Our stay at the historic house was good with a few unexpected surprises which impacted our experience.
Firstly, I would like to mentioned that we really appreciate Nikki’s hospitality, kindness, and help. She was very sweet and tried to do everything she could to ensure we had a nice stay. She met us upon arrival and accommodated our plans for a later check out. We also greatly enjoyed the central location of this Airbnb. It was just a few minutes walk from the scenic lake, wonderful restaurants and a short drive to San Francisco. The bedroom and bathroom were clean and tidy. We were provided with crispy clean sheets and towels. The beds were comfortable.
The unforeseen challenges that we faced were with the two dogs living in the house. Luckily both my roommate and I are “dog people”. Upon arrival we were warned that one of the dogs, Artichoke, did not want to be hovered over or pet. We obliged and respected this rule. However, what we didn’t expect is that Artichoke’s favourite spot in the house was at the top of the stairs right in front of our bedroom door. We were told he’s an old dog and advised to “just step over him or around him” to get by. The first encounter trying to slide past Archie ended up poorly as I got too close for his comfort and he got aggressive, started barking and growling. Trapped right at the top of the stairs, we had to call out for Nikki to come help escort us down. When questioned further Nikki said that “yes he will bite” if triggered and I noticed she was also scared to touch him herself. Only using words to guide him out of the way.
The whole weekend we had to tip-toe around Archie and hope that he doesn’t hear us or mind our presence. This made me feel tense and scared whenever I had to leave the room to even use the bathroom.
The other dog was friendlier but quite “talkative” and would occasionally go into episodes of barking on and off. Whenever Nikki was around she would do her best to try to hush the dog. However, when she was not home, these episodes of barking could go on for an unknown period of time.
With that said, sleeping in or taking a nap mid-day was impossible.
To conclude, I want to say that although we enjoyed the accommodations and Nikki’s hospitality, the issues with the dogs were a big challenge that we faced throughout the weekend. I think it’s very unsafe to have guests in the house when there’s a dog roaming free that is knowingly capable of biting guests AND on top of that his favourite spot is right in front of the Airbnb room. Quality rest is also not guaranteed with the active persona and voice of the other dog.
For these reasons, we would not choose the historic house for our accommodations again. Beautiful place but the dogs run the show. Sorry!