Doug did very well at communicating with us prior to our stay in his rental. He sent multiple emails out with reminders about the check in time and instructions for checking out. The listing photos are accurate and the place is definitely clean. The yellow paint also brightens up the rental and gives it a beachy vibe.
Pros: Clean place to stay with Hulu, Netflix, and WiFi. The keypad locks are easy to use and it is nice to not have keys to deal with. The kitchen has pots and pans, a microwave, along with a fridge to store groceries. Note there are not seasonings/basic pantry items as in some other Airbnb rentals. We did find coffee and filters though, which were appreciated in the mornings. There is also seating outside with white lights surrounding the fence. We did not use it, but there is also a grill. Check in and out was easy. Towels and shampoo/conditioner/soap were all well stocked in the bathroom. Extra blankets in the closet were nice and so were the beach towels.
Cons: Parking was extremely rough and we stayed from Monday to Saturday. We had a horrible time finding a parking spot and ended up 8 blocks away one night. If you arrive back after 4pm, expect to look for 30 minutes to find a spot. The last day we choose to use Uber instead of fighting to find another spot. The bathroom is airplane sized as described and expected. It is quirky small and you will want to get in and out. However, the water in the shower had a mind of it’s own and changed from freezing cold to scorching hot while showering. This was not fun while showering.
Other Notes: We enjoyed being able to walk to restaurants such as Nati’s, South Beach Bar and Grill, and a local Greek restaurant. There is a Farmers Market on Wednesday’s and we found that fun to walk around and purchase local items. There is also a CVS a few blocks away to pick up sun screen and a market for groceries. The rental is a five minute plus walk to the beach and you will first need to go down steps to the tide pools/costal rocks. There is also a long fishing pier to walk out on. Sea World was about 10 to 15 minutes away by car also. While there we also drove out to Ocean Side Beach and really enjoyed it as well. The San Diego Zoo is also not far either.
Overall, Doug was great at communicating with us and the place was extremely clean. We enjoyed staying there and only wished to be closer to the beach as the description said and have better parking options.