Possibly the best Airbnb I've stayed at. It was clean and very comfortable. It pretty much had everything I needed: many kinds of pots and pans (even a wok), dishes and cups, toaster, coffee maker, even coffee and tea already there. There was a Brita pitcher also (I bought my own filter), many towels, and pillows. There were several extra clean blankets, including smaller throws in the living room. There is a good sized closet in the bedroom with lots of good hangers (wooden, plastic, and metal) and even a laundry hamper. The table and desk in the kitchen and living room both expand to become larger. There are also a few extra chairs in some corners of the space that were helpful for just throwing clothes over temporarily. The couch is very spacious and has several cushions.
There are windows on all sides of the cottage, which is a very nice feature. You can air out the space very well. There is ample sunlight throughout the day, which is nice for drying clothes or warming up the space in colder months. The cottage is surrounded by greenery and there is a beautiful cherry blossom(?) tree right outside the living room window. I was fortunate to watch it bloom and fall during my 1.5 month stay.
Downtown is 10 minutes by foot. There is a CVS there and Ava's Downtown market which has some grocery items. There is no large supermarket there, so you have to drive to one. There are several within close driving distance, like Nob Hill, 99 Ranch, Safeway, and Nijiya.
Host's Availability/Hospitality: Maya was very helpful and responsive during the entire stay. She did not bother me, but she was always there to respond right away if I needed anything. I needed a space heater to use in the bedroom (which does not have heating) and she brought one. She lives in the main house in front of the cottage, and she was pleasant every time we ran into each other. She even brought some of my packages from the front door to the driveway (which leads to the cottage from the front of the house), which is a small gesture but was immensely helpful for someone who has a disability.
Heating: As I have seen in other homes in the area, heating is not very efficient. There is only one heat source in the living room, and if you close the bedroom door, it will be freezing in there. It helps to use a space heater when temperatures get very cold at night, but you might use up a lot of electricity, which Maya might make you pay extra for.
Accessibility:
- Deliveries and packages go to the main house. You can probably specify the delivery people to leave stuff at the driveway leaving to the cottage or even walk all the way back to the cottage itself, but most people don't follow these instructions. As a result, I have had to carry heavy things from the front of the house to the cottage, which can be very difficult.
- There are no blinds in the kitchen and the bathroom. The cottage is at the back of the house so no one from the main house will likely go into the spaces facing the windows, but I have definitely seen men's heads above the fence near the house that the windows face. I can also see the neighbors cook in their kitchen sometimes, so it can feel unsafe to not have a blinds option for those windows. This can be an issue for those with photosensitivity like myself and people with PTSD. The sunlight in the space is amazing, and I wear sunscreen to protect myself from getting sick from the sun, but it was tough when I woke up first thing in the morning and needed to go to the bathroom or kitchen but could not put on sunscreen right away.
- It is easy to trip over or slip on the various rugs in the space. None of them stay flat except for the one in the bedroom which slips around easily. I got used to it after a while, but the rugs that were rolled up or folded weird felt kind of dangerous.
Extra Fees After Booking:
- Maya charges for visitors, even if they do not stay the night. This was a surprise for me, as I understood "guest" as an overnight guest. If you have someone just come over for a few hours a day, she has a policy to charge $15-20 a day. I had to pay her to have my boyfriend come by sometimes.
- She also will charge you extra if you go over the "basic" use of utilities. I put that word in quotes because from my end, I don't know what that looks like. I am a resourceful person, but maybe the war in Ukraine drove up utility prices, and Maya wanted me to pay more. The amount is still pending.
- Overall, having to pay more after paying what I believed would cover my whole stay, was unpleasant. I wish these fees were clearer up front or included in what I paid up front. In the end, I think I will end up paying the same as some other spaces that may be larger or more comfortable, or whatever else.
Despite some shortcomings, the space was really great and I had a comfortable stay. I would recommend this space.