I recently had the opportunity to stay at Helen’s place for several weeks, using it as a base while looking for my own place to live in San Diego. I almost didn’t stay here due to some other reviews, but I’m glad I took a chance, and want to use my review to clear up some misconceptions.
First, as a solo woman, I felt very safe here, and walked around the neighborhood alone even hours after sunset. The walkway from the street to the room, which is at the back of Helen’s house and has a separate entrance, is short and well lit. Adjacent to her house is a small apartment building with what looked like 8-10 units. The “parking garage” mentioned by others is simply the covered parking area below the apartments where that handful of of tenants park their vehicles - maybe a dozen spaces in total. They tend to come and go at the times you would expect people to - ie, morning and evening - and I didn’t even notice after a few days (I ended up doing a lot of work from home, as I found a place to live fairly early in my search). Directly outside of the room, at the back of the house, is a garden area that is quite pleasant and I rarely saw anyone else out there. The garden is enclosed by a wood fence, and beyond it is an alley. On trash pickup day, the garbage trucks come through here and can be quite loud, but that is obviously an event that is short in duration.
In terms of the room, it is spacious and the bed is comfortable. There is a huge closet to hang clothes in, with no drawers but a few sets of shelves. I used the refrigerator and hot water kettle to keeps leftovers and fresh salads on hand, and make coffee every morning. A microwave would have been helpful to avoid having to go out for hot meals, but there are many tasty and reasonably priced (for San Diego) restaurants, as well as a brewery, within a short walk (and the breakfast sandwiches on croissants at the donut shop are excellent!). My only issue with the room itself is that since Helen runs her business out of her home, and sometimes makes herbal preparations that create a little smoke, you will experience some of that since there is a (locked) door connecting the main home to the room. The slightly smoky smell in my clothes was easily resolved by washing with vinegar, so overall not a huge problem unless you are extra sensitive to smoke like me; in which case this may not work for you for a long term stay (to be clear, it was not a daily occurrence).
As far as the surrounding area, the neighborhood itself is quiet but there is quick and easy access to I-5 and I-8. The airport is a short drive/taxi ride away. If driving, street parking on the surrounding streets is free, without restricted hours- which is not the case in many parts of the city! You may have to park up to a block away depending on when you arrive, but you can usually find a nearby spot during normal working hours. The Trolley (actually a rail transit system) is an easy walk away, so you can also just park your car and use public transit to get to many parts of the city. For exercise, there are hills galore in this area, and the nearby USD campus is a very pretty place to walk around. The campus also borders the Tecolote Canyon, which offers an abundance of hiking.
Overall, a great stay, and I would recommend Helen’s place to most travelers!