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airbnb Atlanta: Part II: The Worst

And....we're back with the Worst of airbnb in Atlanta. While the "Best" of featured new places with hip, comfortable looking furnishings, good locations and a clean feel (basically, as nice as a nice hotel or better), the Worst are generally the opposite of that. Old places with old stuff in relatively undesirable locations. It's nothing personal, it's just that these are the places for rent on the site that make us feel like we're going to visit a weird aunt. Or that would make a good place to drink oneself to death. On the upside, the "Worst" of tend to be a lot more affordable than the "Best" of.

Atlanta on a Budget, Near Bus,Rail- $40 per night


You've got to appreciate this would-be innkeeper's honesty and budget-minded marketing strategy. The location is a no man's land on the West Side...they say it's safe, but let's just say we wouldn't rush to come visit you if you were staying there. The room is about as basic as you can get...a single bed, desk and chair purchased from a motel estate sale, lamp. Amenities include cable TV and internet access. And there's a high school track across the street that serves as a gym. This place is apparently an old school boarding house, so you'll be sharing a bathroom, kitchen and vending machines with whomever else is staying there. There's probably a market for this, but we're guessing it's not the leisure traveler.

Calm near Chastain Amphitheater- $75 per night


The place looks to have been most recently decorated in the 1970's, and a musty odor seems to waft in over the internet. Yet again, credit to the innkeeper for focusing on the positives, here "calm." The area around Chastain Park is lovely and can indeed be calm, but the description leaves out the fact that you have to cross one of the busiest streets (and noisiest intersections) in Atlanta to get anywhere near Chastain Park from this place. On the upside, this seems to offer a lot for the money (it looks like an in-law suite). But it still looks you get what you pay for.

Bedroom in townhouse available- $30 per night


Yet again, a very simple offering here. While the location is somewhat central to places you'd want to be, you're going to have to expend some effort to get there. On the upside, this one comes with cable TV and Wifi. The innkeeper seems friendly enough, and while she offers short-term renters clean bedding, anyone staying longer than a week is looking at doing their own wash.