Where there is a record player and a stack of well curated vinyl there is comfort. We greatly enjoyed our stay at 8641 and we will create many excuses to stay here again.
A few stand out details include, the view out of the kitchen window towards Forest Park and downtown St. John’s. The high walled bathtub which we used way more than anticipated (we will always look for Airbnb’s with this feature in the future). The open floor plan is wonderful and encourages spontaneous dancing and flailing of the limbs. The centrally located dining table is excellent as a computer workspace, and as a dinner table for six. We also love the galley style kitchen, gas range, and assortment of cookbooks to peruse while also being located a few blocks from the St. John’s farmers market.
Between the objects on top of the fridge, the cookbooks and vinyl records, we could easily lock our screens in a box and not revisit them for a week with so much to explore inside the dwelling.
There are plenty of pots and pans, mixing bowls, cups and plates and a sweet old tea set to boot. We admit this was used for both tea and ice cream. No regrets. The coupe cocktail glasses are also dreamy for both convincing children to drink anything and for distribution of adult beverages. We nearly stole them, we liked them so much. The wine glasses are also well weighted, and you will find it hard to run out of clean coffee mugs.
The doors to the bedrooms were a nice touch to block out the living room lights in the evenings. This is especially nice for any light weenies who like to sleep in complete darkness (one of us included). We would not say the doors drown out the music emanating from the record player, but who really wants to muffle Muddy Waters anyways.
We enjoyed the unique entryway to the dwelling filled with curiosities. The collection of objects here made us wonder how they all arrived and where they came from. We imagined they wondered the same thing about us. We half hoped to find a book in this space, detailing the stories of how these objects came to reside at 8641. Perhaps the next time we stay here there will be, as well as a place to leave a story of our own for other guests to read.
We greatly appreciated the chairs set on each landing, leading up the twenty-five stairs to the dwelling. Stairs sometimes feel like climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro if you have a bad knee or hip, but the landings and handrails here make it easier on the body and the lungs for varying mobilities.
And lastly, the placement and functionality of the washer/ dryer outside the apartment door, simply phenomenal. Every effort was taken here to reduce its sounds that might compete with the beloved record player, the occasional busker performing in front of the St. John’s theater, or the jovial voices of the few folks sitting outside Slim’s Restaurant and Lounge. Job well done. Thanks for making us feel, in a small way, like we were back in a New York apartment.