I stayed here for about 4 months, so I had a good amount of time to settle in and get a feel for the place.
First and foremost, Sara is an excellent host. She was very proactive to reach out regularly in case I had any questions, and when issues did come up, she responded very quickly to resolve the problems. Nothing wrong with the apartment per se, but as a couple examples, the key fob stopped working, and she showed up to swap it out within an hour; the weights were missing a retaining clip and she got it delivered to my door very quickly thereafter. For me, it was a great balance of being proactive without being intrusive.
Living space
It was a nicely-sized space that gave me a work area at the table, a “living” area with the couch/TV, and a sleeping area in the bedroom. The kitchen has plenty of space to do normal cooking, and is stocked with pretty much all the cookware, plates, and utensils you would need. Nothing remarkable about the bathroom, except the toilet comes equipped with a bidet attachment, if you’ve been converted to that amenity. There are also weights provided and a rubber mat, so you can get some basic workouts done inside (plenty of weight for a intermediate lifter). When it got hot, the AC worked great, when it got cold, the provided space heater kept it warm enough.
The apartment is on a low floor facing the street, so you will get street noise. During the day, I would usually have my AirPods in so the noise canceling would take care of most of it, and at night, running the fan in the bedroom provides white noise to cover anything outside. For the most part, if you’re used to living in a city, it’s background noise, but you do get the occasional sirens or large trucks going by. There are also patios for the downstairs apartments, so occasionally there’s noise from people hanging out outside.
Facilities
The pool was great, only managed to make use of it once, but plenty of space to lay out and keep a responsible distance from others.
The area feels generally secure - during the day, they have staff walking around doing their jobs, and at night, there is at least one security person patrolling around.
The laundry room was clean, the machines worked well, and the card system was much easier than having to get coins.
The garage is an interesting scene, with cars ranging from Corollas to G-wagons and even a Rolls Royce Phantom. The gated parking is great, and the assigned spot has a wall on one side - if you back in, the wall will be on the passenger side if you want to get as close as possible to lower the risk of getting dinged by your neighbor.
Plenty of dogs around, but thankfully either their owners are generally responsible cleaning up, or the staff is on top of it making sure no messes are left.
The on site gym is under renovation (no ETA for completion), but as I mentioned above, there are weights provided in the room if that’s an acceptable substitute.
Surrounding area
Part of the reason I chose this apartment was for the location - I used to live down the street and loved the convenience on a number of fronts. Close to Sawtelle and all the good food there, close to Westwood, close to Santa Monica, walking distance to Brentwood, and easy access to the 405/10 freeways (double-edged sword since that area is almost always congested).
Summary
I had a great stay - Sara is a fantastic host and the apartment had everything I needed.