PROS: Expansive kitchen area which was nice for socializing. Pool, hot tub, gas grill and fire pit, nice rooftop area with good views, lots of outdoor furniture, washer and dryer, game room with foosball and pool table, in a nice neighborhood in the hills with only a 5 minute drive to Pacific Beach.
CONS: This house will need updating sooner than later. Some stains on the carpets, ice maker doesn’t produce enough ice, couch sagging on one end when reclined and showing wear and tear, one bedroom doesn’t have a television. All adults agreed that the mattresses weren’t the most comfortable.
The next door neighbor is NOT a kind person. He clearly is not happy that the property is being rented out. Quiet outdoor hours begin at 9:00 PM and one evening he began complaining (he emailed the owner without saying anything to us) at 6:40 PM. Said we were being noisy and sent another one about not respecting his privacy (he has a dog and one of the young kids was looking through the glass partition that separates the houses at the dog for a hot second). This house sleeps 12 guests. We had 7 adults and 5 kids. We were just all outside having fun, not being crazy or wild, and were chastised by him on two different occasions. The second time he began yelling over the fence at us. He was extremely rude!!! So, just know you are expected
to be VERY quiet at all times, even during early evening. If you have a group that likes to be outside and socialize while on a vacation, just be prepared to keep your kids and voices very low. This house is not cheap to rent, and it was very annoying and unacceptable, to say the least.
One night the smoke alarm battery started beeping at midnight. The battery was low. It kept most of up all night. We had to go buy a battery the next morning and replace it. This is something that should be checked by the host each time before it is rented!
The hot water heater mechanism did not work in one of the bathrooms for the shower/tub. We turned up the mechanical dial to 119 degrees at one point and still just cold water each and every time, even when letting it “warm up”. We
informed the host - he at first said we needed to turn it up to a higher degree…we had turned it up to 119 degrees!! When he was out to check about the ants, he said he checked it. But still only cold to lukewarm showers after that in that bathroom, which was the main bathroom for some guests. It was not a pleasant experience at all.
The biggest issue we faced was the ant issue we had while staying here! It started on the second day; we found them in a cabinet. Then all over the kitchen counters, refrigerator, other cabinets, the bathrooms, and bedrooms. One guest found one crawling on his ear while in bed. Another guest found them all over her toothbrushes, which were in a container high up on the counter. Another guest found them in her expensive hand bag. They were all over the concrete by the fire pit. Daily they were all over the kitchen sink and kitchen counters. We had to throw out at least $200 in food and supplies, buy spray and traps which didn’t help, and upon returning home had to unpack all of our belongings outdoors. Guests staying in a luxury rental should not have to deal with this. And quite frankly, I feel the owner should have done more to get rid of the ant issue and keep his guests safe and happy. It was very disappointing to all of us, not to mention gross to keep finding ants everywhere inside and outside, especially by our food and toiletries!!
The host did come out the next day when notified about the ants, but he brought ant spray. We had already purchased this along with ant traps, so this did not help at all. He needed to send an exterminator. I’ll also point out that no one ever ate any food or snack other than at the kitchen table or outdoor table. We were all very careful not to have any food or drinks anywhere else.
So, overall, we would have liked to give this house and host a higher rating. The adults that stayed here for the week all comprised our thoughts and comments, and waited a few days to decompress before posting the review, so this isn’t coming from just one adult guest sent on a whim or while frustrated. Will seems like a decent guy and did respond to emails. However, when you still feel like you have ants crawling on you and your possessions once back to your own home, and remembering the extremely rude neighbor, we are being generous with 3 stars.
We would really have loved to leave a top notch review, as this house has so much potential. But, based on our experience, we just wanted to make future guests know the pros and cons