This is definitely a wonderful option for a family to stay together with resort-level quality and without feeling confined to just your sleeping room. We rented for 6 people and it can absolutely fit more.
Because of Covid, we wanted a bit more privacy for our family vacation and this was a great option.
The main suite in the villa includes one master suite with a kitchen and small dining space, a living area with a fireplace, a small laundry room with washer and dryer (also they left enough for one load of laundry just in case), and a nice covered patio with a table for four. Then there's an adjoining room that is accoutered just like a hotel room (two beds, desk with chair, TV, full bathroom) and a patio. It has its own separate entrance from outside as well as the option to open the privacy door in between. Then we also rented the room next door that has its own private entrance and is also set up like a hotel room with one king bed. There is no entry from there into the common space as with the other additional room. But that's also nice since there's a bit more privacy that way.
My husband and I went and we stayed in this third room while my brothers-in-law and their two children stayed in the main suite with the adjoining room.
Check-in was very easy and informative--just go to the hotel's main front desk and check in there. They'll give you keys to the rooms and all the information about the resort and services for the villas.
Parking that is included is another perk. There is one spot reserved for the main suite and one spot reserved for the additional room that we rented. Nice that they are reserved since the lot gets busy with other villa guests. And valet parking at the main hotel is about $50/night/vehicle. The entire villa building where we stayed has four sections, two to the left and two to the right with one section on the second floor for each side. Our bottom left side included a lovely sitting covered sitting area with a fireplace. Perfect if it hadn't been during a cold and wet snap in southern California. : )
The villa building is also nice and high so you can see the ocean from the patios. And it's conveniently located so there's a nice staircase to take you down to the main hotel area--it's only takes a few minutes to walk to the coffee shop and main hotel. Also it's just off the path to go around the coast line and get a beautiful walk in.
All the services to the main resort are also available upon request including housekeeping and room service. We didn't try any of these since we were only there for a long weekend.
The kitchen has a full-sized fridge, a coffee maker (a definite must), a small dishwasher (with one run's worth of a tablet included), full tableware and flatware, stove with pots and pans, and a microwave. Helpful note: there are more trash bags at the bottom of the trashcan in case you need them.
The space was quite roomy and with six of us together, we never felt like we were on top of each other or that we didn't have space for ourselves. This is absolutely a great option for a family and we're so happy we tried it instead of having three hotel rooms side-by-side. The common space allowed us to spend more time together and have early-morning coffee while looking out on the ocean. The fireplace made the Christmas season also more festive for the kids who worried about how Santa was going to find them.
I was nervous at first when we arrived since I've never checked into an Airbnb myself but Kathy made it easy and the entire trip was seamless. The front desk gave us the keys, a map of the property and how to get to our villa, car tags so we could come and go from the property without having to check in each time, and also two adorable stuffed whales for the two kiddies with us.
After we arrived and unpacked our suitcases, we ran to Trade Joe's and Target nearby to grab supplies for the long weekend. We definitely bought too much but luckily the cleaning fee covers taking care of the extra boxes of random snacks we bought for the kids.
There was a weird smell coming from the P trap in the main suite's bathtub that I'm sure is an easy fix. And the thermostat in the additional room was not working so we didn't have any heat during the cold and wet weekend--good thing we got fuzzy sherpa blankets as Christmas presents while we were there. : ) The TV in the main room went a bit wonky and we couldn't get many channels. These were not emergencies and we could've called the hotel to help with but we didn't want to bother them during the Christmas rush (they had so many people at the main resort and at least one wedding).
We'll plan on trying to rent this villa again soon on our next trip out to the area.