This is a great place! It would be terrific no matter where it was, but luckily for my family, it was in San Francisco. It is on the bay side of SF, near Hunter’s Point which had a bad rap in the past. These days, you don’t need to worry about the neighborhood. It’s also very quiet here. The house is on a hill and has a bit of a view over the buildings on the other side of the street. It’s possible to see the fog rolling in.
The house is beautifully decorated and very welcoming. Anna has put a lot of energy and thought into renovating the house and has preserved as much of old tiles and floors as possible. All the appliances are modern and top end, although like a lot of people who visit SF, we ate in restaurants a lot. When we did eat in, we had every appliance and utensil we needed. The dishes are mainly old Fiesta Ware, if you know about that. You have the choice eating in the breakfast nook, overlooking the street, or at the dining room table. There’s an excellent dishwasher as well.
The beds upstairs and down are kings and queens and comfortable, and the sheets are soft. There’s plenty of blankets if you’re there when it’s cold. Upstairs, the forced air heat works great. What’s even better downstairs, Anna installed an underfloor heating system. No cold feet!
The bathrooms downstairs are amazing. (I know I’m gushing.) One is a steam shower with a built-in seat for steaming. Then there’s the huge, ginormous bathtub in the other bathroom. It doesn’t look that big in the photos of the house but it is very, very big. Even though we were in SF to see the sights of the city, everyone of us made time to soak in the bathtub at least once.
The art on the walls is all original and good, painted by Anna’s friends. The house wouldn’t be as wonderful if it wasn’t there. Downstairs, there’s access to the back garden, which is all plants in pots and a quiet, relaxing oasis.
Anna was always available to answer texts and made sure we had everything we needed. She’s a great host.
The house only has one downside. It isn’t close to anything, but it’s easy to see that on the map, and by the price. On the map, it looks close to the Mission district, but it’s not easy to get there. 101 and 280 cut this neighborhood off from the rest of SF. The Dogpatch district is the closest area with restaurants. Dogpatch is about 1 1/4 miles away, which is a bit of hike on foot. We did it once. However, it’s easy to get there on the K/T Metro line, which goes down 3rd, only three blocks away. Bus 15 stops right on the block where the house is, and it goes down 3rd as well, and on into downtown, and the K/T line does too.
Bus 44 goes by three blocks away and that will take you to Golden Gate Park, so there’s plenty of public transportation. Several other bus routes are close by too.
Ubers weren’t that expensive from downtown, Fisherman’s Wharf and Civic Center to the house. The distance isn’t far, but it’s just a pain to get under the two freeways. The hilly neighborhood is pleasantly walkable, but getting out of it on foot isn’t.