I had a really good two week stay at Michaelas. Her bungalow/studio is cosy, charming and secure even without Foxy the cat... Her place and Venice Beach are definitely at the more 'bohemian' end of things, VB is quite hippy-tacky still with quite a few homeless people wandering around. Although in places it is also pretty trendy and up-market, the near by Abbot Kinney Boulevard is very designer-organic. Personally I quite like 'bohemian' but if your idea of a holiday is the Hilton well this may not be your cup of tea. It is great staying so close to the beach, taking Michaela's bike for a spin in the morning up the beach cycle path to Venice Pier and back, or even Santa Monica pier, was amazing. And Venice is pretty near LAX and accessible for other parts of LA. The bungalow does have Pacific Avenue running along one side, by the kitchen/bathroom, which is a fairly busy road, so you get a bit of car 'swoosh' every so often, although it quietens down at night. It didn't bother me, but if you are expecting a sort of completely silent beach retreat for daily meditation this isn't quite it! Having said that otherwise the place was generally peaceful and the ambience was definitely still 'beach side retreat'. Having breakfast on the porch in the morning with blue sky, sun and fresh air was a perfect break from drizzly, cold, January London....