Wonderful Stay

Guest: Mike (Pennsylvania)
Date of Stay: 09/09/10 Review Submitted: 10/17/10

Our stay at Robins house was wonderful. Robin is a great person to work with. Everything was exactly like she said it would be. The house was in tiptop shape and has tons of room. It has very easy access to the Staten Island Ferry and the public transit system. If you are looking for a house with plenty of room definitely stay here. We had a group of twelve people and we had lots of extra room. It is easy access to Manhattan without the price of Manhattan.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, girls getaway, families with young children, families with teenagers.

not for summer !

Guest: johan en griet (leuven, belgium)
Date of Stay: 07/16/11 Review Submitted: 11/02/11

We stayed with a party of 8 at this house from 16 till 23 july 2011. Robin is a sweet person and very helpfull but her house is not suitable for a stay during the hot weeks in summer. The airco is ancient and not up to its task.,We practically melted from the heat and were very glad to get away from that oven !! We would definitely not recommand a stay during summer, however the house is spacious and probably nice to stay in during the cooler months.

Recommended for:

Comfortable stay

Guest: George S.
Date of Stay: 10/17/11 Review Submitted: 10/23/11

We had a very comfortable stay at this property for almost a week. The unit is very well decked out with all you need for a good stay. The kitchen is well equipped, the towels fluffy and plentiful, the bathrooms and kitchen were all recently updated. Water pressure is excellent as is the internet band width. There is only a small tv so bring your Ipads. The beds are firm with good sheeting. There's one bath on each floor so if you filled the house, access may be an issue. The floorplan is odd: the kitchen and dining room are quite removed. The entry way is not very appealing but don't let this bother you as once inside the place is well decorated/cared for. I'd like to know what the shampoo and conditioner was in the dispenser.

Recommended for:

Family Reunion 2011

Guest: Sherry B.
Date of Stay: 06/13/11 Review Submitted: 08/15/11

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Staten Island. Very quiet and easy access to Manhatten via the Ferry. Renting both floors gave us plenty of room for our family of 13. Our family was there from June 13-20. This was a very comfortable place for us to gather. Enjoyed the Staten Island NY Yankees and would highly recommend a visit to Snug Harbor park. Enjoyed the children's museum there and the 9/11 Memorial building was VERY interesting. Also recommend the 9/11 memorial along the shoreline. Bus ran very close to house making it very convenient to catch the bus at the ferry and ride it to the house. Catching the bus down the hill on the main street was more convenient to the ferry. LOVED our stay there. House was clean and kitchen was very well stocked!

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers.

Great Stay

Guest: Garry (Scotland, UK)
Date of Stay: 04/08/11 Review Submitted: 05/09/11

Great property for our stay in NYC. We based ourselves there during our vacation in April. We had 14 people staying comfortably. Clean and very comfortable with all the facilities we needed for our stay. Easy access to the ferry terminal (10 – 15 mins walk) and local stores. No complaints at all.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, families with young children, families with teenagers.

perfect site

Guest: Kathy (Londonderry, NH)
Date of Stay: 03/27/11 Review Submitted: 04/11/11

This was a perfect site for many of our family to gather for a recent wedding in New Jersey. The location allowed us plenty of enjoyable times in NYC where we partook of museums, Central Park, and a show. We liked the relaxing free ferry ride which made up for the many tedious trips to Newark Airport. The property was very clean, comfortable, well appointed as well as having plenty of room to spare. We appreciated that there was enough china and flatware to match our numbers. There were also plenty of fluffy towels to go around. Street parking was at a premium but we always mangaged to find a spot.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, age 55+, families with young children.

Average Stay/Wouldn't reccomend to a friend.

Guest: Carol (UK)
Date of Stay: 12/04/10 Review Submitted: 01/12/11

The advice I would give EVERYBODY is please make sure if renting this property you request the owner Robin to meet you at the property in order that you can view the property with her, there by not leaving yourself open to untrue allegations once you have vacated. We travelled as a group of 16 to celbrate two very special birthdays and see the sights of NYC. Problems started on arrival when it took us some 45 mins to open the front door due to a very temperamental lock.The property in the main was as described, though all commented that it was in need of redecoration, due to marks on lots of walls. Though on the surface the house was tidy it was far from clean.The blinds in all rooms were thick with dust as were the radiators. Sheets on the futon in the main bedroom were washed but stained. The guest in the upstairs apartment found underpants and shorts stuffed behind one of the radiators. The bunk beds, bordered on dangerous due to all the screws needing tightening up. The worst part though is the downstairs neighbours!!! They wrote Robin an e-mail full of outright untruths about our group. We were a large group admittedly, but a very conscientious professional one, who were at all times respectful of all the neighbours. Robin is aware of these neighbours. THe neighbours accused us of smoking in the property which resulted in us being fined ( wrongly ). I have to point out at this stage that we never met Robin on any single occasion whilst in her property, so how on earth can we be accused of this. We had two smokers in the group who smoked on the patio outside of the property as the contract requires!

