted, well lit hallway, past other units. While the carpeting in the hallway looks new, and there are pretty alcoves with lovely vases in which to sit, the smell is dank and musty in the hallways (not in the unit).
7. Finding on the street parking is indeed difficult, as many of the other guests mentioned in their reviews. You do receive a parking pass, but even with that you can drive around for a long time searching.
We tried to call the host once while we were there and he did not answer. However he did immediately respond on the Airbnb messaging service that he saw the call, and he answered our (written) request for permission to leave our luggage in the unit as we went up to see the spectacular rooftop view that everyone was raving about. The view is worth the hike up to the roof if visibility is good and the weather permits. Check your weather forecast to see if you will get a chance to enjoy it. It rained constantly until the last minute of our stay.
If we had stayed for more than one night we would have asked about some of the issues we mentioned above, and we are sure that Matthew would have been responsive. With a 4 pm check in and 11 am check out we were not there for enough time to address the issues with the host.
The amount of thoughtful details in the place may offset the high cost, but after the additional costs were added to the list price of the unit, the cost for the stay was on the high side.