Pros:
- Great location, minutes away from some pretty decent restaurants, a pricey but nice supermarket, and Columbia City Link Light Rail (which gets you to downtown or the airport)
- Smart TV
- Lots of kitchen utensils, plates, etc
- The bed is pretty comfy, not too soft not too firm.
Cons:
Things that the host probably can't do much about (i.e., flaws with the building)
- No AC. Yes, Seattle has a pleasant climate, but the room faces west. If you've lived in a west-facing room before, you know how hot it can get in late afternoon. One day during my stay it was 68 degrees outside but an outrageous 85 degree inside. There is a portable AC, but these never work as good as a proper AC.
- No elevator for a 4-floor building. The stairs are also quite cramped. Good luck if you have luggage.
- No washer/dryer in unit; there is a laundry room, but the host did not provide any detergents.
- Noise from neighbor is quite audible from the vent. You can actually make out every word.
- The shower area is small, and it takes 15-30 seconds for the shower to reach comfortable temperature. So you either stand outside the shower and wait, or endure cold water for 15-30 seconds.
Things that the host probably can and should fix
- Internet is slow, like 2000s slow. I did several speed test; most of the time it's 2-5 Mbps. In practical terms, it means no video conferencing, no uploading/downloading large files, or anything that requires good internet connection. I ended up using most of my 5G data during my stay.
- Office desk is wobbly, dining table is wobbly, kitchen faucet is wobbly.
- Window doesn't close properly.