REVIEW: OUR NEW YORK CITY AIRBNB STAY

Its no secret that New York City is expensive. It has tons to offer but if you aren’t careful you will end up paying a pretty penny for Airbnb, Hotel Accommodation, Food and so much more.

While my Husband and I were looking for accommodation in New York for our honeymoon we came across some steep prices. We where on a budget, a very tight budget that is and we needed to be strict with our accommodation. We really didn’t want our accommodation to cost us and arm and a leg.

While we where looking at many different accommodation options the cheapest, we could find for 9 nights was R35 000. For us, this was expensive considering we were hardly going to spend any time in our accommodation. All we wanted was a clean, convenient and affordable place to keep our belongings, have a good night’s and a hot shower in the morning.

After much deliberating and contemplating if we should just close our eyes and spend the money on the hotel accommodation, we came across Airbnb. We found a stunning Airbnb that offered a spacious bedroom, own bathroom but a shared kitchen. We really didn’t mind sharing a kitchen, but my very fussy husband refused to share a bathroom, so this Airbnb was perfect for us.

Our review of Yasu & Akiko’s Airbnb in New York City.

The location was excellent

Yasu and Akiko’s Airbnb in New York City was an absolute pleasure to stay at. It was 5 minutes’ walk from Time Square (major selling point for me) and about a 10-minute walk from Central Park. It was perfect. Everything was so close including our favorite bar – Mercury Bar which we had drinks at almost every evening. We also had food stores, restaurants, bars, pubs and so much more within 5 minutes’ walk from our place which made everything a lot easier than we had anticipated

NYC Tip – Make sure you bring and wear comfortable shoes when in New York because you walk everywhere

Check in time and luggage protection

Many Airbnb’s have a specific check in time. Our check in time was 3 pm. For many other travelers they arrive early, and either must lug their luggage around with them until check in time or they waste a couple hours waiting to check in at the Airbnb in fear of leaving their belongings alone. But not at Yasu and Akiko’s Airbnb. They allow you to lock your luggage upstairs in the kitchen area if you arrive to early before your room is ready. They have bicycle locks that you wrap around your luggage to keep them safe while you head out to explore the big apple with no worries that your luggage will be stolen or messed with. This was a huge selling point for me.

NYC Tip – Before going to NYC everyone warned us to watch our bags and personal belongings but really, we felt so safe and never had anyone try anything. I would recommend just keeping your valuables safe as you would going anywhere else in the world.

Clean & comfortable rooms

Our room was immaculate. When we arrived, we could see and smell that our room had been cleaned thoroughly. The floors were mopped, there were clean towels in the bathroom and the bedding felt clean when we got into bed that night. I am the type of person that always thinks worst case scenario, so I was preparing myself for bed bugs, but everything was clean and welcoming. Yasu and Akiko’s really take care of their guests and ensure that the rooms are always clean.

NYC Tip – Always inspect your room before taking your luggage in. Just to be extra safe.

Noise at night wasn’t an issue

New York City is the city that never sleeps, and we expected nose right into the night and we expected many nights with interrupted sleep but that wasn’t the case. We were on the 3^rd floor and even though we were facing the street that had many bars and pubs around us we where never kept up at night. We did hear sirens every now and then but that’s what you get when you’re in a big city. Other than the sirens we slept like babies every night.

NYC Tip – If you really are a light sleeper, I would recommend keeping ear plugs with you. Just to be safe because you do hear sirens every now and then.

You get your own bathroom

Each room has its own bathroom fully equipped with a hair dryer, shampoo, soap and conditioner. This was an absolute pleasure because my husband is incredibly fussy and refused to share a bathroom with anyone. When I found Yasu and Akiko’s Airbnb that had everything we needed, and we didn’t have to share a bathroom I was completely sold. The bathroom is always kept clean and when you want new towels all you must do is pop you sign on the outside door handle giving the housekeeper permission to come in to give you new fresh towels.

Sharing a Kitchen wasn’t an issue

I expected some issues with sharing a kitchen considering everyone stored their groceries etc in one fridge, but this wasn’t the case. Everyone respected each other’s personal items and their groceries. Nothing was taken out of error, and you never had to worry about your stuff going missing. Chris and I bought groceries to make sandwiches in the morning and every time we came downstairs to make our sandwiches everything was there and had not been touched. All the guests were also very big on cleaning up after themselves and everyone always kept the kitchen clean.

NYC Tip – If you are sharing a kitchen, make sure you keep your belongings in a separate packed that you keep closed. It just makes everything easier for everyone.

No need for keys, only one access code

Yasu and Akiko Airbnb doesn’t hand out keys for your room. They have access codes which they send to you closer to the time of your arrival so when you arrive you can easily access the front door and your room without needing anyone’s assistance. You also don’t have to worry about loosing keys or misplacing them. All you need to do is save the access code on your cell phone and you never have to worry about getting in and out if your room or losing keys.

NYC Tip – Always remember to save the code on your cell phone. You don’t want to have to go through messages each time to try and find the code especially when you need WiFi for your phone to work.

Great affordability

Yasu and Akiko’s Airbnb was the most affordable Airbnb we found that also had an excellent location, outstanding reviews and easily accessible. We only paid R18 000 for 9 nights in New York City as opposed to R35 000 which is what we would have paid if we stayed in a hotel.

NYC Tip – Always read the reviews before booking with Airbnb. This was something I did often leading up to our trip. The reviews are what sell you on the place. Make sure there are majority good reviews.

I highly recommend anyone traveling to New York City to look at Airbnb for accommodation and I would highly recommend staying at Yasu and Akiko’s Airbnb. They are exceptional, their Airbnb is exceptional, and the service is outstanding. When I head back to the Big Apple for my 30^th Birthday I will be staying at Yasu and Akiko’s Airbnb.

Thanks for reading loves.

Tell me about your Airbnb experiences.