The good: The La Jolla Mesa location was perfect for our stay, and was the reason we chose this home--it was just a couple of blocks from the home of an ill family member, and we could easily walk back and forth to visit with her. We love the Bird Rock area in general, and the house is an easy walk to both the cluster of shops in Bird Rock (Wayfarer is a favorite for excellent pastries and bread) and North Pacific Beach (try the Fishery for excellent fancy fish or Birrieria & Taqueria La Huasteca for great Mexican street food). The kitchen seemed well-equipped for a rental–sharp knives!—though we didn't have an opportunity to use it much. The views from the front deck and upper patio are exceptional. We loved the heated pool and hot tub, and both were in good condition. We also enjoyed the pool table.
The not-so-good: We were disappointed to find that, in addition to being somewhat dated (which was fine, and expected based on the photos), the home had maintenance issues in some areas. The master bath, for instance, had a rotted section of wall and damaged floor tiles from what appeared to be a past leak. The smoke alarms were expired and missing their batteries. (The property manager did have someone drop off fresh batteries the next day, which we appreciated.) We ended up purchasing our own carbon monoxide detector for peace of mind during our stay since there was not one in the home, although the listing included one. While this is not the first time we've had problems like this in an AirBnB--in fact, missing batteries are the reason I test smoke detectors on arrival!--it was frustrating to find in a home at this price point. The management company was responsive and did alert us to other things like noisy construction at a nearby property, so I hope they will add periodic maintenance for issues such as these in the future.
Finally, be aware that although this is a 4BR/3BA property, the last bed and bath are in a separate guest house. This didn't matter for our family, but might be a challenging layout for some (or a great one for others). Overall, the house was a good fit for this visit because being in this area was our highest priority. But for someone just visiting Pacific Beach or La Jolla with no need to be in this specific neighborhood, it's worth considering other options for the price.