This was one of the few listings we could find in SoCal with an adequate number of bedrooms and bathrooms for our group. Generally, it was very well-suited for a family Christmas vacation that involved individuals ranging from age 3 to age 74. There are three spacious bedrooms upstairs that each have a full bathroom attached. There is another bedroom downstairs with a non-attached full bathroom next door. Everything was very clean and functional. Nothing was broken. There was a piano that wasn't pictured in the listing, which was awesome - we played Christmas carols. The glass wall between the living room and back patio can also open completely, which made for a nice indoor-outdoor space.
The bathrooms were particularly nice and the kitchen was very lux. Some reviews mentioned they were stingy on towels - but there were a ton a towels in the cabinets in the laundry room.
The fancy oven was almost too complicated for us to use, but we figured it out with some googling. Generally, everything we needed to prepare meals was available.
We had a minivan, and as some reviewers mentioned, the garage was too short for it. However, we were able to parallel park on the pad immediately in front of the garage, off the street. However, if you aren't *great* at parallel parking, I would not recommend bringing a larger vehicle here.
The location can't be beat. We walked to Mother's Beach, 2nd and PCH, and Belmont Shore. Since it was Christmas season, we also enjoyed walking around the Rivo Alto at night to see the lights.
One review mentioned that the reviewer wasn't sure if there was a Doris. I totally understood that as some of the responses to my questions seemed like non-responsive responses, similar to what would be generated by AI, so it became a running joke that a computer owned the house.
We had some minor issues, but only two worth mentioning.
First, the hot tub makes a periodic engine running noise on a 24 hour basis - runs for a few minutes then stops for a bit then runs again. The hot tub is on the roof directly over the children's room (the one with the bunk beds). We had a noise machine running at night in that room but it didn't drown out the sound. It didn't make sleep impossible for our toddler, but it was a bit disruptive to her sleep.
Second, while the listing said the cameras in the house were "non-working disabled cameras," at times they were obviously on. At times, though not all the time, the red lights surrounding the lens would light up in the dark. We looked up the model number for the camera and according to the website this indicated it was on. It was almost more troubling that they were only on sometimes rather than all the time. When we realized that they were recording, in violation of California law and contrary to the disclosure on the listing, we initially freaked out. However, after covering the living room camera with a sock and using internet tips to try to determine whether there were hidden cameras in other areas, we decided to continue our stay rather than relocate our entire group on Christmas Eve. The rest of the stay was fine, but some members of our group are still upset about the indoor cameras.
My husband's addition to the review: Plenty of large towels, but not enough washcloths and hand towels.. Bunkbed ladders flimsy - one screwed on and wiggly, the other with 2 rungs lightly cracked and slightly wiggly. (I suggest replacing) Greatly disappointed about cameras. Great location. Clean. Had fun.