My husband and I have just returned from a week's stay in Valerie and Yevgeny's charming Hollywood villa. I have rented many times using VRBO, but this was my first experience using Airbnb. For me, the experience was very positive. Communicating with Valerie directly was great. I was able to ask questions about the property/ammenities and the area before our trip. Valerie and her husband met us at the house upon our arrival to welcome us and answer questions. The villa itself is very charming. The space is bright and welcoming. The furniture and the beds are very comfortable. The showers in both bathrooms are wonderful. The kitchen has most utensils you might need to cook, however we did not cook. We had breakfast and a few lunches at the house, but, they were mostly non-cooking foods. We would have used a microwave to re-heat foods if there was one, but, had to use the oven instead. Our favorite part of the house was the pool/outside sitting area. It is beautiful and very private. We had coffee sitting on the patio in the mornings and cocktails there in the evenings. The water in the pool was very comfortable. We did use the hot tub/jacuzzi but should note that it is not a typical hot tub in that the water is not much warmer then the pool water. It does have powerful jets, however.

We only used the downstairs rooms of the house, where there are three bedrooms and two full bathrooms. The bedrooms line up along a long hallway. The master bedroom is at the end of the hallway and has the only exit to the pool area. Everyone must go through the bedroom to get to the pool area. It was fine for the two of us, but, if you had a larger group, everyone going through your bedroom might pose a problem. (Of note: The upstairs is an open space overlooking the master bedroom, with beds at both ends of the room. No bathroom. Anyone using that space would have to come down a narrow spiral staircase to use a bathroom.)

The location of the villa was great! We walked down Harrison Street to Hollywood Blvd. (a 5-10 minute walk) every night for dinner. There are restaurants/bars/coffee shops offering any type of food you could possibly want! Italian, French, Irish, Peruvian, American, Greek! The Young Arts Park is also a 5 minute walk, and there was often activities going on there. The beach is more then a mile away, and would not be an easy walk, but it is an easy drive. The beach is gorgeous. The Boardwalk is (like downtown) lined with all kinds of restaurants, bars and shops. Very fun.

We had perfect weather, a beautiful, relaxing home and many activities to keep us busy. A great vacation. Thank you so much Valerie and Yevgeny!