This is a very special home and the hosts are very special people.
First the home: it’s incredibly serene, beautifully landscaped, even more beautifully decorated and furnished, and very functional and quiet.
When you open the doors to the patio and pool area, the huge front door, and the big picture windows in the kitchen, the air current in the house is very pleasant and comfortable. We stayed here a month and the a/c kicked in only a few times when we had the doors open and during the last week when it got warmer and we decided to keep them closed during the middle of the day and afternoons.
The pool is heated and refreshing at once. There are beautifully arranged chaise longues and a wide day bed under an olive tree. A small breakfast table with an umbrella next to it is tucked next to a fruit tree. The patio furniture is very comfortable and provides plentiful seating if you invite guests and entertain. We were a family of four and had another family of four comfortably there (and inside at the large and beautiful wooden dining table too).
In the patio, you can sit under the moonlight, in near complete silence save for the occasional sound of the waves on particularly quiet evenings, in cool and comfortable temperatures in the middle of July.
The inside of the home is lovingly decorated with stylish but very comfortable furniture, pleasant art, and small touches such as an old but functioning turntable and LPs.
There is a huge screen with AppleTV and pretty much every streaming service you could ask for. The kitchen is well equipped, with a microwave, a Nespresso, a drip coffee maker, a Bodum, and an incredible Viking oven and range (where things we baked came out a lot better than our own home).
The neighborhood is quiet and pleasant, with hilly streets that give you a nice challenge if you are a runner. The home is a short car ride to PCH (3-4 minutes) and on to beautiful Malibu beaches. If you like to go to the beach, there are half a dozen very nice ones within 20-30 minutes of the home, including a simple small one right at the bottom of the hill which you could drive to in three to four minutes.
Grocery shopping and dining within minutes at the Pacific Palisades neighborhood right off PCH.
The property is 20-25 minutes to Santa Monica and Brentwood, ~30-35 to BH, in non-rush-hour traffic.
Yes, we loved the home -but it was the hosts that made the stay even more special. Noa-Marie and her family were truly gracious hosts and generous people.
Their care for us was genuine and not perfunctory. Their queries and attention were real and whenever we needed something (eg heavier curtains for one of the bedrooms to sleep late) they made it happen not begrudgingly but with enthusiasm, alacrity, and a warm smile. In fact, they went and got us things we didn’t ask for (such as a portable speaker, despite the existence of a big Sonos inside the home, when they saw we had guests coming to spend time with us in the afternoon).
We stayed in many properties and do not recall being this comfortable and happy, logistically, physically, and emotionally.