The house is approximately 30-45 minutes from Oakland Airport depending on traffic. We never did meet or talk to the owners but communicated by email leading up to the rental week. After that, no contact eventhough I tried to call and email them because I had a few questions. Never got a response so we made due. The drive up the hills is exhilarating. Lots of curves, lots of fun. Just take it slow, especially going down. The key was left with a neighbor for us. Another neighbor also greeted us and at the end we left the key with her. A third neighbor came to see if we were doing okay. So the neighbors are there to help if need be. We were greeted with a very nice bottle of wine and a letter filling us in on how things worked in the house. The house is nice but the description is inaccurate. The bedroom with the jacuzzi tub was either not there or not available to us eventhough it said it was. That was a bummer since my wife was looking forward to soaking. Anyway, the other rooms were adequate. It looks like the house has had some upgrades but the two bathrooms look original. The floors are all wood upstairs and the family room downstairs is carpeted. If you have a family that needs a lot of tvs (like us),the one older tv is going to leave you wanting a nice big screen tv or two. There is a karaoke machine, older vcr and dvd player, and some kind of video game system. The piano is beautiful and there are lots of legos. All this is downstairs in the family room. The kitchen is nice. Nice fridge and updated nicely with granite countertops except for the very old dishwasher which still works. Lots of utensils, dishes, pots and pans for our use. The stereo is very nice a with an outstanding collection of cds. They have great taste in music. The cat situation could complicate things for some. We have 2 allergic family members so we had to stay away from the outdoor cat eventhough he did try to get in once or twice. Down the hill is the town of Montclair with 2 food stores, 2 pharmacies and some nice restaurants. Our favorite was Agaveria, a Mexican restaurant that serves all meals. We could not believe how expensive food is in California. We decided to ride into San Francisco 4 times and each time, with traffic, it took us less than an hour so to me driving was the way to go. Mass transit can get really pricy, especially for 4 people. Overall, we enjoyed our stay at the house and would recommend it as long as you know all of the little things. Thanks Maria!