Wow, this was just a perfect stay for us! A cozy, spacious, beautiful house in a great location in Vancouver. It was so nice we almost teared up, and immediately looked to see if we could book it longer (which we luckily could) - so all-in-all, we ended up with two wonderful months at Jill's place.
This place is just jam-packed with pros:
Let's start with the kitchen: a huge professional kitchen (with 36" pro range stove), butcher block counter-tops, extremely well fitted out (by someone that loves to cook), with a beautiful view of an oasis of a back garden, and direct access to a big back deck with a big 3-gas webber grill, directly connected to house gas. We just loved hanging out in the kitchen, and sitting by the kitchen counter which directly overlooks the super-nice back yard.
But immediately, when you enter the home you'll notice that the entire main floor is a very open floor plan - with the kitchen, living, and dining areas all connected - and with amazing views both towards the back yard and the front yard, which features a beautiful Japanese Maple tree (and a Magonlia tree). Beyond the front yard, looking north, you have some cute houses and the north mountains... truly picturesque.
For an EVEN better view towards the skyline and mountain range north, the main bedroom upstairs has a balcony... It was just heavenly to wake up and see the sky in orange silhouetted by the mountains.
The house is in a very cute neighborhood - a stroll around the block felt like going to a botanical garden - with streets lined with all kinds of trees. We were lucky to be there for the April cherry blossom period, which was amazing - the whole areas turned white and pink!
Just 3-4 mins walk away you two different parks, both with really nice views and places to hang out, and just 10-15 min away you have Trout Lake Park, which was perhaps one of the most beautiful parks we've been to.
Still, the place is 5 min walk from Commercial Drive, and 10-15 min walk from Main St, so super walkable to coffee shops, breweries, shops, etc.
Jill was very hospitable and communicative, and would drop by once a week to do some upkeep of the garden or house.
The only cons were completely overshadowed by the pros, but we'll mention them anyways: the projector & sound system is a bit old, I imagine it can get a bit warm in the upstairs bedrooms in the middle of the summer (but you can ventilate well by opening doors & windows), and you'll have to share the laundry with any other guests staying in the garden suite below (we didn't really overlap with any other guests, though).
All-in-all, this was the best airbnb stay we ever had, and we've had many. We just felt extremely peaceful and serene staying there, and we'd love to stay there again.