SUMMARY: I don't think I'd go back, but the cabin worked out well enough that we still had a nice trip overall.
The cabin is very rustic. My boyfriend was lounging on the bed, and when he got up, I discovered an ENORMOUS spider on his sleeve. (Like, 2 inches long.) There are little cobwebs and dead bugs (e.g., moth, bee) scattered throughout. The flooring is uneven in the bathroom. In the morning, the cabin fills with sunlight, so there is no way to sleep in.
The kitchenette is very basic, not really suitable for any serious cooking. There were two electric burners, but one of them was pretty weak. There was a little toaster oven but no microwave. The mini-fridge is small and doesn't include a freezer. There was one pan, one saucepan, one kettle, two plates, two bowls, a few mugs, wine glasses, and a handful of utensils.
The cabin is situated in a canyon, but it's actually quite densely populated. One evening we could hear music playing from another house. The cabin is located directly adjacent to another building which someone referred to as "the guest house". (You can see the guest house in the pictures. The stairs up to the cabin butt up against a building. That building is the guest house.) The property appears to be populated with a main house, the cabin, the guest house, and two other small buildings, which were labeled as "tipis". I guess they are additional rental units.
There were a lot of people coming and going while we were there. We were originally told to park at the bottom of the cabin stairs, but on two occasions we found a car already parked in our spot. The first time it happened I messaged Gordon, but I didn't hear back until a day or two later. Instead, someone else who said they were Gordon's friend told us to park in a different spot if our spot was occupied. (Later Gordon said that he had been out of town on vacation.)
My favorite parts about the cabin were the wildlife. We noticed that a nearby tree appeared to have a beehive in it, which was cool. (The tree was out of the way, so we weren't worried about getting stung.) Another tree appeared to house a colony of ants, which was also cool. And one morning we noticed what we think was a gopher poking its head out of a hole in the ground outside our window, apparently doing maintenance on its tunnel.
It was also fairly easy to get around Topanga Canyon and Malibu from the cabin, which was our intention in the first place. So the location worked out pretty well. The driving is very narrow and winding, though, with a fair number of cyclists to watch out for, as well. So be prepared to drive slowly and carefully.
On the plus side, checking in and checking out were extremely easy. Gordon had sent detailed instructions ahead of time, including driving directions and instructions for check-in and check-out, so we just followed the instructions. There was no human interaction involved during the check-in or check-out process. The wifi also worked perfectly with no problems.