60 St James Street #1 Main

The apartment needs work to be able to justify the price we paid Positive: The property is located in Roxbury district of Boston which is fairly close to the major Universities and the business district of Boston. Negative: The apartment is located in a fairly safe older neighborhood bordering some sketchy areas. It is a partially renovated 2-story older apartment with a strange layout where you enter the property in the first bedroom and has a second bedroom with bunk beds behind with an attached bathroom. The apartment has a lower level which has a kitchen, bathroom and a living room. Here are a list of things that are incorrectly described or wrong with the apartment. 1. The bathroom shower handle was not attached kept coming out. 2. The bedroom bedside lamp and the attached bathroom had missing bulbs. 3. The front bedroom carpet / rug was soiled. 4. Inadequate closet or shelf space. There was a tiny closet in the front bedroom with an electric lock having limited usable space containing a lot of other junk. 5. No free reserved parking slot, only limited on-street parking available with time restrictions. 6. No bedside table or nightstand in the bunk beds. 7. No functional AC units in the apartment. 8. Living room furniture cheap and was falling apart.

Alert!! Saw a mouse on the entrance stairs. Negative: We had a very disappointing and stressful experience at this property. We arrived late at night after a 6-hour drive with our children, expecting the place to match the listing photos. Unfortunately, the property was completely different from what was advertised. It was much dirtier than expected, and we even saw a mouse on the entrance stairs, which raised serious concerns about hygiene and safety. There were multiple issues throughout the home: the kitchen was in the basement (not clearly disclosed), the basement bathroom had a strong odor, there was no proper dining table, the sofa was unclean, and the bathroom was missing basic fixtures like towel holders. The baseboards and overall condition were so poor that we didn’t even feel comfortable turning on the heat and had to sleep in the cold. We reported the issues immediately and tried to contact the host, but there was no proper response or action. We waited the next morning as well, but still no resolution. Booking.com even tried to contact the property regarding our refund request, but the host declined and was unresponsive. At that point, we had no choice but to check out early and move to a hotel, paying additional costs including early check-in, because the property was simply not livable—especially with children. This is not a minor cleaning issue. The property is seriously misrepresented in the listing. What you see in the photos is not what you get. I would strongly NOT recommend staying here, especially for families.

Easy check-in, but cleanliness and comfort need improvement. Positive: Check-in was straightforward and convenient, and the hosts were reasonably communicative throughout the stay. Although there wasn’t a designated parking spot as expected, we were able to find street parking nearby without too much difficulty. Negative: Unfortunately, the cleanliness and overall condition of the apartment were disappointing. There were visible signs of mold and mildew, and even a mushroom growing near the shower area. We also found old laundry left in the washer upon arrival. The furnishings were quite minimal - there was no kitchen table or chairs, and limited seating overall, which made it uncomfortable, especially if the couch was in use as a bed. There were also some basic amenities missing, such as a toilet paper holder, and there wasn’t anywhere to place or organize personal items. Additionally, the unit itself didn’t feel especially secure, which made it a bit less comfortable for us.

The host was so helpful and the 13 mins walk to the train to Boston was easy. Positive: 13 min walk to the train to get to downtown Boston.

The accommodation was top-notch, the host responded quickly all my questions. Positive: Location Negative: -