Nancy was incredibly welcoming and communicative. She was a great host and checked on us more than once during our trip. Her neighbor welcomed us and gave us great recommendations for places in the neighborhood. Overall, an ideal experience from a host/communication standpoint. Also, the cats were very sweet and sociable - we are cat lovers, so we enjoyed Bella and Jack quite a bit.

However - and it pains me to write this, because Nancy was fantastic - the house had a lot of clutter. It was more cluttered than is evident in the pictures. Also, one of the chairs in the living room had a broken leg.
During our stay, there were people staying in the adjacent property who we heard talking - it is a private room (as listed), not an entire private home. Thankfully, they were not too noisy.

Overall, it was not quite what we expected. For people who want a sparkling clean place (or who are allergic to cats), I would not recommend it. This listing is probably best for younger guests or college students. It is a good price for the location, and it's very convenient. We loved being able to walk down to the Santa Monica pier and to the Sunday morning farmer's market in Ocean Park.

Finally, I just want to reiterate, Nancy is great - kind and friendly. She's worth a whole star of our review! I would love to have her as a host again, but would probably not return to this cottage.