Susan’s place is “wicked awesome” as we say in New England.
It’s actually BETTER than the pictures and description. It truly IS a home away from home, but with better weather! Here’s some of the highlights:
•It’s spotlessly clean. I mean, immaculate. Not a dust bunny, cobweb, stray hair, or crumb anywhere. I have a toddler so I have the “opportunity” to get under beds and behind furniture and down on the floor to look for dropped grapes or missing toys or strewn socks and I found nothing resembling dirt anywhere. If she has decided to each chips off the floor (like she likes to do-waste not, want not) I wouldn’t have lost any sleep about it. (But that’s just me!)
•It’s beautiful. The whole place is bright and sunny, and very well decorated. The mix of art work, sculpture, textiles, and furniture effortlessly blends pop art and mid century modern. The vibe is comfortable, eclectic, and stylish. I love the mirrors! I didn’t notice them in the listing photos but they really work well in the space to make it spacious and bright. Loved it! There wasn’t a “yard” like our kids are used to, but the patio was totally enclosed so it was very nice to be able to let our kids eat outside (with all their crumbs, bad manners, and noise) and know they couldn’t wander off. Overall we felt very safe, and although we had to park on the street (which was not inconvenient at all, being just a short walk and set of steps away, but worth mentioning in case you have mobility issues) we felt our vehicle was secure as well.
•It’s SO well stocked. The pantry and fridge had all the essentials that one would not want to bring or buy for a short term stay (less than one month.) Oils, sugar, spices, flour, butter, condiments, pasta, coffee filters, napkins, paper towels, etc are all available for your use. There was even coffee and oatmeal for our first morning there so I could make breakfast for my family (4 hungry, travel weary kids) before we even had a chance to get to the market. That’s just the kitchen! The bathroom was just as stocked with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bar soap, and lotions. Not just one bottle-there was a selection in each bathroom. We only had to pick up a few “essential” items instead of having to deal with liquids exploding in our luggage or the ridiculous TSA restrictions-or spending a fortune on travel sized toiletries for our whole family (yikes!) PLUS-there were beach towels to take to the pool, and books to read, and a printer (with ink!!!), and a gas grill (which we didn’t use.) There is also laundry on-site (in the condo itself, not a shared facility) and detergent is provided, as well as dryer sheets and spot treatment if you need it. Seriously, it’s your house-in SD, and beautifully decorated.
•The location is perfect. It’s not right in the heart of downtown SD but that’s what we wanted. A suburban setting-outside the noise, crowding, hustle and bustle, and lack of parking that makes city living unappealing (in our opinion)-was what we wanted. Susan’s place is close to everything you need-gas, groceries, dry cleaning, coffee shop, pharmacy, and the highway (so you can get to all the great stuff SD has to offer within 25-45 minutes.) plus, the beautiful swim club is a short drive away as well (~2 min). It’s walkable if the weather is cool, and you don’t have littles in tow. It’s wicked easy to get to too. We learned our way around on day 1. Not just the immediate area, but our way to and from the beaches, etc and Susan’s place as well.
Finally, the most outstanding aspect of our stay was our host! Susan is really dedicated to guest satisfaction. She was awesome. She was close by, but we had total privacy. She was responsive right from the time we booked. We were never made to feel as though we were inconveniencing her. She was so gracious, accommodating, helpful, generous, and kind. We never felt like strangers in her home-we felt like old friends. I got a beautiful card with birthday wishes (our stay encompassed my birthday and our anniversary) and a thoughtful recommendation for a nice night out to celebrate. She even removed/relocated the breakables so I wouldn’t have to worry about my little one or my rambunctious boys breaking stuff, and then when someone DID break something (ceramic measuring spoons that were overlooked by Susan AND us) she was very understanding, which was a huge relief to my little guy who was feeling very sad about breaking someone else’s things. And, when the toilet tank leaked in the bathroom upstairs and flooded the room (it sounds way worse than it was) she was right there immediately to asses the situation and make it right. It was a minor inconvenience for us (there were plenty of other bathrooms to use) but a big pain in the neck for Susan I’m sure, however, she went out of her way to make it up to US.
It was a truly wonderful experience (our first Airbnb) and we are very grateful to have had the opportunity to stay at Susan’s place in beautiful San Diego. Needless to say we are already planning to come back!