This Charlestown condo was a great place to stay to feel part of a neighborhood and have a true Boston experience. The condo, in an 1876 building, was immaculately clean and as appears in the VRBO pictures though with updated living room furniture. Other reviewers commented on the small bathroom with the high up mirror and that was a little inconvenient (difficult to see yourself flossing or blow drying your hair) but nothing’s perfect! On our first morning there the shower lost hot water and pressure. The owner immediately scheduled a plumber who arrived that afternoon, though a repair could not be made until the day after next. We dealt with it.
The owner was full of restaurant suggestions and eating dinner in Charlestown, as opposed to Boston proper, made us feel part of a neighborhood. We ate at Brewer’s Fork twice (the second time the hostess said “Welcome back”), the Warren Tavern, and Waverly Place, our least favorite. The condo is a 15 minute walk to the Community College subway stop on the orange line, which wasn’t bad in the excellent weather we had, though returning home there is one steep uphill block to contend with.
We bought breakfast items at the nearby Whole Foods (near the subway station) to eat in the condo, but didn’t use the kitchen otherwise. One thing my husband and I would liked to have seen is better reading light. We like to read in bed before retiring and I didn’t notice, reviewing the condo pictures, that there were no nightstands/lamps by the bed (no space), so that’s on me, but the one lamp in the living room provided scant light for reading (the light in the ceiling fan seemed inoperative).
One last thing, we selected this condo because, among other reasons, the description amenities said a visitor parking spot was available, on streets otherwise requiring a resident parking sticker, and several reviewers said they were able to park right in front of the building. However, as the street in front was being paved on the exact week we were there, we took our chances parking on a side street and luckily received only two parking tickets. The owner generously split the cost with us, for which we were very grateful. But if the visitor spot (and I did not see anything identified as such—perhaps because of the paving signage) is unavailable, be ready to get a $60 ticket everyday and a $90 ticket on street cleaning day if you do not move the car.