Secret Oasis In The Heart Of Hartford

Spacious

Perfect

We appreciated the cleanliness of the space, and we could see it being a good fit for a family needing a larger place to stay during a graduation weekend or something like that. Host sent good instructions about getting into the unit the morning of our visit.

We were hoping for a lovely, romantic space to spend a Valentine's weekend in while we visited museums, parks, and downtown; the name ("Secret Oasis in the Heart of Hartford") suggested it'd be great for that. Unfortunately, we ended up not even staying one night, deciding to drive home at 11:30pm. Outside noise (a prolonged screaming argument + loud music) and a pervasive cigarette smoke smell (the apartment is "no smoking," but someone outside/in the adjoining unit may have been smoking) made it untenable for us; we tried moving to the different bedrooms, but it didn't help. It was also very cold, and the thermostat wasn't working (critically low battery, it said). Also, we had to pay a $100 cleaning fee upon booking, but also had to sort and take out our own trash and recycling?

I liked the location and the property layout.

I wanted to reheat something in oven and there was no baking dish or sheet pan.

Loved that it had three separate rooms

The smell of cleaning products was SO overpowering one of us could hardly sleep - even with open windows or the air conditioning on. Didn’t like that we arrived at 8pm and the cleaners were still there!!

Beds were very comfy and the place was pretty clean and spacious. The weather was cool and rainy, and the heat worked well. There were a couple staples like salt available in the kitchen. Host responded very quickly when contacted. The light in the dining area was out but was replaced within a day, and all the towels were replaced with fresh ones at the same time. The location was great for us - we travelled for the Hartford Marathon, which was just 10 minutes away. There were very few checkout tasks, which was nice compared to many other places we've stayed. We suspect the neighbors like their pot based on the smell in the stairwell, but we couldn't smell it inside the apartment and for the most part they didn't make much noise.

The bath towels were small, thin, and cheap-feeling. We were 3 adults, and were left one towel and one washcloth on each of our beds, plus two extra in the bathroom. Furniture and dishware was pretty minimal. There was only one couch, and the dining chairs aren't designed for lounging, so it wasn't really comfortable for three adults to relax together in any one room. Some additional staples like sugar or honey would have been nice. Having more instructions for things upfront would've been helpful - stove, heater, light/fan combos, etc. (Another reason we had to contact the host was because we were kind of dunces when it came to using the stove.) Not sure if it was our location specifically, but at least one of us seemed to we woken up in the middle of the night by things like people shouting or police activity. (Note for anyone with mobility concerns: it is on the upper floor with a narrow indoor staircase to reach the apartment.)

It was very clean