My family of 4 stayed at this property in early June for a summer vacation week and my father joined us (down from Duluth) for one evening as well. When we pulled up we were a little concerned as the house looked very small from the street, however, the layout inside and organization of the rooms was exceptional and worked great even when the 5 of us were all milling around. Here's how we felt about this property:
Pros:
1. Location - there is a lot nearby in St. Louis Park and in general Minneapolis and St. Paul are close
2. The house was very clean and well maintained
3. The owners were exceptional in communication re: questions/answers
4. The special touches were great too
5. The deck and backyard are small, but great if you have kids and worked great for our foursome
6. We also found a great park one block away with playground equipment and Basketball hoops--a place my kids could easily walk to and burn energy when needed
Cons:
1. The house is on a very busy pass thru type street and right at the intersection of a main thoroughfare. There was constant loud traffic noise from 6am-Midnight and sirens every night sometime between 10-10:30pm (including multiple police cars in a caravan flying down the road...every night). For city visitors this will be no problem, but for anyone living in suburbia or beyond will find this to be a very noisy property. Also, because of the busy road we found it difficult at times just to get out of the driveway.
2. The living room furniture looks great in the photos---fun and stylish, but out of the 5 of us none of us found any of it very comfortable to sit in. The two cowhide chairs are extremely upright and the couch has some loose pieces and sinks down really low. Trying to watch a family movie one night was a challenge and we mostly ended up on the floor.
3. This house is located outside of town slightly and on the western side of things. We have been to the Twin Cities several times, but are still learning our way around. The two loops around the city, 394 and 694 are pretty much congested 24/7 so coming from the western edge into the cities proved to be a not so great drive every day. Instead of 15-20 minutes, it was always closer to 45-60 minutes...longer to St. Paul (although not as congested by St. Paul)