Ben and friends were excellent hosts. They sent accurate and timely information. The best surprise of all was that this home looked even better than the photos, which were really nice to begin with. But sometimes people use different camera angles or lenses to make things appear larger or wider than they really area - which wasn't the case. The decor was very hip and charming. They had excellent taste in furnishings, bedding, artwork, dishes, etc.. Everything was top of the line and super comfy. The outside of the house is a little worn down so when we pulled up I had a sinking feeling, to be honest. A few houses on the street seemed sketchy and my husband looked like he was super uncomfortable and ready to check in at a hotel. haha. But when we opened the door to the house - what a beautiful surprise! Another bonus was the high-efficiency washer and dryer, which we used quite a bit to keep up with towels and bedding - since we stayed 10 days. There was plenty of extra bedding, sheets, pillows on hand, which was great. There was a turntable with albums that we played, as well as a cabinet stocked with board games - which we used several nights. There was a good supply of magazines, brochures about Portland and so many other nice touches - like some local coffee that we devoured. We came from Florida and were worried about not having enough AC or cool air indoors but there were window units in each bedroom and extra floor fans, if needed. Would have been nice to have one more bathroom for all 5 of us, but the one they have is very spacious. There was a farmer's market just around the corner on 7th Avenue that we went to on Sunday. Lots of great food for sale, coffee, live music - nice way to spend the morning. We rented bikes from Everybody's Bike Rentals near the house and spent a day biking downtown, which was a family favorite. Took in a Portland Pickles baseball game, live music, a jazz session at Solae's Lounge in Alberta, a day at Multnomah Falls, thrifting on Hawthorne Ave., and basically ate our way through all the neighborhoods and food cart pods. All in all, it was a fabulous trip and we felt very safe and comfortable at Ben's place. Just wish this city would work harder to provide basic amenities to all the homeless people they have welcomed with open arms. Nice to say "You are Welcome Here" but tragic that there aren't more services for them. Eye-opening and a little depressing, for sure. Tough problem to solve....Thanks for everything Ben!