Caroline was a very good and communicative host. When we arrived, the house was clean and ready and there was a very nice welcome basket of staples and treats waiting for us. Caroline was traveling, but her assistant Ren was on hand and in touch to take care of any other needs. And the house really is centrally located, which means it's 10 minutes to the valley, 10 minutes to West Hollywood, 10 minutes to mid city, and 25-30 minutes to the beach or downtown, barring traffic.

We rented the house during the week of Thanksgiving, and had really been looking for a place with good direct sunlight on the property, particularly in the afternoons. While the house is very open and has a lot of windows -- particularly the kitchen, which is a nice place to hang out -- at this time of year, when the sun is low on the horizon, there is little to no direct sunlight coming into the house except for early in the morning. I'm sure it's a different story during the summer months (as the pictures of the property indicate). We had asked Caroline about light before renting and were told that the light goes off the property at 4:30pm. When we relayed to her the reality of the situation (no sunlight at all in the afternoon), and our dissatisfaction, she was immediately apologetic and offered us a discount on the rental, which I take as a testament to her character and qualities as a host. Though we won't rent this property again, I would have no problem doing business or dealing with Caroline again.

Some other things to keep in mind:

1. There are technically two full bathrooms, but one is part of the laundry room, which is akin to a mudroom, and is only accessible from inside the house through the master bedroom (there are two exterior doors). It's something to keep in mind if sharing the house with another couple or friends (as we were). Again, in the summer, using the laundry room 'roman bath' probably wouldn't be a big deal, but the week we rented temps maxed out in the upper 60s during the day and dropped into the 40s at night, so we were essentially down to one full bath for the duration.

2. Cell signals are bad in this part of Laurel Canyon. We were on Verizon and could not make calls on our phones when at the house. SMS worked only intermittently. There is good high speed Internet, so one has to use Skype or Hangouts (or equivalents) for voice calls.

3. There is a downstairs apartment that Caroline sometimes uses and sometimes lends to friends when she is traveling, as was the case when we rented (though we didn't learn about it until shortly before we arrived). This can make parking a minor problem. Though the drive can hold two cars with ease, three or more cars requires some choreography, which can tax one's patience.