Vacation Rentals by Owner

Beautiful Home

Guest: Jolene S.
Date of Stay: 03/14/12 Review Submitted: 03/19/12

We stayed for five nights with two adults and four children between the ages of 3 and 13. The house is in a great historic neighborhood that seems to be up and coming. The house had everything we needed, tons of room, and was very close to parks, an outdoor pool, downtown attractions, groceries, and restaurants. We went to Sea World, the Alamo and riverwalk, El Mercado, and took a trolley tour and, on the last night of our vacation, we asked the big kids what their favorite thing was about the San Antonio trip. They all said, "THE HOUSE!" It's so much better than staying in two hotel rooms--we were able to drive to all of the things we wanted to see and do and then get away from it all at the end of the day by returning to a beautiful home and yard. The adults enjoyed a glass of wine on the porch in the evenings, the beds were very comfortable, and there were plenty of towels, sheets, dishes, and utensils. Bring a cord for your laptop to plug into the modem. Other reviewers have noted that there is a small cottage in the back that comes with the rental--the property manager lives in the cottage now, so it is not used by guests anymore. We loved our stay and would definitely recommend "Grandma's House" to anyone looking for a vacation rental in San Antonio!

Owner response:So glad you had a great stay. Thanks for the wonderful feedback.

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Great House and Centrally Located

Guest: Linda (Santa Rosa CA)
Date of Stay: 12/14/11 Review Submitted: 03/21/12

This review is a little late, but I stopped to stay there in the middle of a move out west to attend my son's Air Force graduation. Shirley (the owner) was very accommodation and did everything she said she would. There were no surprised. The house was in great condition and very clean. The house had plenty of kitchen items, towels and internet service. It was very nice to have a garage to park in. I've stayed at many vacation rentals and feel this one is above average. I would stay there again. The neghborhood is an older neighborhood, but felt safe. We had no problems during our 5 days there.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, pet owners, sightseeing.

Gramma's house ROCKS!

Guest: dk (Las Vegas NV)
Date of Stay: 10/26/11 Review Submitted: 11/07/11

We spent a week with my 3 adult children, my son's girlfriend, son in law, ex-wife and young son, my brother and a family friend and had an absolute blast. Indeed, the front porch is great for people watching, the back yard offered room for BBQ, picture taking, great conversation for my extended family and our guests. The servants quarters accommodated my ex and her son perfectly as the boy really enjoyed the loft. Halloween night was exceptionally fun with all the visitors. There have been reviews that the neighborhood is "sketchy." It’s just an older neighborhood that doesn't have a HOA dictating everything. It just has... character. Enjoy... we surely did.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children.

Awesome vacation experience!!!

Guest: Becky (Bastrop, TX)
Date of Stay: 06/19/11 Review Submitted: 06/23/11

We spent three nights at Casa de Abuela...June 19-22, 2011, and couldn't have asked for a more charming place to stay. The house and cottage easily slept 4 adults and 7 children and provided plenty of space for all. We also liked the fact that we could take our small dogs, who investigated the back yard thoroughly, and enjoyed time on the front porch also. I think the four adults liked the front porch more than anything...we spent every morning out there enjoying our coffee and watching the neighborhood wake up. The kids loved seeing the various birds that visited, and liked taking the dogs for a walk on Mulberry St. This was a trip with our son's family, so it was grandparent/grandkids time, and we spent most of it away from the house. My daughter-in-law and I both wished that we had booked an extra day just to enjoy the house. Thank you so much for an excellent place to stay! When we need a lot of space again, we'll definitely be back!!!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, sightseeing.

PERFECT FOR LACKLAND BMT GRADUATION

Guest: Barbara (Smyrna, TN)
Date of Stay: 04/27/11 Review Submitted: 05/11/11

My son graduated BMT at the end of April & this was THE perfect location for friends/family. He enjoyed the comfort of a home so much! It was a true pleasure dealing with the owner, I couldn't imagine having a better experience. The house was wonderful!! It was equipped with everything we could possibly want. We grilled steaks and cooked in another night, and had everything we needed. We brought my son's dog as a surprise, & she was very happy in the large yard. I will address older reviews: we had no complaints and there were no bugs at all. Also, after dealing with Shirley, I can't believe anybody would have an issue with her, she is fair and straight up. It is a very old home, but that only adds to the character. The neighborhood was sketchy, but we were greeted by many of the neighbors & felt safe. We had a great time at Grandma's House & would recommend it for any large group. It is not a hotel, so know what you want before you rent a home.

