We normally stay on the ocean side of mission and on the boardwalk but short notice and little ones prompted us to stay here and be closer to the bay. The idea of having three stories was not ideal since we are a close family and love gathering in a common spaces and sharing time together and having sleeping areas on three diff levels for three diff families was odd in theory.
The good: almost everything. The location is awesome. If you can’t be right on the bay and can’t be right on the boardwalk this is really a great compromise. What you get (sometimes) when you go a little further in from those prime houses is: 1. More space. This house is spacious w spacious areas to spread out. The downstairs bedroom behaves almost like a casita the middle is just a small room but has access to the living room and the master is huge w multiple patios. 2. Parking. Hard to imagine having two parking spots and a whole garage for toys and bikes and such. So rare and so appreciated. 3. House location is absolutely nails. Felt like three or four houses from bay front and not very far from ocean and boardwalk either (Tower 20). That part really surprised us. Close to great coffee and rental places and good food and a short jaunt to Ralph’s.
The most impressive part about this house is how they’ve outfitted it. We will stay again and we will leave about 1/3 of the crap we brought at home cause they make available so many things: Boogie boards, a bike, kids sand toys, beach towels, washer and dryer, beach chairs, footballs, volleyball, frisbees, umbrellas. It was just so well thought through. And then the inside, great TVs, very clean, tons of dishes, wine glasses, huge fridge, tons of real utensils, great towels, huge assortment of pots and pans. The house also had gas appliances so the stove and Bbq are natural gas. The BBQ is a Weber brand too and not some garage sale cheapie that feels like you might be in danger just standing next to it. And no more handling propane tanks!
The house was really outfitted well, and seemed for every compromise we made for not being on the water, there were two or three benefits to staying in this house. Is it odd climbing all those steps everyday? Sure. And thankfully we are all able-bodied. Does it get hot inside w out AC when SDO reaches 80 deg? Yes. Does the shared patio concept feel weird? Of course. But at the end of the day, we were there to create family memories and none of those little things got in the way of that at all and the house, its location, and how well-equipped it was more than made our experience excellent.