I really wanted to give this place a good review. There were 8 of us staying here.
Here are the pros/cons:
Pros:
Clean (except for dirty dishes in dishwasher when we arrived).
4 bedrooms--lots of space for our family.
Phone chargers in every room.
Kitchen is nice--big frig, toaster, coffee maker, good counter space.
Washer/dryer--was laundry soap & fabric softener to use. Hair dryer supplied.
Pretty good location--45 min to Malibu or Santa Monica. Close to Topanga State Park.
Cons: DOGS BARKING ALL NIGHT LONG four out of the five nights we stayed. We contacted the host, who gave us the non-emergency police number. When we called, the police told us that we had to fill out a form and submit it to the animal relations dept. When we asked for a monetary deduction from our payment, we were offered $50. When we tried to negotiate this amount, the host never responded again. All of our family members had to wear ear plugs and had interrupted sleep because of these dogs. My husband went to find the house, but didn't feel comfortable approaching the owners once he saw the condition of the house with the dogs.
Bedding is cheap, pillows are really flat and horrible. Curtains/blinds are thin and let in lots of light.
Master bath shower didn't latch closed--had to use a chip clip to keep water from going everywhere.
No dressers in bedrooms--had to set everything on the floor. Quality of everything--furniture, vanities, mirrors, rugs, etc is really basic--couch has stains, rug in master bedroom has burn marks, kitchen table is chipped, sink and roll to the middle when you sit on the other couch.
TV makes weird "clicking" noises when you try to turn it up. Very few hangers in the closets--couldn't hang up our clothes.
The host sent out a few "generic" messages--when I asked specific questions, it would take her several hours to respond. I asked a question before we left about whether there were certain things in the house, so we didn't have to bring them from home, but didn't hear back. Didn't send us info on how to get into the house until 8 hours before we were supposed to arrive--which seems fine, but we were getting on our plane soon and still hadn't heard, which made us nervous.
Overall, we couldn't decide whether to give this place 2 or 3 stars--we ended up giving it 3 stars, but feel that that is being generous. I would definitely not stay here again.