Owner response:Thanks so much for all the wonderful feedback. I'll look forward to having you as my guests again.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Perfect Location!

Guest: Susan (Topeka, Kansas)
Date of Stay: 03/17/11 Review Submitted: 03/22/11

This house is wonderful, very well maintained and spotless! The sheets were the highest thread count I have ever slept on, and they were ALL of that quality. We could have used more towels, and I was tempted to buy some wine glasses to donate...not many pots and pans to choose from, but we got by. I have to also say that I did not see one insect the entire time we were there, I feel compelled to include this in view of one of the very critical reviews from the past several months. I also found the owner to be extremely welcoming, especially in her pet policy, as we did have a last minute request in this regard. Thank you so much, we will stay with you again!

Owner response:Thanks for the great review. I'm so glad you enjoyed all the wonderful things that I love about Casa de Abuela. And I just went out and bought some new wine glasses!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, pet owners, sightseeing.

Worked Great

Guest: West Coast Visitor (Beaumont, California)
Date of Stay: 02/25/11 Review Submitted: 03/02/11

This house was just perfect. It had all we needed for the weekend. Tons of room for me and my kids.Yard was large enough to be outside and enjoy it. Everyone had a bed and there own space. I would come back again if it was available.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children.

Great time in San Antonio

Guest: San (Stevens Point, WI)
Date of Stay: 10/14/10 Review Submitted: 11/01/10

I loved the house! Will not reiterate what others have said, but do want to tell prospective renters that if a person walks south on Vollum Street for a few blocks, there is a very lovely park with a nice walking trail around a small lake. If one walks north several blocks there is an HEB grocery. It is very convenient to the Alamo and El Mercado, all the tourist arrtractions. The house was an excellent value and we enjoyed our time there.

Recommended for:People with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

summer vacation

Guest: les_77587 (houston texas)
Date of Stay: 08/06/10 Review Submitted: 08/17/10

I was very impressed with the house ,everything was just as it was stated online . The kids loved it still talk about how much they liked the house.Very comfortable home.Very close to down town and Seaworld. Love the wrap around porch it was great for the kids. The outside cottage was also great. Next time i make a trip to San Antonio i will make sure this is the first place that i look for.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Roach Infestation

Guest: trvene (Tucson, AZ/USA)
Date of Stay: 07/24/10 Review Submitted: 09/20/10

A simple refund of the cleaning fee would have been acceptable to both rental families, however the owner refused to do anything other than apologize for the inconvenience. Here's a copy of one of the emails I sent to the owner regarding our experience: We chose to stay at your property because of the historical neighborhood it is in and because it seemed to be a nicely maintained house as well as because we felt we'd have more room than in a hotel and a better opportunity for our two families to spend quality time together. We compromised by not having a pool or Internet as it was more important to just be together. For the most part, the house was perfect. It came equipped with all the necessary amenities and was nicely decorated and very spacious. The kids enjoyed the separate guest house to hang out in. The few things we encountered with the door handle and window shade were minor problems that we had to deal with. However, cleanliness is extremely important to our families and roaches are extremely undesirable and created a huge damper on our vacation. On the very first night we encountered a very large cockroach in the pantry. We then discovered cockroach droppings in the pantry, kitchen drawers, and hallway linen closet, which forced us to have to deal with rearranging the food we had already placed in the pantry, having to wash dishes more frequently and to figure out creative ways to store them so that they were not recontaminated by putting back into the same cupboards/drawers (we put them in plastic storage containers, empty coolers, in the dishwasher and on top of the stove). I also had a personal encounter on day 3 with a cockroach in the living room as it ran across my leg while I was sitting on the couch. This problem was very inconvenient for all of us and made our San Antonio vacation much less than desirable. Considering the rental fees we paid (as well as additional cleaning fee), we feel this was something that should never have been an issue. Apparently, this is a problem that you've had to address before. The roaches were large and very healthy looking and there was enough evidence of droppings to indicate this was certainly not something that sprang up overnight. ...hotels typically comp your 1st night stay and either correct the problem or offer you another room. I sincerely hope that you will take all this into consideration when deciding how to compensate us for this unpleasant experience.

