For my three nights in NYC I stayed at an Airbnb place. This was a two-bedroom apartment on W 42nd St, just beyond 11th Avenue – so just about four blocks from Times Square, and three blocks from the subway on 8th Avenue. This was my first stay in a real Airbnb – I had stayed at a place I’d arranged through Airbnb in London a couple of months ago, but actually that turned out to be a room in a budget hotel.
So how did I find it?
First thing to say is that the location was amazing, of course. A lot of places were reachable on foot, albeit with a bit of a walk. It was maybe 20 minutes to the bottom of Central Park, and perhaps 15 minutes over to 5th Avenue. Downtown could be done on foot but would be easier on the subway. And there were plentiful restaurants on 9th Avenue just a couple of blocks away.
The apartment itself was excellent. It’s in an old industrial building which was converted into residential accommodation in the 1980s, I think. There’s a security-guarded entrance down at street level, which is always manned by a doorman. This particular apartment is 1100 sq ft in area, and originally came as an empty space – just concrete walls, floors and ceilings. Johnny (the owner) works as a designer and planned it himself. There’s a superb kitchen and eating area at one end; the bedrooms are up against the long wall; and there’s an open seating area with a couch and low table in the middle. Opposite the couch is a wall-mounted TV. Then at the other end is a smaller seating area by the window. The bathroom is beyond the kitchen. The whole is beautifully decorated and futures and fittings are very high quality. Lighting, especially, is very well done.
With an Airbnb experience such as this, the concept is that you are sharing the apartment with the resident – it’s as if you are their guest. That produces the only reservation I’ve got. Johnny was never less than friendly and engaging, but there was one occasion when I felt a bit uncomfortable. He a had a friend round; they were cooking and looking forward to an evening in; and I felt a little bit in the way. That was probably just me being super-sensitive, of course, and I ought to say that neither Johnny nor his guest expressed any comment or made any move to suggest this. But that was how I felt on that evening, for a while. The following evening, however, in much the same situation, I felt fine.
Would I do it again? – yes, without hesitation.(And I’d go back to this one if Johnny would have me again….) As I said, the location was amazing and the price was much less than a hotel, even a basic one. I therefore recommend Airbnb, as long as you understand what it will be like.
Leave a Reply