James greeted us warmly at the door. Joelle seemed a little more stand-offish, I thought maybe it was because she had been a bit stressed and "under the gun" getting the studio ready for us, as she had earlier that day requested that we check in late- the reason being she had forgotten to factor in time from her busy baking and party-planning schedule to clean the studio. We are easy people and didn't have a problem with it, but I have to say, from the moment we met her we felt like she had a problem with us. We couldn't put our finger on it, but we felt scrutinized and judged- maybe we seemed too"bohemian" to her. Anyway, we shrugged that off too, and made the best of our little one night getaway in the beautiful, tiny garden studio- making sure to be respectful in every way-we even chose not to use the bathtub in the main house the next morning because of "the vibe"- everything was just so perfect and orderly in the most extreme sense and we just didn't feel comfortable being in their space- like we were "invading". I wanted to use the outdoor tub that was promised as part of the deal but it was unavailable and full of debris.
I must say that I am surprised, disappointed, and actually insulted by the review of us given by the host. My boyfriend is a casual smoker and, as Joelle stated, did not smoke in or around the space. If there were "butts" on the ground they were not his, as he smoked outside the fence and I watched him pick up his extinguished filters.
We just wanted to enjoy a nice, one-night getaway, take in the ambiance and do what most people like to do on vacation- relax, have a few cocktails, and go to a show. The fact that my boyfriend smokes minimally and the fact that we shared a bottle of wine as casual drinkers should serve as no consequence to anyone renting to us. I just don't see how such a small amount of smoke smell could "bleed" into anything for that long, especially since I don't even usually smell it on him.
Despite their unfair review, personal preferences and sudden defacement of my reputation for bookings on this site, I will still give the host three stars for the accommodations. They were just as they were pictured and we had a lovely, romantic evening. However, my best advice would be that if you are an individual who smokes or drinks even slightly, or attends bon fires or BBQs and risks having a lingering "odor" about your person, maybe avoid this one altogether.