My wife and were very impressed with Christine's place when we arrived. It has obviously had a recent renovation, everything was very clean, and the decor and overall feel were great. It was also more roomy than we had anticipated. This was one instance where the actual place was even better than the photos made it look.
The location is great if you're looking for a low key place to stay. La Jolla Shores, where the place is located, is just a few minutes from the main village, but has a distinctly different feel. It seems to be more residential with fewer vacationers in the area. There are a few restaurants and bars on the same street, and a great little ice cream joint attached to the place. It was the kind of area I could see calling home (assuming I hit the lottery or something).
Unfortunately not everything about our stay was great. We were a bit put off by the communication and problem solving we experienced while we were there. It was raining heavily the first night, and water dripped from a window sill onto my wife's head and her side of the bed all night. We reported the leak the next morning, and Christine said she would have the owner come right out. Unfortunately his property was flooded and he wasn't able to get out. Christine told us the temporary solution was to move the bed, and that she was waiting for someone to come help her move it. We volunteered to come back and help out. My wife and I walked about two miles to get back to the place (in a hurry to not keep Christine waiting), only to arrive and find the bed had already been moved. That part was nice, but we had walked all the way back for nothing. It would have been nice to get a call telling us the problem was solved and we didn't need to bother coming back.
The owner came out to take a look at the leak the next day, and we ran into him when we went back to change clothes. He said that he had also found that the water heater was leaking and would need to be replaced. He let us know that he'd be working on it starting at 8:00 the following morning and that we wouldn't be able to take showers or use the water between 8:00 and 2:00 or so. Getting up, ready, and out of the place by 8:00 in the morning wasn't exactly how we saw our vacation going, but that's what we did.
I understand that issues arise. Leaks pop up, water heaters give our, etc, but what bothered us the most was that nobody seemed too concerned for the inconvenience it was causing their paying customers. An offer for alternative lodging for a night, a partial refund, or some other compensation for these issues would seem like a good customer service practice, but we weren't offered any of these.
Also, the information posted inside the place asked that upon checking out you take out all the trash, strip the bed, and make sure all the towels were placed in the hamper. Those are all pretty easy tasks, but I'd think they would be things covered by the cleaning fee.
While we did enjoy our stay at Christine's place, it was largely due to the location and things nearby. It's a great looking place with a comfortable bed (as long as it stays dry), Netflix is included, and there's a great stove I was disappointed I didn't get the chance to use, but the way our issues were handled would probably keep me from staying there again.
For what it is worth, both Christine and the owner of the property were very cordial and friendly when we spoke with them about out problems. We just expected that they would have been a bit more concerned with the happiness of their customers than they were.