Unfortunately, ants invaded the facility on what was to be our second night of stay. The host was very rude to me in my call to him about the issue, and only resolved when airbnb customer support became involved and was provided photos/an accounting of the problem. Despite claiming no knowledge of an ant problem, a bait trap for them was present under the bath tub.
Prior to the ant invasion:
We found the unit’s location to be great for walking around the Historic Mississippi area of Portland. Parking is street only and we usually were able to park on the street of the facility. However, most of the bars/businesses were all mainly closed during our stay, so parking is likely more limited when they’re open, and on one occasion we had to park on the block behind the facility. Be prepared to tightly parallel park and/or walk.
The unit is nicely and simply decorated and appears welcoming. However, no cream/sugar are provided for the coffee, but this may be due to the ant problem noted above. There is also no microwave or central air conditioning in the facility. Portland temperatures can exceed 90 degrees in the summer (and have done so repeatedly this year). We were unable to use the large television in the living room due to the failure of the device to load any streaming services (including host recommended YouTube), despite purported “lightning fast wifi.” Our experience was that the wifi didn’t work at all (luckily, we didn’t spend much time in the unit, though). There is no television in the bedroom if you’re somebody who likes to watch TV in bed, be prepared to use your phone or laptop. Although there was a small single room A/C unit installed in the unit’s living room at the front of the apartment, the bed/bedroom is located at the far back and is not served by the unit. Luckily, we came prepared with our own portable fan to assist air flow, due to the listing’s ambiguity as to whether there would be any cooling options upon our arrival.
Initially, the host was very pleasant and professional in his written communication regarding our check-in process and was polite enough to check in on us during our stay. Therefore, I was shocked at his absolute lack thereof when I spoke to him about the unexpected ant invasion. I had messaged him photos prior to calling him after he uncharacteristically didn’t respond right away to my message. He was defensive, rude, and condescending throughout the phone call despite my polite and understanding tone/demeanor/request. Had I not contacted Airbnb’s emergency customer support, he would not have resolved the issue at all- and even ended our call by telling me to take it up with Airbnb. The turnaround in his behavior was shocking and leads me to believe he does not directly manage the account/facility, which may explain why he seemed unaware that there is an apparent ongoing ant issue at this location.
I’m disheartened to have to leave this negative review, because the place initially seemed ok and the host initially seemed quite pleasant. However, I’ve got to do right by anyone considering this unit. If you’ve no issue sharing your space with visible and persistent marching ants, this Airbnb is a good location and will meet your basic sleeping needs.