Secluded 2BR house in the trees 1mi from BHM city - sauna, hot tub, ping pong

Summary: If you will be mostly eating out and using this as a crash pad for a business trip, college trip, or something like that, this is one of the better deals for its location.The best part about this place is probably the location. It's very close to downtown, but also right next to major highways.The good parts:* Host was A* Newer appliances, nice fridge, stove/oven, and washer/drier; although drier seemed to struggle on towel loads if towels were saturated. The not-so-great parts:* Driveway is long and at a pretty steep grade. Coupled with the narrow street, backing in can get a little weird with it being so close to the neighbor's driveway. We just said screw it and parked near the bottom facing in.* Weird smell when you walk in like an old basement kinda. Perhaps renovated after water damage, not sure.* I think the host could get better cleaners or higher level service. Noticed things like accumulated dust on baseboards etc.* Very barebones kitchen, no dishwasher, no wine/can opener, no upper cabinets.* The hot tub is in a weird place, and looked like it hadn't been cleaned since Moses wore short pants. Completely unusable.* Getting to the sauna and ping pong table in the basement is strange and a little dangerous if you aren't watching your step due to water/flood protection thing.* All concrete steps are a little uneven, watch your footing.* Fire pit a little too close to forestry in my opinion.

I am local to birmingham but had family come to visit, the neighborhood sits on the edge of a sketchy neighborhood. The house driveway is unstable and hard to navigate. The house is not ADA safe with steps being crazy heights. The house is basic and seems to need some work. The cleanliness was the most questionable. but the house included the most basic necessities. The house is less than cozy with very empty spaces. The sauna and ping pong table in the basement were very mis represented in the photos. Overall the experience was okay and we were able to have family stay in town with our dog. The host was very responsive and quick to help.

Pros: This property has been nicely remodeled for a home away from home. It was very close to all the things we wanted to do. Cons: I think the steps are a bit steep for aging people (15-18 inches are big steps). Sauna was nice but the basement area where it is located needs more lighting and finishing touches (more sweeping and cover exposed electrical wiring) House needs smoke detectors, first aid kit and fire extinguisher (Maybe VRBO does not require these anymore)

Nice spot!