Let me start by saying Aileen and Bill were our guardian angels! After an exhausting 14hr flight from AUS, we landed in SF and arrived at the apartment way too early to check in (8:30am). As we didn't want to leave our luggage unattended in the hallway, we sat on the stairs without wifi or mobile SIM cards and had no idea how we'd contact our hosts to ask if early check in was a possibility. After half an hour Aileen opened her front door and saw us on the stairs. As guests still occupied the apartment we couldn't check in, however she offered to hold our luggage until later in the afternoon so we could explore the beautiful city. She and her two gorgeous children welcomed us into their home and let us change from our sweaty plane clothes. She then made us cups of tea as we sat around the couch and talked about our lives in Australia and her life in San Francisco. She gave us advice and directions to get around SF and she also told us cool things to do and visit during our stay.

After we could finally check in, Aileen was there and helped us take our ridiculously heavy suitcases down stairs. The apartment is absolutely gorgeous. Everything is completely new and renovated. It comfortably fit our 4 guests. I must say my absolute favs were the massage lounge and the deep bath tub! Just one thing to note is that the apartment is underground so there are no windows/views. It was great to get over jet lag (we slept for 13hrs straight!), however the apartment is completely dark when all the lights are off.

The neighbourhood is very convenient. A few doors down is a grocer with so many great things. They also cook meals which makes for yummy and very cheap dinners! A pub is next door and has a great vibe, a bottle shop is across the road, a quirky gift store near the grocer, heaps of cafes and even a fresh and very delicious bakery not far down the street.

All of SF is easily accessible from the apartment via public transport on Mission St. The bus will take you to the main streets of SF and a train from 24th St will take you to Embarcadero station where you can walk to Pier 39 and Fishermans Wharf etc.

When it was time to leave we accidentally ordered a taxi that wouldn't fit all of our luggage and 4 of us. Bill kindly offered to drive all of us and our luggage to the airport so we wouldn't miss our flight!

Aileen and Bill, thank you so much for having us! We truly appreciate everything you did for us and made our entry into USA so memorable!

Lots of love from the Aussie girls,
Ally, Alana, Hannah and Anastasia! xx :)