I was seeking a memorable getaway with my daughters - this was in fact, “memorable” but not in the way we had hoped.
The listing, “luxury estate,” captured my attention which (I assume) was the purpose of the owners using that descriptor. What I do not understand, nor can I accept, is blatantly misleading someone.
The definition of luxury is, “the state of great comfort and extravagant living.” Our experience could not be described as comfortable or extravagant, by any stretch of the imagination. The reviews from several years ago were probably accurate at that particular point in time however, the place is filthy and has been allowed to fall into a state of disarray.
We checked in on Monday afternoon at 3 PM, we were allowed to arrive one hour earlier than the original check in at 4 PM.

Kitchen: Monday evening, as we got ready for dinner, we were a bit concerned over the state of the kitchen. The cupboards were absolutely filthy inside, it was hard to find anything usable and even the silverware drawer had food crumbs and was dirty. One drawer literally came off the tracks when I opened it and when I pulled the top dishwasher rack open to load dishes, the entire dishwasher came out of the frame, falling forward. It’s not even secured into the space that holds it! Yes, the floors had been mopped and the counters had been wiped down but that was the extent of the cleaning.
Outside: The terrace area and the back seating area was very dirty, and the fake turf had dried dog feces and smells of urine. It looked absolutely nothing like the pictures.
Bugs: We began noticing some type of bug or moth infestation in the kitchen on the first night so we made sure that the windows and doors were kept tightly closed and no food was left out. The problem grew worse each night and then I noticed some type of grotesque bug which turned out to be termites according to my communication with the owner on Thursday. These were very prevalent in the kitchen, on the counters, on the ceiling and in the dining room area and they seemed very active in the evenings. The dealbreaker for me was waking up at 6:30am Thursday morning and finding a huge terming crawling IN MY BED.
Bedrooms/bathrooms: There were hairs in the shower before my daughters and I took our first shower - these did not belong to us. There was no soap in the dispenser in the bathroom. The plumbing is horrible. One look under the beds and it is obvious that a deep cleaning has not been done on this house in probably two years. The pillows in my bedroom were old – and smelled. The sheets were cheap and horrible.
Safety Concerns: As a woman traveling with two teenage daughters, the home does not feel safe. The locks on the windows could be broken into by a six-year-old child. The windows and doors are in desperate need of updates. The gate in the driveway that leads up to the home cannot be shut or locked nor can the second gate be locked. As a woman, it is very unnerving to sleep here without appropriate locks, an alarm system or safeguards. Yes, the street itself is safe but the home is within walking distance (two blocks) to very unsafe areas.
We left a day early because we were so disgusted. I spent 3+ hours on Thursday seeking a new vacation rental for our final night and finally gave up and drove 3.5 hours home on Thursday afternoon.
When I reached out to the owner to let him know that we were checking out early, he acknowledged a termite issue in the Hollywood Hills and offered to buy us dinner at a restaurant that he owns, Madera. Speechless. This is not something that can be remedied by comping us dinner. This is a much bigger issue – my goal in detailing these things is to save someone else from this experience in the future.
I have taken extensive pictures/videos while we were in the house and of the condition of the house as we left it. Staying in a filthy house that is unsafe and infested with bugs was not my idea of a “luxury” getaway to Los Angeles. This house was staged for a professional photoshoot but the listing photos are not the present day reality of this home.