If you are looking for a place to stay for a work retreat or a large property for guests who would like their own rooms, this place could be a good option. The house is very clean, with a updated kitchen, and a living room area with a large whiteboard for possible think tank/collective group work sessions, and places for collaboration and talking, or hanging out, both downstairs/outside and upstairs. At first glance this home seemed very good for our needs, and in many ways it was.
A few caveats however that impacted the collective experience of our stay to overall Ok to good, and not great.
Firstly, although the home is very clean (which is great), the guests are asked to not wear shoes in the home, which is understandable, and we respected (and we also follow in our own homes as well). Additionally, they had adopted "a strict No Party/ Noise/Music, No Marijuana, No Smoking, No Drugs, No Pets” policy. Again, all reasonable asks, and we don't do these things anyways, but the tone of the asks and the regular reminders of them leading up to the stay created a feeling that you had to be really careful throughout the whole stay and everyone felt a collective sense of walking on eggshells as a result, and not feeling comfortable staying in the home. Again, not terrible, but not necessarily the feeling you want to have when staying in any home, particularly one that's higher in price.
Relatedly, one guest commented that they felt like they were being watched by the rules, and then in fact we found cameras in the front and backyard of the home, and although I can't confirm this for sure, what seemed to also be in a camera possibly in the hallway inside the home as well (a guest who worked in a tech industry said it was, I wasn't 100% sure, but even that it was an open question speaks to the concern). From what I read it didn't say anything about cameras in the front and back of the home, and obviously wouldn't be appropriate in the home. I understand if the owners have had problems with people having parties there in the past, and maybe that's why they installed the cameras, it just was another reason why it created a certain uneasy feeling.
The home is very large, but can get quite hot in the upstairs during periods of hotter weather, even with fans which they have.The owners were very nice and responsive, and overall the house is midcentury modern (however some of the stuff quite warn). The design is a bit eclectic and not necessarily well connected to any theme (again, not a big deal, just a bit odd and didn't create a feeling of comfort for the guests.
Overall, an Ok to good experience. Very solid what for what many people may be looking for in Palo Alto. And, Palo Alto doesn't have a lot of options in that area, and if you have many guests who are a looking for a functional larger space, this could be a good choice.