What a special cottage! The location is awesome, very close to the beach (we could hear the ocean with the windows all closed at night) as well as a couple of great food spots. Black Point Market and El Rosal Bakery are fantastic and an easy walk around the corner. Greater Purpose Brewery is great for how close it is, but I preferred the juicy IPAs from New Bohemia a couple of miles down the road). The location alone makes this a no-brainer if it's available. But the location is not even half of the appeal here. It's a cozy home with plenty of room for a family of four. The bed in the master bedroom is wonderful and the trundle bed in the other bedroom works great for two kids (but probably only good for one adult; the mattress on the trundle part is necessarily not amazing). There are plenty of good quality pots, pans, plates, glassware, and kitchen appliances, all of which made cooking our holiday dinners work well and a lot of fun. The single bath is all we needed, especially considering there's a hot water outdoor shower. The back yard is really functional, complete with a great fire pit, an amazing hot tub, as well as a grill and table/chairs.
All of that would warrant five stars easily. But the owners go way above and beyond. The house is stocked with all sorts of extras that show love and attention as well as trust in guests. Bikes, boogie boards, wetsuits, games, puzzles, tv's, tetherball, rope swing, beach chairs, cooler, towels, sand toys... you get the idea. We could have packed way lighter since so much was already at the house.
All that makes this a six-star rental! But then you add in probably the best host we've ever encountered in a house rental. Shari could not have been nicer or more accommodating. She checked in with us by text at exactly the right times, provided all the info we needed, and made us feel genuinely welcome in her home. We took this trip because we couldn't visit or host our families for Christmas due to Covid, and we were expecting to feel a little bummed out by that fact. But Shari was so warm and welcoming and the cottage so home-like and wonderful that the sadness of not being with our loved ones was nearly forgotten. I don't have enough space to list all the personal touches that Shari provided, but needless to say she went way above and beyond. We'll be forever grateful for her thoughtfulness and care. We honestly feel like we visited family, not a random house rental (and that's true for all of us, even our little boys couldn't believe the hospitality!). We hope we get to return to the cottage again. Thank you, Shari, for everything!