First off, I was impressed with how friendly Mark was about the area, as well as how knowledgeable…read more Because of this, and because the room was pretty nice, I'm torn between 2 and 3 stars. I'm going with 2 because of the breakfast situation.
I stayed in the O'Neal room with my friend while I was in town from the West Coast for a wedding, and was impressed with how spacious the room was. It was tastefully decorated. No tv, phone, or clock. There was air conditioning--and since it was 90 degrees outside AND I'm a wuss from the Pacific Northwest, I was super excited about this. The two single beds were decent. The shared bathroom was clean and HUGE (possibly the size of my last studio apartment!). There was plenty of hot water with decent pressure. I was not impressed with the IKEA towels, nor the plastic shower curtain taped to the shower walls (what was with that?? until condensation built up, it kept floating up and sticking to my legs: not my favorite sensation).
I had looked all over the place for an affordable place to stay over the 4th of July weekend: impossible in NYC!! Prices went up by at least $10 a person at any hotel, and this was no exception. In spite of this, this place was the most affordable and closest to Prospect Park, where the wedding was. However, when there was a possibility that a third person might stay with us--we were told that it would have been another $50/night for them to sleep on the floor. This seemed very excessive, so the friend opted to go elsewhere.
Also, the term "Bed & Breakfast" is apparently relative, and dependent on the day. You have to pay an extra $10/day for breakfast (IMO, breakfast should be included for a B&B), and let them know the night before--it's also served when they get moving, not on your schedule. I tried for breakfast the first day, but was told there was no luck as I would've been the only taker. This SUCKED, as there is no real breakfast place within reasonable walking distance. There is a decent coffee shop with pastries about 3 blocks away, but this I discovered on my own, much later in the day. The second day, after my friend arrived, I did score breakfast, which was delicious--fritatta accompanied by fruit, rolls, and collard greens. Totally worth $10. Now, if only you could count on it.
Now that I'm typing, I just remembered this incident, which was weird. I'd come home in the middle of the day to rest up before wedding festivities (like I said, it was HOT!!), and heard Mark knock on the room next to mine, and then, when nobody answered, heard him show the room to somebody. I don't know if they were thinking about renting long-term or what. He then knocked on mine, and then apologized for disturbing me when I answered and moved on. Was he going to show my room, with all of our stuff in it, to some random person if I hadn't been there??? I was totally not cool with that.
Though it was advertised as such, this place is not really convenient to anywhere. Another friend and I had to walk about an hour to find a drink--not bad, but not what we bargained for. If you like roti, bad Indian or thai food, you're in luck. Otherwise, you're better off taking the subway to Manhattan, of which a convenient stop is not too far away.
In total, if you're looking for an affordable, basic, but nice place to stay for no more than 2 people, and don't plan on eating or doing much within walking distance, this will work beautifully for you. Unfortunately, this was not quite what I had been expecting.