10/10 Exceptional
We had a thoroughly wonderful time during our 6 week stay with Kasa in Austin, Texas. This review is for you, our fellow Airbnb adventurer!
We had a lot of options when choosing a location for our 6 week stay. Looking back, we definitely made the right choice for us with this stay. The location was beyond amazing for our need, and it’s great to be able to walk to work meetings, dance classes, restaurants. We are overall very pleased with our stay.
What follows is a detailed review with both pros and cons mentioned in the hope it helps you make a choice that is appropriate for your needs.
I recommend recognizing right away that Kasa is a little bit different than your typical “mom & pop” or personally operated Airbnb. They seem to be a larger company, and your inbox may receive messages from one of a team.
We found the Kasa team to be helpful, responsive, and kind. They struck me as young, vivacious professionals working hard to make the Kasa option work well. Their response time was swift, and they were able to accommodate our requests with boots on the ground. For example, we requested an extra set of sheets, and it was there within an hour.
Our unit was on the 16th floor, which we loved! Wow, the view was exquisite. In the heart of downtown Austin, we walked across the bridge to the Austin Dance Festival at the Long Center. There is a great coffee/matcha place just a half block away. Walk to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods! Great area which felt very safe, fun, and happy.
Because the apartment is so centrally located, we did not rent a car. Instead, we chose Uber Green, which is typically a Tesla! Tesla has a headquarters in Austin.
The apartment felt spacious with two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, plus a queen sized pull out sofa.
It is a full kitchen, and we enjoyed cooking when we weren’t ordering Uber Eats. Lost of great Vegan restaurants in the area! It was also easy to have groceries delivered through Amazon or Uber.
From the windows, we enjoyed exquisite sunsets and sunrises. It was in the hundreds in Austin, a hot summer, and the air conditioning was great. City lights at nights are shimmering and inspiring.
The gym and pool are beautiful, luxurious, elegant, and well maintained. There are fab outdoor eating areas to enjoy (and we did!). People there are welcoming and kind.
We had a few challenges with the building, so to be fair, I’ll mention them here. You may not encounter them, but as an Airbnb guest, I prefer to be aware of the pros and cons of situations.
The building itself is managed by Amli, and they’re navigating challenges with the elevators. Sometimes of the 3 elevator options, 1 or 2 would be in repair, leading to longer wait times. However, it is easy and fun to take the stairs down. Unfortunately, you can’t access them to go up. Allow enough time for elevator nuances so you’re not stressed about it, and it’s not a big deal.
Another challenge was using the access codes. It can take getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy. Read check in instructions thoroughly.
Our unit had a washer and dryer, but they were a little nuanced. Once we figured out which settings worked, it was okay.
The fridge was left handed, and now that we are back at home, we keep trying to open our fridge from the left.
Sometimes at night, you can hear the city below. This is natural, but if you’re not expecting it, it can be a surprise. We enjoyed it, and we brought sound machines/headphones/sleeping mask for the times we wanted to not hear it.
The people of Austin and the building were so nice!
Overall, our stay was wonderful. We truly enjoyed Austin.
If you go, please check out: Ballet Austin next door! They have classes for adults including Pilates (with reformers), tap, cardio funk, west African, Bollywood, so fun! Not just ballet.
We loved eating at The Well, which is essentially connected to the building. True Food is right next to Trader Joe’s. So good! Counter Culture was another restaurant we loved.
Walk across the river to see a performance at the Long Center!
There’s a great bookstore nearby. Walk to 2nd street for Urban Outfitters and shopping.
If you need to order from Amazon, you can pick up packages at the Whole Foods Amazon counter (Lamar).
There are musicals in the Ziegler park every summer. Bring a picnic and enjoy the scene! We saw Newsies. It was a big production, professionally executed with Broadway level sets, costumes, and sound.
Every Saturday, there’s a fun and colorful Farmer’s market basically in front of the building, just one block north. Try the vegan empanadas! Delicious.
Overall, it was a great stay. Hope this review is helpful, traveler!