Stayed for a full week in October – here’s the honest review.
Pros:
The house is in a beautiful area with easy check-in and check-out. Unlike many other rentals, the check-out doesn’t involve a long list of chores. The backyard is a highlight, with a creek you can hear from the patio.
It’s close to several state parks, hiking trails, 30ish minute drive to the beach and Santa Cruz Boardwalk. The nearby town has a good selection of coffee shops, markets, restaurants, and larger grocery stores like Safeway and Target.
The living area in the home is roomy with a well-sized kitchen, dining area, and large living room, plus there’s a fun selection of board games. There is a crockpot in the kitchen which is awesome for making meals while you are out on adventures.
Cons:
The kitchen and bathrooms lacked essentials. We had to buy hand soap for the bathroom and kitchen, as there was none provided, which should be a standard amenity. Only two washcloths were provided for the bathroom, this is not enough, especially without on-site laundry. Some extra bath towels were provided, but they felt damp upon arrival, so we did not end up using those. The bedroom has paper blinds, which don’t block much light.
The closets in the house were locked, including the only one in the bedroom big enough to hang or unpack clothes. The bedroom is too small to not have a usable closet.
There was no fire pit, although it’s shown in photos and mentioned in reviews. Instead, we found a dead squirrel in the backyard, which seemed to have been there a while. Also the neighbors dog seems to bark non stop. I know the rental owner cannot control this, just something to be noted.
For a rental near the beach, there was minimal beach & outdoor gear – just two damp beach towels, no chairs, umbrellas, or cooler.
Common items like a cheese grater, wine opener, and bottle opener were missing. I would not use the seasonings in the kitchen as they looked 15+ years old. Additionally, cleaning supplies (broom, mop) were inaccessible due to a locked closet, which made tidying up impossible. We were also given only two trash bags, which isn’t sufficient, for a week stay especially since California requires trash separation.
Although they ask that guests don’t wear shoes indoors, there’s a nail sticking up from the floor in the entryway, making it hazardous to walk barefoot. Many of the lights didn’t work, and the layout of light switches was confusing, which was frustrating to deal with even after a week.
There’s a pull-out couch, but there are no extra blankets and pillows. I honestly do not think four people would be able to stay comfortably in this house, especially with limited towels, and no laundry.
Some outdoor furniture was dirty.
Overall, would I stay here again, probably yes. It is a nice house, nice location and you can suffer through the cons for a few days. We were able to get early check in, which was nice. This place would be 5 starts if these details were addressed.