My son and I recently spent three nights at Elaine’s property in German Village. I am organizing my review into pros and cons:
Pros: The location of the apartment is ideal for exploring German Village. It is a 9-minute walk to the Book Loft, for example (highly recommended!), and about 10 minutes to Shiller Park. You should consider exploring this park and make sure you admire the “floating” statues located throughout the park. Plenty of free parking on the street. Easy check-in process. Very comfortable bed in the main bedroom. There are ceiling fans in the living room and kitchen and easy temperature regulation. Kitchen was well equipped except that there was no tea kettle or electric kettle (see cons below). The manager of the property was very responsive and answered my messages within a short time. I also want to mention the patio in the back of the apartment with a table and chairs which we used for “happy hour” during our stay.
Cons: My son found the futon on the second floor to be very uncomfortable but thought the sectional couch in the living room was pretty comfy. On our first day, there were no sheets provided for the second bed and it was too late at night to request them (in my view). We emailed the manager and received them the second day. As mentioned above, it was difficult to heat water for tea. I thought about using the microwave, but the mugs in the kitchen are NOT microwave safe (they have a decorative metal band). I was happy to see a small coffee pot and a canister of coffee but then discovered that the canister was almost empty. There were also items missing from the bathroom. The description indicated that soap, shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion would be provided. We did not find any body lotion, body wash or bar soap. We ended up purchasing some bar soap and left it for the next guest. Although previous guests mentioned a book with recommendations, we did not find one during our stay and would have enjoyed hearing about restaurants in the area and other recommendations about things to see and do in German Village and the city of Columbus. The main issue we experienced during our stay was an extensive leak in the kitchen ceiling which was apparently caused by water splashing on the floor from the shower. We alerted the manager after mopping up the water when it first happened and had to mop it up again on the following day. After our departure, the owner investigated the leak and agreed to refund us for half of a single day’s cost. The property is old and has some quirks such as uneven floors and steep stairs to the second floor. Some maintenance issues to be addressed include screwing the switch plate onto the wall in the bedroom and fixing the vent that is falling out of the wall there. We also discovered a sticky substance that had spilled in the refrigerator and had not been wiped up.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay but found that this property was not up to the standard I have experienced at other Airbnb apartments and have grown to expect. Some of the items I mention above could be easy fixes, but it seems to me that not enough attention is being paid to keeping this apartment in good shape. The price is good and the location is great, so future guests might want to keep that in mind when considering staying here.