Our Harrisburg Airbnb: Convenient Location, Mixed Experience
Three nights, a comfortable place to sleep, a few malfunctioning amenities, and a reminder that good communication matters just as much as a good location.
When we planned our Charlotte NASCAR weekend, we weren't looking for a luxury resort. We needed somewhere convenient to Charlotte Motor Speedway, reasonably priced, clean, and comfortable enough to sleep and shower between a busy schedule of racing and sightseeing.
We found a detached pool house in a residential neighborhood in Harrisburg, North Carolina, listed on Airbnb as Harrisburg Hideaway.
Our cost for three nights in October 2026 was $357.20 total.
For much of our stay, the property delivered exactly what we needed. But a series of maintenance issues, combined with disappointing communication from the host, left us with mixed feelings.
Would we recommend it? Possibly.
Would we stay there again? No.
A Convenient Location for Our NASCAR Weekend
We arrived around 10 PM Friday after going directly to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the racing and evening activities. Rather than backtracking to check in first, we'd contacted the owner about our late arrival.
The self-check-in process was straightforward. We parked in the driveway, walked around to the pool house behind the main residence, and entered using the keypad.
The neighborhood was residential, and the property looked like the listing photographs.
Most importantly, it was convenient for what we had planned.
Charlotte Motor Speedway was approximately 15 minutes away, while the NASCAR Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte was about 30 minutes away.
We weren't making multiple trips back and forth during the day. We generally left in the morning and returned in the evening, so the location worked particularly well for our schedule.
For more about how we planned the weekend, see Our Charlotte NASCAR Weekend: The Plan, the Races, and the Unexpected.
The Accommodations: Simple, Clean, and Comfortable
The pool house was an open studio with a bathroom and kitchen facilities.
The bed was low to the ground, more like a queen-sized daybed than a substantial traditional bed frame. It was comfortable enough for sleeping, although let's just say it wasn't the kind of heavy-duty furniture we'd recommend testing for more recreational activities.
The space was clean, and the amenities covered our basic needs.
There was a kitchen with the usual equipment, a Keurig coffee maker, and a Roku television with streaming apps. For Netflix, guests needed to sign into their own accounts.
We'd brought plenty of K-Cups, so we were prepared for our morning coffee.
Or so we thought.
Saturday Morning: The Keurig That Wouldn't Brew
Saturday morning, around 8:30, I filled the Keurig with water, turned it on, let it warm up, and inserted a coffee pod.
The three cup-size lights illuminated, but pressing them accomplished nothing.
We have two of this same model in our own rental properties, so I was familiar with how it should operate. The handle mechanism felt slightly unusual, and the machine showed some wear.
I tried turning it off and back on, unplugging it, and plugging it back in.
Still nothing.
At 8:35 AM, I sent the host a friendly message explaining the problem, what I'd already tried, and that we were heading to Dunkin' for coffee.
We went about our day, including our visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
The host replied at 3:14 PM, apologizing and saying he'd see about ordering a replacement, although it probably wouldn't arrive before our stay ended.
That's a wait of 6 hours and 39 minutes for a response.
I certainly didn't expect someone to materialize a new coffee maker within minutes. Appliances fail. Things happen.
But when a guest reports a problem early in the morning, nearly seven hours is a long time to wait for an acknowledgment.
The Coffee Maker Wasn't Actually Broken
When we returned that evening, I decided to take another look.
At first, applying extra pressure to the handle allowed the machine to work intermittently. I sent the host another message explaining what I'd found and suggesting that, if it were one of our rentals, I'd replace it rather than risk guests damaging the handle while trying to operate it.
Then I discovered the actual problem.
A small component inside the K-Cup holder had been inserted incorrectly.
I removed it, put it back in properly, and the Keurig worked normally.
I sent the host a photograph and another message explaining the fix.
The messages were read.
There was no further response.
No acknowledgment. No thank-you. Nothing.
And that bothered me more than the original malfunction.
