This cottage in Hillcrest is cute and very affordable! For three young women getting together in San Diego for the weekend, we felt safe with the gated entrance. The location is great - very convenient and walking distance to lots of coffee shops and breakfast cafes. Balboa park is also a quick walk away and the airport is only a 7-9 minute drive away. That being said, you don't really need a car, and if you do have a car you'll have to find street parking. The decor of the cottage is cute and there were plenty of towels, pillows, an iron and hair dryer.
A few things to be aware of that would prevent us from staying here again are the mattresses (both the pull-out couch and bedroom). For a night or two you might be fine, but they proved to be very thin, uncomfortable and springy. For three girlfriends excited to go out in SD, the bathroom was small, with no where to store toiletries or hang towels (note: anymore than 3 people and this apartment would be very cramped). Additionally, the apartment lacks mirrors and adequate lighting (though the lighting issue could be fixed by replacing some bulbs). We had to reset a fuse/lighting and there is no central heating, but rather a large space heater that required us to follow up with instruction after one cold night. We did however feel like we got what we paid for.