This was a bizarre experience if nothing else but I’ll start with the positives, as there were PLENTY!
I booked the Airbnb for my daughter and myself. As a solo female traveler of a young child I am quite mindful of where we stay.
I gathered from the listing that Laarni was also a single mom and it mentioned it was “kid-friendly” so I thought it would be a great stay for a couple of nights.
Laarni is extremely welcoming, personable and friendly and went out of her way to create some unique and welcoming touches that you definitely won’t find at most budget friendly Airbnb’s. Her home is clean and inviting and we felt safe enough in the interior of the home, but I would like to mention, there are cameras ALLLL over the interior. I’m assuming the cameras were placed to make the host feel more comfortable about having Airbnb guests in her home but I found them a bit intrusive and a little overkill. If you are that paranoid about having strangers in your home, maybe don’t get on Airbnb? The main issue with them is due to the location of the available shared restroom that is for the guests to access, you have to walk through a child’s playroom and an office and it was a bit bothersome to do so as I like to dry off in a towel between showering snd dressing so I needed to cross in front of the cameras before I could enter our private space.
The room is slightly larger than pictures reveal and it was clean and tidy with ample closet space.
Now here’s where it got weird… I don’t know if I simply misread the information in the listing or if some of the details were added later, but there definitely was a lot of pertinent information that I received AFTER the booking was complete and non-refundable, like the fact that the host has a boyfriend that stays over and she hosts public BBQs with friends WHILE hosting Airbnb guests.
Our first day there we were in extensive communication with the host about our arrival and she even made efforts to clean the space sooner so we could check-in earlier if needed which was quite thoughtful. After arriving we chatted with the host for an hour and it was only RIGHT before she left after we’d already unpacked, that she mentioned she was having guests that evening for a BBQ. This is information she could’ve informed us of in advance so we could make a choice as to whether we felt comfortable staying or not but by the time we settled in and returned from an hour walk of exploring the neighborhood there were already strangers playing cards with her kid at the dining table. They were a bit standoffish as well and made zero efforts to introduce themselves which made it all very awkward. Laarni was kind enough to ask us to join but after chatting for a bit we had to decline because I needed to get my kid in bed at a decent hour.
We went indoors to prepare for bed which was very challenging cuz my daughter knew there were others still awake snd hanging out so she got a case of FOMO. When I almost had her settled Laarni’s five year old came banging on the door repeatedly until I finally got up to open it and asked him to stop as we were trying to sleep, which began the process all over. At one point one of the guests was indoors arguing on her phone, which I also found inconsiderate since we were attempting to sleep. I also wasn’t aware our restroom was going to be shared with these BBQ visitors and at one point the toilet paper ran out and I had to interrupt Laarni’s get-together as there wasn’t anymore available in the restroom. At some point when the party ended a guest returned and was banging on the front door of the home which woke me up and I was unavailable to fall back asleep. I got up to use the restroom around midnight and there was a random man sitting at the dining table whom I later discovered was Laarni’s boyfriend. Another small issue is that Laarni’s kid was actually pretty mean to mine at some points and it was just another part of the experience that made it uncomfortable. As mentioned, it said it was “kid-friendly” but the kid did not want to share his toys and as we had to walk through his playroom to leave our private space and get ANYWHERE else in the home, it was challenging to constantly have to explain to my four year old that he did not want to share/play with her and we needed to respect his wishes as we were guests in their home. That being said, there were some moments where they were able to play nicely together but I would never stay here with a kid again as it was more stressful than anything and only added to my parenting duties.
The last issue of concern is the neighborhood. I didn’t feel the safest walking around and one of our UBER drivers confirmed my fears by being surprised we were staying in the area and even mentioning where people regularly get “shot” just a couple of blocks away.
Overall I think Laarni and her HOME are great, but due to the unmentioned guests, the safety concerns of the neighborhood and the lack of consideration for the guest experience, I don’t recommend staying here as a female traveling with a child.