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During my most recent visit to Medellín, Colombia (where I was on assignment for Passport Magazine), I stayed at a rather impressive one-bedroom Airbnb apartment in Energy Living, a bizarrely named apartment high-rise building in a posh residential neighborhood. And while it wasn’t as perfect as it first appeared, the apartment provided plenty of interesting amenities. Here’s a review of my experience (you can also watch my YouTube video tour of the apartment here).
THE STYLE: Energy Living is an eye-catching piece of futuristic architecture, jutting out of the shady hills of the upscale Poblano neighborhood. Its sleek style extends into the lobby, which which has two gigantic reception desks from outer space. This building was constructed to serve only short-term rentals (especially Airbnb), and it feels like it; throughout the day and every day, guests enter the lobby with luggage, and you hear almost as much English as Spanish among the guests. So it’s not quite the same experience as actually “living” with local residents.
Security is extensive and regimented. Upon arrival, you present identification, sign a long agreement form and pose for a quick security photo. Anyone who wants to visit your apartment will have to present ID and pose for a photo too. And if you’re looking to take photos on the gorgeous rooftop deck and pool, be careful; I was advised by a security guard (who seemed to have been startled by my large camera) that we were only allowed to take photos of the view, not of the building itself.
THE APARTMENT: I stayed in apartment 403, a fourth-floor apartment with one bedroom and one bathroom. Like the building itself, the apartment was rather sleek, but also a tiny bit imperfect. The décor was bright and contemporary, with a large piece of original artwork bathed in yellow in the living room. Also in the living room was a work desk, large couch and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on neighboring buildings. The kitchen was equipped with a refrigerator, stove, microwave and oven (which I could not figure out how to use). There was a small laundry room with a washing machine just off the kitchen but, unlike many Airbnb apartments, no one had left detergent so I would have had to buy my own to wash clothes. I decided to stick with my gently dirty clothes.
The bedroom was a nice size, with still more floor-to-ceiling windows, but the blinds were missing the chain, so the only way to keep them up was by tying a T-shirt around them. I messaged the manager on the first day about this but told him it wasn’t necessary to fix it during my stay since I’d already found a makeshift solution and didn’t want anyone coming in (he never responded to my message and I noticed that a guest had complained online about the same thing a month before my arrival).
The king-size bed was the type that’s actually two beds pushed together. A small fan and the open windows provided ventilation (there’s really no need for antyihng more than that in springlike Medellin). There was no TV in the living room, but the bedroom had a wall-mounted model with a decent cable offering that included CNN en Español, local programming, music channels and multiple movie channels. The WiFi worked well throughout my stay.
The bathroom is attractive, with two corners dedicated to open closet space and the rest filled with a decend-sized shower, sink and toilet. Negatives here: The water faucet seemed to have been installed haphazardly, and the apartment was furnished with just one roll of toilet paper and a tiny, tiny bar of soap that was for both the shower and sink.
FEATURES & AMENITIES: The rooftop pool is a definite plus; it is small but offers stunning views. Also on the rooftop is a small but decent gym. Within walking distance of the building are a Domino’s pizza place and a couple supermarkets. The main activities of the Poblado neighborhood — restaurants, shopping, nightlife — are a rather long walk and I found myself usually opting for an Uber ride.
BEST FOR: Business travelers and leisure travelers looking for upscale and modern accommodations in a very secure building, in an upscale neighborhood (but further from the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood than some other properties). Overall, I’d say this apartment is very comfortable and a fair (but not cheap) price for this type of accommodations in this type of neighborhood — the minor issues do need to be addressed, but they weren’t enough to ruin my stay.
Source: latinflyer.com