Owner response:Providing a clean and comfortable place for my guests is very important to me. I was aware of the roach problem about a month before these guests arrived, and my property manager treated the house using a chemical that we had used successfully before. Therefore, I assumed the issue was solved. When they informed me that there were roaches in the house, I immediately called a professional exterminator and had the house treated while they were out. The issue with these guests appeared to be that they wanted at least one night's refund reguardless of the problem. Given that I had acted in good faith originally and responded as quickly as possible, I do not feel that they were entitled to a refund for a night's stay. A good compromise would have been some portion of their cleaning fee, but that is not what they asked for at the time and, unfortunately, I didn't think of it .

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We loved our stay

Guest: Family of 10 (Joshua, Texas)
Date of Stay: 07/08/10 Review Submitted: 07/15/10

We love old houses with hardwood floors and wooden trim, and anyone else who does would probably love this house as we did. We found it to be well cared for inside and appreciated the large yard. The rooms were decorated in such a way as to be peaceful, pleasant, and welcoming. We had plenty of space in the main house and had no need to use the back cottage. We found kitchenware, serving pieces, etc. for serving our full group and also pantry items stocked which we personally did not use, but found to be a thoughtful and welcoming touch. Shirley specifically stated that she was fully available should we need anything, and we appreciated that very much. We found our stay to be wonderful and would choose to stay here again and recommend it to others we know who appreciated similar houses with a "home away from home" feel.

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Visitor from the UK

Guest: Adopted Texan (Yorkshure, England)
Date of Stay: 05/14/10 Review Submitted: 05/27/10

The description of the property on the website was not as we found it. There was insufficient sleeping accommodation, (the single bedroom had no door), the inside of the property gave the impression of being neglected and bed linen was not fresh. The cottage was not a cottage, but a converted garage which smelt damp and which I felt was unsuitable for sleeping in. Very disappointed as I had come a long way from the UK to spend some time with my relatives. I would not recommend this property to a friend or relative of mine.

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Guest: Judy and Brad (Rockwall, TX)
Date of Stay: 02/22/10 Review Submitted: 02/22/10

We had a family reunion in San Antonio and wanted to bring our dogs (i.e., children). This is a WONDERFUL house with a huge yard, and so homey and inviting we loved our stay - we look forward to returning to our "home away from home" in the summer!

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Guest: Martha Beatty (Indianapolis, IN)
Date of Stay: 12/15/09 Review Submitted: 12/15/09

Fantastic place to stay for families to get together!! Kid friendly, fenced yard, all the amenities, great location and wonderful owner. We stayed over Thanksgiving weekend and wedding for our daughter. Much better than a hotel, especially with little ones and grandparents. Very charming. A true "grandmother's house." Thanks so very much for the hospitality. It was really a home away from home. We'd stay here again! And would recommend to anyone looking for a home away from home in San Antonio. Martha B

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Not a happy customer

Guest: mandysc79 (Hartsville, SC)
Date of Stay: 09/30/09 Review Submitted: 10/05/09

We paid the deposit for this house b/c the pics were beautiful. However when we arrived, maintenance people were there working and said it would be another 2 hours before they were done. They had the water heater out and were working on some "complicated" repairs, according to the maintenance guy. The neighborhood is less than desirable and the living room at the front of the house smelled like old dishwater. The grass had not been cut. We called the property manager who was very nice and expressed our concerns to which she said she understood there were things wrong and that she had tried to take care of them prior to our arrival. However, when we contacted the owner about a deposit refund, she hung up on us. Very unprofessional!!!! Will stick to hotels from now on. Not sure if this was a one time thing, or not, but it has definately left a sour taste.

