I think we were the first guests in Gabriel’s place. We were there for two months (Nov & Dec). Gabriel is a thoughtful host, and he was always readily available when we had issues with the house. The kitchen was exceptionally well-supplied and a pleasure to use. The grounds and yard are lush and tropical and are pleasant to look at. The hot tub is a great feature that we took advantage nearly every day. The house is spacious and well-laid out.
The house itself is a bit of a work in progress. Some things just do work, and a few others appear as though they are under construction. Some windows don’t open, and some open but are difficult to close. There are holes in many of the walls (e.g. in the master bath) and the in floor. The closet doors are all rough unfinished wood. The house has a persistent mildew-like smell that meant that we had to burn scented candles most of the time we were there. Gabriel graciously provided weekly cleaning which did help with the odor.
The back yard and pool are among the most appealing features of house, but we found that this space was not as useful or welcoming as we had hoped. We found that mosquitoes were a problem in the back yard, probably due to the proximity of the dense vegetation which provides great mosquito habitat. The pool was disappointing because it is unheated and usually quite cold. It’s also very difficult to keep clean; the overhanging vegetation while pleasant to look at is not ideal for the pool. The pool pump was broken for approximately the first three weeks of our visit which meant that it was even dirtier than normal, and we had to host a succession of workmen for the repairs. While there are functional accent lights in the backyard, most of the lights in the back yard do not work, and look as if they have not worked for years. This is problematic because the yard is very dark in the early subtropical nights. The hot tub is the most useful feature of the backyard, and it worked reliably, but it would be great to have some light in the area of the hot tub at night. We also used the outdoor grill quite often. It’s a very nice grill that works well, it’s directly connected the natural gas lines; but again some light near the grill would help.