Friendship Suites

My mother-in-law stayed at Friendship Suites with friends who were visiting from out of town, and she was excited to show my husband and me around. The place looked clean and well appointed. It was cool inside on a hot July day, even with window unit air conditioning. She did mention that someone cleaned the windows one morning while she was brushing her teeth. She would've preferred to get notice first, but seemed to enjoy her stay anyway.

The landlord is constantly around the apartments, practically every day, and it's really irritating. The rents are super expensive, and the landlord seems to take advantage of tenants, who are mostly visiting academics, in every way possible. For example, if you want to extend your lease by a month, be ready to pay 10% more the following month. Getting a deposit back can mean large deductions for what seem like illogical reasons, which the landlord uses to take money from you. Most tenants go back to their home countries after moving out, so it's not logistically possible for them to challenge the landlord's decision about the deposit.

The house was roomy and nice, but bright outdoor lights came through the windows at night. Bring an eye mask if you stay here. I also tried to do laundry, but the basement coin washer was broken. The owner said I could use the machine next door, but I had to walk six blocks to get quarters. That washer didn't drain properly either, so I wrung the clothes out by hand and had to run the dryer twice. At checkout the owner gave me a full roll of quarters to make up for it, but I'd still rather not have gone through all that. I would've had a wonderful stay if I'd brought a sleep mask and didn't need to do laundry.

People were friendly and always smiling, and they even gave us directions when our GPS stopped working as we looked for a restaurant. My stay at Friendship Suites was good, with nothing in particular to complain about.