Experience Downtown Hartford near XL Center

It's an attractive room and there was a nice common area. There were plenty of good restaurants nearby

The property manager did not help me with the QR Code or any other way to access the building. I WILL be disputing the charge on my credit card. I waited at the door for over 30 minutes and finally another tenant let me in.

Nice place, good location.

Overall the experience was somewhere between just ok and good. Most of my expectations were met, but not all. First impressions are what they are. The place looked kinda like someone had just left it and didnt get a chance to double check that all the dishes were washed, even though the clean dishes on the drying rack were wet. Between that and the fact that someone used a key to unlock the door and came in, without knocking, on my first morning there and the vibe had been soured. The host apologized and said that the cleaning service mixed up the days but it was a woman and a man who were laughing as they came in...it just didn't seem like a cleaning service. Its hard to look past that type of mix up. Its a studio for god sake. It was very uncomfortable for someone to walk into the bedroom while I was sleeping.

The day I arrived the property wasn’t ready and I had to find a hotel near there. Needless to say it’s not near nice areas but that’s where the hotel was. They only told me after I didn’t get a code to get in and I had to contact them. Good news was that they reimbursed the hotel quickly. The unit is very clean but very minimal. The refrigerator has no freezer section and the kitchen only a range top, no oven. There’s also no coffee maker, iron or ironing board and laundry was done offsite. All this I could deal with as the two streets near it have some very good restaurants. However, finding parking daily can be a major challenge during events at the XL center or for whatever other reasons. For the 3 weeks I was there I spent well over 200 on parking. In addition, the elevator for a 4th floor apartment was broken 3 different times in 3 weeks. The biggest reason for a poor review was the peer loudness even up to 3am. Not just the weekends but even during the week. If you’re a sound sleeper this may work but the last week even included a small street fight and a gunshot. I know I’m not sleeping through that.

If you are staying here for business, be sure to request a receipt from the host before attending. VRBO does not provide a full receipt. I have yet to receive my receipt from the host, so this may be a risky stay if it will be a business expense. The location is right in the heart of Hartford. Walking distance from many things. Unfortunately, being in the heart of the city means there is a lot of street noise and bright lights that enter the room at all hours of the day/night.

Overall good location and clean unit. Mattress, pillows and linens need upgrading. Hosts were responsive with request for iron/iron board in unit. Can get noisy as bars are closing.