We were staying in Eagle Rock for just over three weeks while I conducted research at The Huntington Library, so this review is written from the perspective of a longer-term stay. We greatly enjoyed our stay at this cottage, and would recommend it for both short and longer durations stays.

Accommodation:

The cottage is actually quite spacious, well appointed and pleasant to stay. The kitchen has everything you would need to be able to cook yourself a meal each evening, whilst the living/dining room is very comfortable, with a nice view out toward Eagle Rock. The only major thing missing is a washer/dryer. For longer duration stays, this would have been useful. Instead we had to use a local laundrette. That said, we found washer/dryers to be pretty rare in properties listed on airbnb, and other apsects of the cottage more than made up for this absence. The garden is small but perfect for morning al fresco breakfast dining. There is plenty of storage space as well. The bedroom is also very comfortable, with double aspect views into the garden (particularly useful for watching hummingbirds!) The garden is in the process of being spruced up. The back garden has a pleasant succulent bed.

Location: The cottage is well-located. Eagle Rock has a selection of excellent restaurants, a Trader Joe's, and a Macy's and Target nearby. There is a local coin laundry (as recommended by the hosts, in a useful information pack in the living room, as well beforehand). We found it took the two of us a couple of hours a week to do the laundry ourselves, or you can pay a premium for a fluff and fold service. The 134, 210 and 2 Freeways are less than 5 minutes drive away providing easy access to Pasadena and Downtown. The neighbourhood seems safe enough.

Hosts: Although we never saw Natalie, she was in regular communication to ensure everything was fine. Some early problems with the cottage were quickly resolved with no disruption to our plans, to our great satisfaction.

Value-for-money: LA is expensive, but this cottage was very reasonably priced, by comparison with the other options we considered.

Overall, whether you are in Eagle Rock for 3 days or 3 weeks, I would heartily recommend this cottage.