6/10 Okay
Caroline C., Pasadena
30 December 2024
Liked: Cleanliness
Great neighborhood, but building age brings real problems
The neighborhood is safe, walkable, and very convenient for services and transportation. The communication with the owner was excellent. There is one parking space in the back, and the unit was very cozy with all the comforts of home. And my stay was awful. The steam heating in the unit creates a "water hammer" effect, a very loud and sharp banging when it turns on. Both the bedroom and living room radiator had this, preventing me from sleeping the first three nights. I sent the owner audio recordings of the problem, and after many, many messages back and forth with suggestions to stop it, her husband came over on the 4th day to try to fix it. He explained to me that you had to drain the water from the system, but he did not show me how to do it. He mostly fixed the noise in the bedroom, but the living room radiator still banged away the rest of the week, interrupting my online work meetings and conversations. Everyone must be aware of this before booking this unit, especially in the winter.Other challenges: the back stairs to the alley are very narrow with no real railing. Also, the TV is on an Amazon fire stick. If you don't have an account, you can't get to most channels. Lastly, the tub/shower lever is hidden in the tub spigot and took some real detective work to figure it out. Sadly I won't be staying here again unless they replace the old heating pipes with ones that don't startle you several times day and night.
Caroline C.
Stayed 7 nights in Dec 2024