The problem wasn't that something went wrong. It was how the problem was handled.
We didn't contact the host about the television. Given the response to the coffee maker issue earlier that day, we had little confidence that anything would be resolved during our remaining time there.
For a stay centered on NASCAR, television wasn't a major priority. But for someone planning to spend more time relaxing at the property, reliable streaming could be much more important.
And Then There Was the Dishwasher
The dishwasher wasn't functioning either.
Fortunately, our kitchen cleanup consisted of two coffee cups.
We pulled up our britches and washed them by hand, just like the pioneers.
Somehow, we survived.
Seriously, this was a minor inconvenience and had virtually no effect on our stay. But it was another amenity that wasn't working as expected.
Individually, these issues were manageable. Together, they raised questions about how thoroughly the property was being checked between guests.
How Much Time Did We Actually Spend There?
Not much, and that's important context.
Friday night, we arrived late, showered, and went to bed.
Saturday, we left around 10 AM and returned around 7:30 PM. After our unsuccessful television adventure, we turned in early.
Sunday morning, the repaired Keurig finally provided the coffee we'd brought with us. We went out for breakfast, spent the day at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and returned around midnight.
Monday morning, we showered, completed the checkout requirements, and departed around 8:30.
The house rules instructed guests to strip the beds, take out the trash, wash dishes, and hang used towels in the bathroom.
Other than stripping the beds, we considered those fairly standard checkout expectations. Nothing particularly burdensome.
Our visit was primarily about the races, not spending time at the Airbnb.
That helped limit the impact of the problems we encountered.
For more on the weekend itself, see Attending a NASCAR Race Weekend: What You Should Know and Is Premium Seating at Charlotte Motor Speedway Worth It?
What About the Price?
We paid $357.20 for three nights, approximately $119 per night including the charges in our booking total.
For a clean, private space within a short drive of Charlotte Motor Speedway during a race weekend, we considered that reasonable value.
The listing photographs accurately represented what we found. Parking was convenient. Entry was easy. The bed was comfortable enough, and the property served its primary purpose.
Those are meaningful positives.
But value isn't determined solely by the nightly rate.
It's also affected by whether advertised amenities work and whether the host is responsive when something needs attention.
Our Recommendations
🟢 Go for it! If your priorities are a clean place to sleep, convenient access to Charlotte Motor Speedway, straightforward self-check-in, and a reasonable price, this property had several things going for it during our stay.
🟡 Maybe. If you expect to use the kitchen extensively, stream television regularly, or depend on quick assistance from your host, our experience gives us some reservations. Other guests may have a different experience, and these issues could certainly be corrected.
🔴 Pass on it. If responsive host communication is one of your most important booking criteria, we'd suggest comparing other options before committing.
As for our overall verdict?
🟡 Maybe.
We plan to leave a four-star Airbnb review. The property wasn't a disaster, and it wouldn't be fair to portray it that way.
It was clean, convenient, accurately represented, and reasonably priced.
But we wouldn't book it again.
There are plenty of accommodations in the Charlotte area, and when we're spending our money, we place considerable value on how a property is managed.
A malfunctioning appliance doesn't automatically cost a host our future business.
Poor communication can.
A clean room and a convenient location can make a rental worth booking. How the host treats you when something goes wrong determines whether it's worth booking again.
The Television Wasn't Much Better
Saturday evening, we decided to watch something on television.
We chose to use our own cellular data for our personal devices rather than connect them to the property's Wi-Fi. The Roku television, however, used the property's internet connection.
The interface was slow to respond, and getting into our Netflix account took considerable patience.
Eventually, we got a movie playing.
It buffered repeatedly, then kicked us out.
A speed test performed through the television showed approximately 8 Mbps. After rebooting, another test showed 5 Mbps.
Those were readings from the television, not a comprehensive test of the property's internet service. But they were consistent with what we were experiencing.
We tried watching content through Roku's own streaming channels, with similar buffering problems.
Eventually, we gave up and went to bed.