Overall we enjoyed our stay here. The exterior grounds, hot tub and location are what really drew us in to the place. It's located near so many great restaurants and close to beaches. The neighborhood is fairly quite and the house being at the end of the street makes it more private. However, if there's anyone nearby or on the other side of the hill making noise (when we stayed, someone across the way was doing construction and hammering away all day), you can hear everything as noises echo.
Checkin process was smooth and Zapher (and Fede) were very quick in responding to a few questions/needs. They were all very nice. However, one request never happened. I had asked for replacement batteries for one TV remote and never got them, so couldn't adjust the TV's sound or control anything on it.
There were a few things that were disappointing and/or inconvenient like the sliding doors, disarray/safety of exterior grounds, and kitchen equipment.
The living space on the top floor is quite small. There are sliding doors everywhere which we all hated. Not only were they difficult to open/close, they were loud. In fact, noise travels easily throughout the whole place.
Some of the dishes and pots in the kitchen were not clean. The pots/pans that they supplied were so old and used and really should have been replaced years ago. They did, however, have a good supply of plates, bowls and cups. The fridge and 5-burner stovetop were amazing. Top notch.
They had mentioned there might be some yard work being done but did not realize how much. The only access to the house was by the steep driveway (which they noted to be not the best option to use and to use the steps and bridge, which were not available for use at all. The grounds really needed a lot of work and cleaning up. The only grass area shown in the photos was a complete mess and all dirt. The little herb and vegetable garden was cute though, and the hot tub patio area was great to hang out in.
About the hot tub, there is a hard stop to use it at 10pm, which was reiterated via text to me. We had gotten out of the tub by 10pm one evening and was drying off and slowly making our way down the dark path when the yard lights completely shut off and we were left in the dark and fumbled to get our cell phones lit so we could see where we were walking. Giving a few extra minutes or notice even that the lights would just shut off on us would have been more accommodating. Although, we enjoyed the use of the tub, I think the tub and the patio could use some extra cleaning.
It felt a bit strange to have the owners live literally up on the hill next door, and the garden and koi pond are literally joining the 2 properties together. We did enjoy our stay here despite some of the problems. None were very major, but we likely won’t want to book here again. Just wasn’t as convenient and comfortable as we would have liked.
We wish Zapher and Fede the best and hopefully they will use some of my feedback to make some things better for future guests.