Karen and Mel's studio was in a lovely neighborhood and wonderfully quiet. The description of the studio and photos are accurate. Karen did a wonderful job decorticating the space. We were close enough to everything we wanted to see, but of course didn't get to everything we wanted to do. Getting to the Rose Bowl was easy. We parked near the Allen Street station (check for parking restrictions), got off at the Memorial Park station, and then chose to walk to the game (1.4 miles) since the shuttle line was very long.
We would not hesitate to stay at their studio again.
P.S. Even though we never got to meet Mel, he was great about sending us traffic updates on our way in, and checked in with us to make sure everything was to our satisfaction.