The Ballard Loft | Sleeps 8 | Steps to Shops & Dining

The positives were a very responsive management company, close proximity to the Sunday market, comfortable beds, and spacious kitchen. This was one of our most expensive and disappointing of many VRBO stays though. The unit isn’t quite ready for vacation stays. You can tell it was an old office space, and aside from the updated kitchen, it feels very much like staying in an office. The bedroom and bathroom doors are all heavy fire doors, but the open ceilings don’t provide any noise barriers between bedrooms, so you can hear even quiet conversations between bedrooms. On the weekend, there was loud music from the bar across the street until 2AM, and we could make out actual conversations from the gallery below until late at night. The bathrooms haven’t been updated from their commercial use, and there are no towel bars. The kitchen is updated and nice, but it’s missing a lot of cooking utensils that are common in most rentals. We wanted to stay in Ballard, but this particular location wasn’t picturesque and the area didn’t feel safe. My teenager and I rented scooters to see the area, but had to abandon the idea really quickly after we got into terrible traffic and a bad area just two blocks away. Parking was also a nightmare. The street right outside is always full and had some campers parked permanently outside, and all the nearby lots are paid but without come and go privileges. We would have been much better off staying in a hotel.

Wonderful location in a vibrant neighboorhood full of interesting bars, shops and restaurants; all within walking distance. As city stays go, parking is limited and there can be some street/business noise in the evenings. The loft was clean and well appointed. The communication was great from booking to checkout and we even had a quick opportunity to meet the owners upon checkin who were a lovely couple and very helpful. We would stay again!

If you are looking for a getaway from the everyday grind of being a home owner, this is NOT the place for you. We arrived (from Alaska and Pennsylvania) at 4:10 pm when check-in was at 4:00. Surprise, the cleaner was still there trying to make the unit ready for us. Once we were able to get in and settled, surprise #2: a toilet which had no seat on it, just a lid covering the bowl. This same toilet also had a cracked tank which leaked all over the bathroom floor anytime there was water in the tank. The host was unable to find another property to accommodate our 6-8 person group, nor make the repair that day as it was getting close to end of business when we isolated the source of the water on the floor. We had to turn off the water to the commode after each use and back on again to flush it to prevent flooding in the bathroom. We also bought and installed a new toilet seat so we had two working commodes. The next day a plumber came in but the host wouldn’t approve the repair cost; but rather sent another plumber the following day. Now this was the day we had 8 people getting dressed and ready for a huge event, and we’re down to one working commode! We asked the host to have the repair done after we left for our event, but oops, the property manager didn’t see the message and arrived with the plumber and replacement toilet while we’re scrambling to get dressed. They were kind enough to step out until we left and then made the repair. The unit also had house warming guests; liv