Maria's is a large home with many bedrooms and room for several guests in a quiet residential area. We were a group of 12 guests who stayed for a reunion weekend. While we enjoyed our stay, the space is not easily conducive for a large group to congregate in a single area. The living space adjacent to the kitchen was not very big, with seating for perhaps six. The fireplace, flat screen TV and carpeted floors in this room (and in dining room) were nice. Upstairs is a larger common room with a very large flat screen TV (the attached stereo system does not work), foosball table and sofas. This is a good room for children or if your group wants to split up. All upstairs rooms are hardwood floors, with an area rug in the common room.
Several of the bedrooms have an extra bed, sofa bed or folding futon in them and Maria will have the extra beds made up for guests prior to arrival upon request.
The remodeled kitchen was well stocked with cookware, utensils, more than enough plates, glasses & utensils, and cleaning/paper/ trash supplies. Appliances worked fine, but we did not cook- so cannot comment on oven or stove.
Large glass table in dining room with seating for 8, and an extra folding table with 4 more seats.
Cleanliness is an obvious priority in the house, as evidenced by the request to remove shoes at front door and plastic protective floor covering in hallway and kitchen. There are plenty of indoor slippers supplied at front door for guest use.
Plumbing in the house is old and precautions must be taken to not overload drainage.
There are several reminders to this regard throughout the home.
Backyard is sparse with 4 chairs and a grill (we did not use), mostly pea gravel with a small strip of grass.
Maria is a communicative and gracious host. The bottle of wine, bottled waters and cocktail supplies upon arrival were nice touches. She messaged before and shortly after our arrival to make sure things were ok. She stopped by during our stay to check-in with us and re-supply with new, clean towels. Check-out instructions were easy to follow and to complete.
The location in Palo Alto is great. A nice neighborhood, close to many amenities. We walked to breakfast and coffee everyday (Philz Coffee and Bill's Cafe are both great!). Short 3-5 min drive to grocery store, banks, restaurants. 10 min drive to Stanford or downtown Palo Alto.
All in all, we were happy with our stay and the house. I recommend the house for large groups looking for reasonable value in a very expensive part of the Bay Area.