paraglidingbum

What sets apart a good crashpad from a GREAT crashpad?

Proximity to the airport?
Proximity to food/grocery store?
Cost?
Blackout curtains?
Kegerator?

What are the little details that you wish your pad would incorporate?

What helps to maximize QOL for commuters?

Riverside

Not having a crashpad and driving to work.

rickair7777

Quiet sleeping rooms, distant or insulated from kitchen/living areas.

Room to move around in a dark sleep room without tripping over things/people.

Clean bathrooms which are readily available. May need a schedule.

Pilots only, or pilots and senior FA's only.

Proximity (walking) to food at odd hours.

Access to transportation (Uber drivers don't like short trips to airports).

Evict inconsiderate tools.

Sparty

People who clean up after themselves, which is rare. Oh, and bathrooms that aren’t littered with pubes.

Al Czervik

This. Good people=good pad. Pilots only. Period.

worstpilotever

Hot FAs that walk around with no clothes on.

TheRaven

I lasted 3 nights in a coed pad with pilots and FAs.....ate the months rent and moved to a much older, less modern pilot only pad with fewer amenities......best decision ever.

sled14

I've been lucky, only have had one for 1 month in 7 years, but I liked it because there were only 2 beds in the room I was in, and they were separated by a curtain. It cost a little more but for me was definitely worth it. Can't imagine staying in a bunk bed with several other people, especially being a light sleeper.

freezingflyboy

Agreed 100%. I kept one pad for a year plus. First 8 months was great. Decent pad with bi-weekly cleaning service, convenient to airport and mass transit, food options, grocery store, bars, a gym, parks, etc nearby. And a great group of guys (all pilots) who looked out for each other, cleaned up after themsevles and took care of the place. You know, generally acted like professionals and adults.

About 6 months in, the turnover started happening and it went downhill FAST! Same pad, different people and I went from not minding a 5-6 day stint of reserve purgatory to dreading to set foot in the pad for fear of what tool bag of the week might be floating around or what mountain of trash or unwashed dishes might await.

Removing occupants from the equation (since that is largely luck of the draw), your planned usage will probably have a lot to do with what's important to you. Planning to be on reserve and spending lots of time at the pad on short call? Then I'd say amenities like fast wifi or good cable, having food/grocery store options and stuff to do around would be most important. Only planning to be there a couple nights a month for early show times or late releases? Then I'd say convenient transit and a quiet, hassle free environment is the priority.

NoDeskJob

For me, it’s a private room.

Had one pad with an obese FO. He snored sooooo loud I could barely sleep.
Next pad just paid extra for my own room. Totally worth it for me