I stayed at Fred’s eclectic basement apartment for four nights over the July 4 weekend. The unit comes clean and is—in no small part because of its location in the most desirable quarter of the city—a deal at around $125 a night. Personal touches like the little shampoo bottles, houseplants, and quirky art and Persian rugs were at odds, though, with the sparse on-hand kitchen provisions, limited to salt and pepper. The unit has the usual issues one would expect (or recall from college days) in a basement apartment, which aren’t a huge deal if you’re shorter than 6’1” and arrive fully aware that there are 8 units above you, rather than just half a duplex (the description is a little confusing, particularly when viewed on a smart phone). Fred seems to mean well, but came across like he was still finding his footing with the airbnb platform. On the plus side, he allowed for an early check in. This was facilitated via lock box and since all signs indicated that he lived out of state, I didn’t expect to meet him. On the not-so-plus side, Fred popped by more than once to check in on me. Some guests would likely view this as harmless or perhaps helpful, but as someone who values privacy over surprises, I found it to be a little distracting and intrusive.