I looked over reviews, and this place had really good reviews–so we booked it for four nights over Christmas based on good reviews and proximity to my daughter’s place. It offers private, secure parking, easy contactless check in, a good location, and it is very clean. There is a good supply of hot water, and laundry facilities if you need to use that. The bed is very comfortable and has ample blankets and pillows. There is a gas stove and refrigerator, coffee maker, and toaster. All of these were appreciated.
We did end up having some disappointing issues, however, that I would like to point out:
-It was wintery/cold/rainy in San Jose–41 degrees overnight, and as it turns out, the heat in the apartment DOES NOT WORK. We were NOT alerted to this issue. The apartment has a ONE ROOM SPACE HEATER–so there was only heat in the one room where we had that space heater. It was very chilly in the apartment. When I inquired about how to turn on the furnace with the thermostat, the host replied that the heater was not working and apologized for the inconvenience. A lack of working heat in the winter is more than an inconvenience.
-We booked four nights over the Christmas holiday, December 23-26. For our four night extended stay, there were only two bath towels. There were three washcloths, one serving as a hand towel. There was a small bath mat. There was a partial roll of thin paper towels in the kitchen and one flour sack kitchen towel. We requested extra towels given that we were staying for four nights. We ended up laundering our bath towels at my daughter’s on Christmas because by that point, our twice used bath towels were damp and the extra towels we requested were not delivered. We left the apartment close to 11 am on the third/final day of our stay and returned late that evening–at some point during that final day, extra towels were dropped by along with an extra blanket.
Ants happen–We get sugar ant outbreaks at our own home, and this place is definitely having a sugar ant issue. We came in on the third night to discover an army of sugar ants all over the counter and in the granola we had purchased.
This apartment is most likely quite warm, cheery, and bright in more summery months, but it was not an ideal winter spot.