Owner response:These guests made requests yet never appreciated all we did for them such as supplying them with groceries. As to allegations that were made, neighbors complained about the smoking and I smelled cigarette smoke in the house hours after they left. They said they never used the dining room table because I pointed out that there were new gouges on it but I found butter smeared on the table after they left, so? Yet they were not charged for any damages even though they scratched the living room walls with the dining room chairs. The bunk bed screws have been tightened but if they had pointed it out while they were here I would have come right away. I hope they didn't take the underpants and re-stuff them behind the radiator because that is not someplace I would have thought of looking. The dust problem will be taken care of immediately now that they have made a point of it but I think they are nit-picking. These people were sour grapes because they came to party hardy and that is not allowed, please.

Recommended for:Sightseeing.

Christmas holiday in the City

Guest: Mac (De Queen, Arkansas, USA)
Date of Stay: 12/22/10 Review Submitted: 01/06/11

Who hasn't dreamed of Christmas and New Years in New York City viewing the Christmas tree in Rockefellar Plaza, beautifully decorated department store windows, carriage ride through Central Park, ice skating, the Rockettes and more? This year our dream came true. Our family of 14 came in from Arkansas, Texas and New Mexico to enjoy a memorable holiday in a beautiful, comfortable and clean victorian house. Even when a blizzard came through, Robin made sure we were taken care of. The sidewalk to the house was cleared by 6:30 a.m. the next morning. Yes, our family would recommend this house! We plan to return in the future. If you desire a good steak on the Staten Island, we recommend Ruddy and Dean Steak House. Italian food, we recommend A & S on the island. The food is just as good or better than in the City. Also, we found a good grocery store for our Christmas dinner. The free Staten Island ferry was convenient and easy access to the subway. You will not be disappointed staying at Robin's Nest!

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Wonderful Visit

Guest: Cecile M. (Mexico City)
Date of Stay: 10/20/10 Review Submitted: 10/24/10

We gathered as an extended family back to SI to bury our father. I was thankful for such a comfortable and pleasant stay in this house. My family has been renting from Home Away for years all over the world and this home is one of the nicest we've rented. You can tell the owner (Robin) is very organized and detailed oriented... this is truly a first class rental. Thanks for everything Robin!!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers.

A Hot August in New York

Guest: THE UK TOURISTS (BUCKINGHAM, ENGLAND)
Date of Stay: 08/01/10 Review Submitted: 08/20/10

We found the accommodation spacious and quiet with plenty of room for 9 of us; it was well furnished, comfortable and after a hot day in the city we never ran out of water for a shower. The plentiful, good sized, soft towels were a welcome bonus! Staten Island is unique and getting over to Manhattan wasn’t an issue. We never wait long for the Staten Island Ferry which was a great way to see some of the water sights of New York - and it’s free! It connects to the subways easily and the tour buses all stop at Battery Park. Realistically, door to door, it is an hour and half to Times Square! We would thoroughly recommend watching a Staten Island Yankees baseball game; the view from the ground is amazing and the ticket prices really low! Everyone was very friendly and the firework display at the conclusion of the game was a real ‘show stopper’. We found food on Manhattan cheaper to purchase than on Staten Island but it might depend on what you want. We can recommend Zaytuna Deli by Battery Park Ferry Terminal. The hill people talk about is steep but our party, ranging form a 6 year old to a 68 year old, did not have a problem and it helps to walk off the great NY cheesecake!!! A bus does connect with each ferry but you need to have an Unlimited Ride Metro Card or pay $2.25 to ride. All in all this was a good way to stay in the city whilst being able to be out of its hurly burly. It met our needs well. Answering specifics: description a bit ambiguous and needs clarification Property beautifully clean and well maintained Unfortunately the owner did not meet us until the morning we left. Prior to the holiday I found it difficult to get firm and decisive answers to our questions but perhaps phoning from the UK made it more awkward. She was an extremely pleasant person who like so many of us, was very, very busy! We all sympathise with her.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.