We didn't get a chance to meet Julie since we were staying over Christmas and she was (reasonably) away with family. Despite that, she did a great job of communicating with us and told us that she was available if needed and set us up with the contact information for her house sitter. This space was really, really pleasant. We LOVED the hot tub at night- perfect for relaxing after walking around the city and we did A LOT of walking. We liked that the place was in a quiet neighborhood but that we could easily access the city. The light rail was a short walk away and it was so easy and cheap from there to get to downtown. We didn't rent a car and were fine. There is a Safeway and a liquor store about a 15 minute walk from the cottage if you want to get some groceries. I would say if you don't plan on renting a car then you should plan on walking quite a bit. The bed really is so comfortable. We didn't really explore the neighborhood a lot because we went in the city everyday but it seemed like there were restaurants within walking distance from there. Overall a great stay at the garden cottage.