Beware cockroaches in this unit!
The photos, location, and positive reviews initially impressed me, but the experience was disappointing. Upon arriving in Philly, I was required to upload my ID through a hostop.ai portal and pay a fee for very limited damage insurance before receiving access instructions. Although disclosed in the listing, the fee wasn’t included in Expedia’s displayed total, and there was no option to decline it. After waiting an hour on the sidewalk, I had to message the host for access.
Inside, I found a flickering light, mismatched light bulbs, mold in the bathtub corner, the laundry door off its track and missing towel and toilet paper bars. These basic maintenance issues were frustrating, especially given the required insurance fee. To their credit, the host eventually refunded it after multiple messages.
My first night was also unpleasant, with noise from the upstairs unit past 2 a.m. and small cockroaches in the rental. The Wi-Fi stopped working after the first night as well. Once I left the rental in the morning I had to navigate around a massive trash pile on the sidewalk - likely not helping the cockroach issue. Overall, I would recommend finding a different rental.
There are multiple listings on Expedia for this rental with the same pictures, but with different reviews and hosts listed. So please be careful in your booking.
The host was communicative after the first issue around gaining access so I will give them credit for that.