We traveled to LA to spend two weeks at the beach and with our family that lives nearby, and stayed at Amy's cottage while there. Overall the location is hard to beat. The house is 2 - 3 blocks from the border of Venice and Santa Monica, and right in the center between three major shopping areas: Main Street, Rose Ave and Abbott's Kinney.

About the property: The house offers a nice garden and overall outdoor space. Two fully enclosed great patios - one in the front that was perfect for our toddler and another in the back with sitting space available on both ends.

The house overall has a lot of character. There is enclosed porch in front which was a nice to sit in after a hot day. Inside, the walls are a medium/dark wood which makes the place more dimly lit. The rooms are tight and worth noting that the second bedroom is decorated for a teenager and is either a full or a queen bed on the floor. There is very little closet space in either bedroom, and in fact the front porch is used on one end for a rack packed with jackets and a pile of various random, other things. The bathroom is between the two rooms and offers a claw foot tub/shower. Kitchen overall is open layout and is very cute. No microwave-FYI. There is laundry onsite, but separate from the main house.

Overall, we loved the location, outdoor space, and found the house met all our needs, but did have a couple hiccups. First, we had insta-booked at a set rate only to hear back from Amy that she had accidentally misquoted and wanted to negotiate a different amount considerably higher. We ultimately came to a resolution that required us to pay her additional cash outside of AirBnB.

Next, the house was picked up but not clean when we arrived. Amy has dogs and so there was hair and dirt on the ground and on the furniture, and there was a dirty plate in the sink. We did mention, and she apologized and offered to bring a housekeeper to clean at the end of the first week. We didn't take her up on it but in general, the place could use a good scrub. For example, our son pulled a couple books from the bookcase which resulted in pools of dust. There were also ants both in the bathroom and kitchen, so we had to be careful to not leave anything out.

There is a small, separate structure in the back with a bed Amy also rents on AirBnB. The toilet has no sink, and there is an outdoor shower in front of the sitting area. It is also where the laundry is located. If you are looking a place that is entirely your own with no one else on property, this might not be the spot. Also, when it's rented out, you cannot use the laundry.