We thoroughly enjoyed the stay at Lena's place in Aptos.
Things we really loved
1) The location was a great staging ground for places in Aptos, Capitola and Santa Cruz. All were a short drive making it a convenient location while providing a tranquil respite amidst nature.
2) The short ~15-20 min walk through the neighborhood and then through a little bit of trail/nature to get to a kid's playground and then a little further to Hidden Beach was perfect for my family with two younger kids. We really enjoyed doing this little walk a few times.
3) The house is very thoughtfully designed with convenient lighting everywhere, helpful labels all over all the drawers/cabinets, a delightful movie viewing screen/projector that my family enjoyed every evening, a deck with comfortable seating and beautiful artwork.
4) A little Polaroid instant camera with provided film to capture memories of our trip. A very nice touch indeed.
Things to Know
1) The larger "Master" bedroom is located downstairs from the other two bedrooms that are upstairs. This might be a consideration if you have young children and need to be on the same floor as them. Wasn't an issue for us as we only needed to use two bedrooms.
2) One of the upstairs rooms called the "Early Bird" room has a skylight that will stream in sunlight as soon as the run rises. I liked this but if you're not an early riser - might want to sleep in the "Night Owl" room or the downstairs bedroom.
3) The parking could be a little challenging for some as it is a bit of a steep decline to park the car on the driveway in front of the house. Manageable for sure but something to be aware of if you are a novice driver.