The house is on a beautiful piece of land in the forest. Pristine views, wildlife, peace and quiet... it’s quite lovely and serene. I loved the outdoor bath tub with a scenic view of the forest, I highly recommend trying it at least once during your stay. The house is really beautiful from the outside and there are some interesting books to choose from on the shelves. Check in was easy and seamless, we had adequate privacy, and it’s a perfect location not too far from San Jose or Santa Cruz!
Now for the cons... My biggest qualm is that we feel like we did not receive the value for what we paid for - over $200 a night with fees, for a place that felt like is still under construction. We read all of the descriptions but were still not prepared for how dark and cold it would be - there are some lights provided, but they are all dim lanterns and even with all of them turned on we were stumbling around in the dark. Bring a headlamp and some battery powered lights!
There is one space heater downstairs, but it only keeps you warm if you are sitting directly in front of it. The cord isn’t long enough for it to reach the couch so you have to sit on the floor next to it to be warm. We moved the bean bag next to it. Luckily there’s an electric blanket, which was great! So either you wear a lot of layers, sit on the floor by the heater or stay in bed if you want to hang out & be warm at night.
The walls are exposed with no insulation and there are nails sticking out everywhere, exposed window sealing film and no bathroom door (which isn’t that big of a deal if you don’t need privacy). On the first night, I cut my hand on an exposed nail sticking out of one of the walls above the bed. If we paid a lot less, I wouldn’t have any qualms. I’ve stayed in cabins without any electricity or heat before, but they were priced accordingly, and I was prepared because I knew exactly what to expect beforehand. My thoughts are that the house was not finished and the host started renting it as an Airbnb before it was ready.
Last note: bring biodegradable soap if you plan to use the tub! Luckily I always have some with me on trips. The host doesn’t provide any, and the tub drains into the forest. The provided soaps are not environmentally friendly, and they use chlorox bleach for the tub which can harm nearby ecosystems.
Overall thoughts: it’s a beautiful place, the point is to connect with nature so the lodging doesn’t have to be perfect, but I definitely hope future guests will really know what to expect so they are not surprised like we were.