Albany, New York
Historic brownstone property located in the heart of downtown Albany, in the Mansion neighborhood with the historic Governor's Mansion.
This historic property, has four rooms, 2 kitchens, a backyard with a grill and a deck with seating. And two bathrooms. And enough beds to sleep up to 16 guests.
Walking distance to the times Union center, NYS Museum, the egg, Betty boop's Diner, Lincoln Park pool.
Perfect spot for your family vacation, bachelor party/ bridal shower or just to get away!
1
Was a quiet place and comfortable to rest after work
The neighborhood is iffy and up and coming area in Albany- as they go. Some houses on the block well renovated and some dilapidated. Living and working in close proximity to NYC we felt safe. The property on the outside could use a step repair. The inside is decorated beautifully with an ode to the Black Divine Feminine. The property was very clean and spacious. The owner communicated with us via the App as soon as we checked in and offered an AC unit for the kitchen which was overly hot- although we found later that this is because it stays on when not in use giving off heat. It really should have safety knobs on it bc it turns on with flames when anyone brushes by due to the small distance from the table. We declined, as we had already mapped out restaurants and would not be cooking, although we did order in breakfast one morning. Things took a down turn almost immediately on the first night and the owner made our trip unnecessarily stressful by charging us extra on the 1st day for family stopping by to visit. Without asking us, they added additional charges when we had already paid for our stay. After a back and forth via the App that involved DEEP inquiry and multiple explanations- we realized that we were being watched and my grown daughter who's graduation it was found the camera and would wave into it as she entered and exited. She literally lives one block away with her fiance and was graduating with her Masters degree from UALBANY- which was the reason for the rental. It was assumed that they were part of the party of guests checking in which resulted in an absolute barrage of unnecessary assumptions, texts, and charges during family time, relaxation and dinner meals- during what should have been all about celebrating her accomplishment and our collective joy as a family. My sister was with me, and is a world traveler to the tune of 18 Asian and African countries, not to mention Europe and the Caribbean and has rented from hosts all over the world and is still commenting that she has never seen such unprofessional and distrustful behavior because of assumptions. In the end the charges were removed, but because of these behaviors and false accusations, I could not settle down to sleep well in the property. What happened was talked about among us all during the entire stay and really put a grey cloud on what was a proud and beautiful occasion. A holistically good stay is about the property AND the temperament of the owner/s.
This is a rather unusual story and circumstance so I will try to be brief. My family rented this property so that we could all stay together while we attended our father's funeral. I arranged the rental on behalf of myself and my siblings. When my brother arrived at the house, they noticed carpenter ants in a few rooms and killed them. After a few hours when sitting on the couch watching TV with his wife and teen daughters, they had carpenter ants crawling over the wall, the couch and their bodies. They were naturally grossed out so they left the property. In the meantime, I had fallen and broken my arm and was in the ER in another state. The mistake that we made was that for some reason my brother did not take pictures of the ants. I imagine they were in a huge hurry to get out of there and get a decent night's sleep at a nearby hotel. When we told the owner that we had vacated the property and would like a refund or partial refund of our money, he told us there were no ants in the house and refused to entertain the idea of a refund. So after repeated attempts at communication, this owner has pocketed nearly $2000 of my family's money and has refused to respond to our requests for a refund. I know there are unscrupulous people out there but we are not those people. We were in Albany for our dad's funeral for crying out loud. We had no motivation to want to leave but who wants to sleep in a house where ants are crawling on you? I would also like to point out that my brother took me on a Facetime video of this house before my trip and fall. There are literally beds in every room of the house including the living room . Obviously the owner is trying to maximize his earnings by creating a dorm like or hostel type environment. What a colossal waste of time and $1875. I am shocked at the lack of integrity showed by the owner and I would advise you NOT to rent this property. Side note: the owner sent us a lovely bouquet of flowers when he found out our dad died - before the ant situation. So that was nice but did not ultimately change our experience.
I enjoyed staying at this property with my friends. We all had a place to sleep and the space is cozy. Definitely recommend if you’re traveling with a large party.
The property boasted a mostly open plan first floor with full kitchen. There were two bedrooms with two bonus rooms/spaces for sleeping. Our family of six was pretty comfortable staying here.
I did not end up booking this home, but the property manager was very prompt with his responses to all questions.
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Includes taxes and fees