My husband and I needed a quick getaway so we booked this cottage last minute. Ryan and Claire are great at responding to any inquiries. The area is nice and quiet, not as close to the beach as 5 blocks sounds but if you enjoy walking it's not far. There are so many great places in the area and Mission Ave is filled with stores. The cottage was really cute and quaint but I warn you, really tight for 4 people. There was only two of us with one luggage each and there was hardly any room to put our clothes anywhere. There's no dresser in the bedroom. I didn't mind, I just lived out my suitcase but thought to mention. There's one bedroom, one small bathroom (minimal toiletry space) and one pull out couch. There's one AC in the living room. It's in the window which makes it hard to close the blinds so we closed them as much as we could without feeling as if people can just look in. It got hot at times while sleeping in the bedroom so we used the fan provided. If there was 4 guests and you had to close the bedroom door you might melt. The wifi was unreliable so our laid back Thursday & Friday night wanting to watch Netflix didn't happen and good phone reception was limited. The cable box also stopped working and Ryan & Claire were quick to send someone to repair the next day. The cottage comes with a parking space but I'll warn you-if you are in fact renting a car get the smallest sedan possible because the parking is tight. So tight that I had to get out the passenger side first so my husband can park close enough against the wall to squeeze in. Overall it was a cute cottage in a nice area but the comfort level was just OK.

Here are some great things we did in the area:

-The beach 5 blocks away was cute if you have children as there is a children's park there. Sand has a lot of shells so wasn't comfortable or that quiet
-Mission beach was nice! We stood on the right side of the pier for more peace and quiet. There's plenty of stores and bike riding. Beaches are dog friendly after 7pm or so...
-Black Beach was 15min away and the hike was breathtaking. Go there to see the sunset! (6:30ish) Warning: one side of the beach is nude.
-Downtown Gaslamp has lots of restaurants, it was about 20min driving
-Ralph's is perfect to grocery shop and prices are amazing. Note: you'll need everything like butter, ketchup, mayo-the fridge is completely empty
-The Spanish and Italian restaurant on Mission were delicious.
-The alehouse on Mission off the beach has great food and yummy sangria!