If you want to be close to Crescent Street (the main pedestrian area), you cannot find a better rental than Deborah's cottage. It's a short 3 block walk from the green pier (where most of the water activities depart from) and an easy walk from the Catalina Express Pier. There are fun and lively restaurants all over the downtown area and we enjoyed the mexican restaurant two blocks away from the cottage on our last night. If I'd spent a little bit more time perusing the photos, I probably would have kept searching for another house. It was fine for a casual trip with my older parents and my niece, but I wouldn't consider it for a romantic getaway or a friends weekend. There's no outdoor space (none was indicated; that was my oversight), the beds are pretty cheaply made, the furnishings are showing their age, etc. But for the price we paid, midweek in March, it was a functional place to stay. If you are a very light sleeper, you'll suffer as the houses almost abut one another and we could hear conversations from the next house clearly.