When I arrived, someone other than the host (I met her later on) was there to greet me and explain where everything was. The bedroom was in splendid shape with a very good queen sized bed and four pillows. The private bathroom was adjacent to the bedroom and fully stocked with clean towels and a bottle of hand soap. The room also had an excellent fan to counter the heat (it seems very few homes in Santa Monica have air conditioners.) The kitchen was available for preparing foods, although I either ate out with my family - who lived two blocks away - or brought some fruit and other items from Whole Foods which was about three short blocks away. When not with my family, I would ride the nearby Santa Monica bus to the downtown area, which is close to the beach.
The neighborhood appeared to be very safe and I didn't have any qualms about getting back after dark. Aside from the normal noises from being in an urban area, the place was quiet, and I didn't have any problems going to sleep (and I'm a light sleeper.)