Owner response:I have been offering Casa de Abuela as a vacation rental in San Antonio, TX, for over two years. In that time period I have received countless complements on the house, the property and the neighborhood. This is the first time guests have refused to stay for any reason whatsoever. This review contains several misrepresentations of the facts that I would like to clarify. First, the guests arrived in San Antonio early, several hours prior to check in time at 4PM. My property manager talked to them while they were still at the San Antonio Airport to inform them that electricians were at the property repairing a problem. When the guests arrived at the house around 1:30, the electrician let them in as a simple curtesy. Unfortunately, my property manager did not made arrangements to meet them in person, not realizing that the electrician would not have finished by the time the guests arrived. If she had, she would have been able to again explain in person the problems that were being repaired. And by the time the guests called her to let her know they weren't staying, they were not interested in any explanations that she tried to make. The property is in an historic neighborhood that is attractive and safe. The neighborhood is featured annually in a citywide 'Parade of Homes' and visited by thousands of people who enjoy the historical ambiance of the 1920's. And I personally lived there for several years before I converted the property to a vacation rental and loved the ambiance. When the guests called me on 10/5 to request the return of their deposit, I did not hang up. After I ascertained what the call was about, I informed the gentleman that called about my policy not return deposits if the reservation is not cancelled two weeks before the arrival. Then I reiterated that I had clearly stated that the deposit was not refundable if they did not cancel by 9/15 in the emails I exchanged with the woman who made the deposit. When he insisted, I simply repeated my statement; I did not hang up until he ended the conversation.

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Casa de Abuela

Guest: Rob & Cyndi (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Date of Stay: 02/04/09 Review Submitted: 03/22/09

What a beautiful historic home. It was so perfect to have a home where we could go and relax, cook out and sit in the back yard and talk. Our family was there for a Military graduation and we had family in and out over the 5 days we were there. Everyone loved it. For the price you can't beat this. You have eveything at your fingertips, close by to shopping, restaraunts and downtown. Easy to rent. Only recommendation is to put your car in the two garage nightly.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children, tourists without a car.

Great Vacation Home!

Guest: 3Rugrats (TX)
Date of Stay: 08/03/08 Review Submitted: 08/11/08

Beautiful home. Close to all attractions and highways. With 4 adults and 3 rowdy children, it was nice to spread out in this spacious house rather than be confined to a hotel. We lacked nothing during our stay and would consider renting again if given the opportunity to visit SA in the future. Thanks to Shirley and Rebecca for their willingness to help in any way. I would highly recommend Izabella's Mexican Restaurant down the street (breakfast and lunch only.) Huge meals at a great price! Much better than some of the other commercialized restaurants downtown.

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with young children.

The house worked our great!

Guest: KHill (Keller, TX)
Date of Stay: 07/26/08 Review Submitted: 07/31/08

We had a blast! The house was wonderful. It was so nice to have to kids playing in the back yard instead of sitting in front of the tv at a hotel. The property was very clean and I would recommend it to a friend. We had 12 people-grilled out the first night we were there and then we were able to eat healthy every night. Very peaceful neighborhood.

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car.

Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 06/01/08 Review Submitted: 06/09/08

Love, Loved this house. Beautiful victorian, details and home touches added to the comfort level. The guest house was perfect to have the kids on their own so the adults could sleep. The yard and BBQ avail also were appreciated. Also,the location to downtown and the river walk was a bonus. Hope to stay again!!

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Guestbook Comment

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 05/01/08 Review Submitted: 05/17/08

We just got back from spending a weekend in San Antonio and stayed at Casa de Abuela. The place was immaculately clean and very comfortable. We had three generations of adults staying there and all were very happy with the property. The guys had a chance to kick a soccer ball around in the private backyard while the rest of us enjoyed the grounds. The late evening was spent with a glass of wine and good conversation in the living room. We would definately recommend Casa de Abuela.

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Best deal for Families visiting San Antonio

Guest: Wonder Woman (Wewahitchka, FL)
Date of Stay: 04/09/07 Review Submitted: 04/23/08

We enjoyed your house so much! It was the first time in 5 years we were altogether. What a great place to bring my grandson when he was allowed to leave the base. We all went to Sea World, too. La Fogata was excellent! What good food & fun. It was wonderful to have all of us sit around the dining room table. Also setting up the table in the back yard for our BBQ. Thank you for listing the house on the internet. We have fantastic memories that will last. We will highly recommend this house to anyone coming to your area. Clean house, guest house & yard that we set up a badminton game. Shirley was always availabe to answer our questions and was very helpful. Patty & family

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, sightseeing.