Penny's Place

The location is fantastic, but the apartment was vastly overpriced and shouldn't be rented again until it's had a major clean, repairs and an overhaul. After asking for a partial refund because of its dreadful condition, I got no reply. When I followed up, the owner said every issue had been resolved promptly, that the place received a full clean after I asked, new pans were supplied over a lid issue, the knives were sharpened, the air con and fans cleaned, and new linens provided. They said they didn't believe a refund was due. I strongly recommend staying here only as a last resort. I stayed for a month. The place was dusty and full of cobwebs. The host vacuumed, but the air con and every fan were clogged with dust. There were no sharp knives and a pot lid was broken. To his credit, the host replaced the pots and sharpened the knives. The mattress cover was old, shredded and badly shrunken, and the mattress and pillows were stained. Those were replaced after I called, along with a filthy shower curtain. Later I found the second bedroom mattress had no cover and was stained too. Someone had to make the beds and change the sheets, so this couldn't have been a surprise to the owner. It showed poor housekeeping and exploitation of customers. Since it's a factory conversion made up of back-to-back, two-floor apartments, there is no through-airflow. The north-facing outside wall is two floors of glass with just one opening window, which extends about 3 inches. There are no windows or air outlets on the south wall. Opening the doors lets air in, but also bugs and street noise, and hardly feels safe at night. The second-floor air conditioning unit is ancient and smells of mold. It's so noisy inside and out that I couldn't leave it on at night. Condensation leaked from the outside unit, leaving a sloppy pool of algae by the door. While I was there, with the air con running during the day, I had to empty the bucket the manager left to catch the leak several times a day. The bathtub has no grab bar and a slippery base. The replacement shower curtain was so long it was a slip hazard too.