Our time in Michele's home is everything you want to hear when you are looking for a place to stay. It is the kind of experience I'm sure Airbnb would want to use to market their service. Seriously, it's that good!
We were buying a house when the stay-at-home order due to COVID-19 began, slowing everything about our purchase down. We ended up without a home for nearly 6 weeks and were in desperate need of a place to stay as everything was shutting down around us. At a time when many Airbnb hosts were closing their homes, I was starting to worry we would not find a place to stay without needing to sign a lease for a few months.
Michele was prompt to reply to my request via the Airbnb App. I had a couple of questions (I was suddenly needing high-speed Internet to work from home and we have a small dog), and she worked with me to find solutions to these concerns. When we arrived, Michele had left a bottle of wine and a welcome packet. This packet included all the information you could ever need to live in a space: how to use the record player, how to turn the shower on, where the plunger is, how to use the outside grill or the indoor gas fireplace). And if that's not enough, there are little tags on some of the more obscure things (a couple of blinds that are finicky to open, a small brush to clean your shoes on your way in, the shower faucet if you're unfamiliar with that type of spout). Essentially, Michele has thought of every question you could have about the place and made a helpful guide on it for your reference. It was amazing and so well organized. I never could have thought to ask for the guide, but it was perfect.
The home was even better than I had hoped (and I already thought it looked fantastic). There are high ceilings in the common space, with a half bath off the living room. There are several games, a record player, and an Apple TV if you need. There are lots of books and a small desk upstairs (with a view out the front window, this was my work-from-home office during our stay). There are so many kitchen appliances (blender, mixer, toaster, coffeemaker), and the counter space is massive. We could have cooked for four to six people easily. The patio is spacious, with a table if you want to enjoy a meal outside. We spent most nights watching the sun go down from the front porch.
The upstairs bedrooms are connected by a bathroom. The two doors to the bathroom are accordion doors, so you can speak to one another from room to room. This was not an issue for my group (me, my husband, and our two toddlers), but if you need sound privacy, this could be something to consider.
Michele was incredibly communicative. We saw each other several times on the street or walking past their beautiful garden space (they live in the house next door, which is connected by a garage). To avoid unnecessary human interaction (due to COVID-19), she would text before they needed to come water the plants or enter the patio space. We had a small issue with some uninvited insects about halfway through our stay, and Michele worked with us to quickly get the home treated to our satisfaction.
There are some simple common sense instructions for how to clean and maintain the home. They are all things I do in my own home to keep it clean, and everything you need to clean the home is in the laundry room or hall closet (broom, vacuum, mop, wood polish, cleaning clothes, etc). Michele even left a little stash of toilet paper and some disinfectant supplies for us, knowing that COVID-19 had made it more challenging to get these items. We came prepared, but it was so thoughtful and such a sweet touch.
Checkout was a breeze. We left a day or so earlier than we expected because our home purchase closed and was ready for us. We were so excited to move into our new house, but we had to take a moment to appreciate Michele's home and hospitality for being exactly what we needed when we desperately needed it. Thank you for making a challenging experience into a fun 'vacation' for us. It's good to know there are still nice people in the world looking out for others. :-)