We loved everything about our stay at Elizabeth's place in Oakland. As the post states, it is indeed "Charming." Betsy provides a very comfortable, safe place to stay that is close to everything. The Lake Merritt area was a great choice: you can do nothing or everything. We walked to get groceries at Trader Joe's, ate great burgers at Flipside, and had a great time at the Oakland Museum of CA's "First Fridays" where we listened to live music & had dinner/snacks at some really good food trucks. We walked all around Oakland, and easily took the bus & BART in & out of San Francisco. The bus to SF (the NL) is a 5-minute walk from Betsy's place, then you're in SF in less than 30 minutes. If/when we go back to the Bay area, we would definitely stay at Betsy's place again!