Just finished a five night stay at this location and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I read reviews before booking and have to say overall this booking is a good deal. I am giving 5 stars, while there are a few small improvements that can be made, please note that this is me being very nit-picky in order to leave a thorough review. If you have realistic expectations and review the pictures and reviews for this house, you will have a pleasant stay. Just make sure you understand that this is an older two bedroom house. My wife wishes we could have taken the stair case home with us.
Occupancy: I saw a few people have complained about the occupancy capabilities. I really think they had unrealistic expectations. This house has two bedrooms upstairs. One has a queen sized bed. The other also has a queen bed that is resting on box springs but no actual frame. It appears they removed the door to a large closet in order to fit a large bed. It was still comfortable. There was also a raised metal bed in the second room that would fit a single child. You have to duck under it to get to the bed, and I did bump my head a few times. I would have preferred not to have it there but it was not a big deal. Downstairs was a pull out couch. The couch and both beds can fit two adults each. The kid bed can fit a child. There was a pack and play, which we used. And there is also a roll away bed available which could fit a single adult but would probably be better for a kid. So yes this house can fit around 6 adults and 2-3 kids depending on child age but you will need to share beds. If you rented a 2 bedroom suite at any of the half way decent hotels, you would be paying substantially more for less space (I checked). If you want 6 adults to each have their own bedroom or even bed, this is not the place for you. But 2-3 couples and a few kids can fit comfortably.
The dining room table can fit about 6 people at a time. The kitchen is not huge but it is a decent size for the house. 2-3 people could fit in there comfortably to cook and clean.
Location: The house is centrally located. It is pretty much 15 minutes to get anywhere by car. The neighborhood was very enjoyable to walk in. There a 3-4 coffee shops, a small grocer and a few eateries and bars within walking distance. The neighbors were nice and polite. There are also parks walking distance. We really liked the location
Communication: The host was very responsive but also gave us our privacy. There was a single camera on the front deck but overall we felt we had complete privacy, which was important to use. Any questions we had were promptly responded to.
Nit-picky cons - We would make the following recommendations that could use improvement and again, this is use being very picky.
- When we first arrived the screen on the front door was hanging off partly. It was completely aesthetic but just a negative first impression, but once we got into the house we forgot about it. I was able to reset the screen at least temporarily but I would recommend a longer lasting repair.
- The bath tub was a nice stand alone tub, that with the right set up, would be beautiful. The shower head and curtain however were awful. I am 5'10" and had to crouch down significantly to get under the shower head. My wife barely fit under it at 5'4". The curtain was hung on a makeshift set up hanging from the ceiling. From the screw holes in the ceiling it appears it has been pulled down a number of times. The ceiling is high enough that a very nice track for the curtain and a nice shower head could be easily placed. I would say this was the biggest negative of our stay. Showers were not enjoyable.
- Dust - The visible common and living areas are very nicely cleaned. But there was ALOT of dust in areas that were not in line of sight. One example is the top of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom had a significant layer of dust. The basement (where the washer and dryer are) was also very dusty with cobwebs. We didn't mind the based really but the cabinet needs to be cleaned.
- Top handrail - The handrail at the top of the stairs seemed a little flimsy. I carried my special needs daughter up and down the stairs, and I rely on rails etc to provide support and safety. I would not rely on that rail as I was not sure it would hold if I slipped. I did not test it though.
- Electronics: The house has Good A/Cs, but they are loud window units. Our kids like white noise to sleep to, but I could see it being an issue. They however kept the house nice and cool on some pretty hot (95+) days. The house has a smart TV with nice channel and streaming options. The TV however is small for the space and not really enjoyable to watch while sitting on the couch. There is definitely space for a larger TV. Maybe even hang it on the wall. When the downstairs AC is running, it is pretty much impossible to hear the TV while sitting on the couch.