I stayed in this Airbnb for a total of 9 nights and 10 days. I was there to attend my rigorous doctoral classes, which entailed my research presentation, lectures, and complete my clinical rotations. Majority of the day I was not there. I left early and exhaustedly returned late evenings every day.
The home is in a quiet and seemingly safe neighborhood near a moderately busy hospital. The home is colorfully decorated in the El Dias de Los Muertos and Mayan/ Mexican altar-themed throughout. The outside tropical landscape is well maintained. There is a video of her bird playing in the corner of her dining room. This location was 15 to 20 minutes from my school. The owner who lives and works from home was there to meet you.
Pros:
Space to hang clothes in the closet and plenty of drawer space to store clothes.
The shower is open with great shower pressure and gets hot quickly.
She offers shampoo, conditioner, and body wash (I did not use it).
The home was clean and organized.
Keypad to enter and a welcome binder for guests with extensive details.
Mask is worn in-home, in common areas by host and guest.
Economical, close to public transportation and restaurants.
Pretty Gardenias outside the window and great sunlight in the room.
Designated space to park my vehicle.
Bedroom furniture was reminiscent of my grandparent’s furniture, with a key to lock the bedroom door.
You are requested to place plastic and glass bottles on the kitchen counter for recycling, which is noted in the binder.
She gave you one glass for use and filtered water through the refrigerator door. (I brought water and a travel bottle).
4 pillows
Cons:
The bed was extremely firm and hard (bed comfort is subjective to each person).
Mothball smell and noticeably stayed in clothing when I returned home.
The bathroom is down the hall and not connected to the room.
The host was eccentric in her response to requests for items that she offers to guests in the welcome binder.
Host strangely can be heard repeatedly locking and checking her bedroom door at night.
Welcome binder stated coffee and almond milk would be provided in the mornings and it was not until two days before the end of the stay. Maybe this courtesy was provided to her previous guest of choice. I used instant coffee and eventually made it at school.
The small cubed mini fridge without a freezer compartment was not suitable for holding cooked foods and for long stays. Some of my food was defrosted and was not held at a safe temperature for consumption. I politely asked the host to store a few newly purchased cold items after being there for 4-5 days in her main fridge. This was only overnight, and I left all my food at school, except for drinks in the minifridge. The host seemed bothered with the request after I told her about the minifridge not cooling properly and she firmly stated that it was not an issue before.
The owner initially waffled on my request to launder a few items (offered by the host in the welcome binder) after I was there for 6 days. She stated that she would not be in the city until late afternoon. She would need to do it because it is in a hard-to-access place and a few other explanations. To avoid any further inconvenience to this host, my generous classmate offered the use of her washer and dryer. I reached out to the host early afternoon to let her know that I have made other arrangements, while at school. She informed me that she had laundered them already.
As a healthcare professional, I use removable toilet seat covers when traveling. Where that be at a hotel, school, Airbnb, on a cruise, or anyone’s home I am temporarily staying. The owner irrationally voiced her offense on the 5th day, when she went into the bathroom assigned to my stay and her extreme displeasure in me using them in her home. She was very vocal in her disapproval and repeatedly stressed how clean her home is. I did not waver and informed her that I would never dispose of them in the toilet but, properly via the trashcan. I do not like confrontation regarding trivial issues and in turn, I felt very uncomfortable during the latter part of my stay. By the end of my tenancy, I had to walk on eggshells with the host, only returned late in the evenings, eventually heated the majority of my food at school. This was done to avoid any further uncomfortable and unnecessary interactions with this host.
The host offered to launder my towels less than 2 days before I was to check out, which I brought with me. I declined the request because I informed her during check-in that I brought enough for ten days. Oddly, during check-in, the host hinted that I possibly wouldn’t need to change or launder the sheets on the bed for the 10-day, 9-night stay.
Due to the anticipated stressors of traveling, attending my monthly rigorous doctoral classes, clinical rotations, and research presentations, I only wanted to focus on the objective of my visit and not matters in a place intended for me to rest. I swiftly checked out early on the last day, I insisted that the host and I do a walkthrough to ensure that everything was left satisfactory to her standards. The room, minifridge, and bathroom were left clean, per the norm, were very tidy throughout my stay, and properly emptied my trash.