Home away from home

Guest: Carin (Boston, MA)
Date of Stay: 09/28/11 Review Submitted: 11/11/11

My husband, 1-year old daugher and I stayed here in late September / early October while visiting family in the area and couldn't have been happier. The location is great, very convenient to family-friendly Noe Valley. The Noe Valley Recreation Center is just up the street - our daughter played here happily every day with lots of other children. 24th Street was a quick 15 minute walk, with lots of great places to eat there and in-between. We weren't bothered by the street noise, though (full disclosure) we're city-dwellers ourselves so city noise is for us a fact of life. Thank you Joan, we look forward to staying here again in the future!

Owner response:Thanks for the kind words ... We are so glad you loved all the neighborhood has to offer ... we do too ! ... hope you visit again soon. Joan

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Lovely Apartment

Guest: Carolyn (Holt, Mo)
Date of Stay: 10/19/11 Review Submitted: 10/25/11

This is a lovely place to stay...beautiful decor, convenient to transportation and a great neighborhood. The apartment, charming and well decorated has almost everything you need. The best part is that it is so close to public transportation, resturants and grocery stores. We had a wonderful, relaxing time here and would stay again.

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

Excellent Place to Stay in SF

Guest: Dean F.
Date of Stay: 08/03/11 Review Submitted: 08/18/11

While the weather wasn't very good during our stay, that had nothing to do with the property. Everything worked out great for our family of four (two boys 17 and 10). Plenty of room to spread out and accomodate different sleeping schedules. The front room is great for reading. The kitchen was fully equiped and we liked having a washer/drying available. Only caution on the washer is to put the detergent in the bottom [not on top of the clothes] so you don't get bleach spots on the wash. We used a muni pass and the "J" train exensively and covered a lot of ground during the week. Plan about 45 minutes to get to the downtown. If you have your computer you can use 511 website [google 511, homeaway won't let me post a link] or dial "511" from your cell to get train schedules. Plenty of restaraunts in the neighborhood and over on Mission Street plus a Safeway supermarket only two blocks away for provisions. The only caution is that the streetcar runs right in front of the house so you can hear it, but it wasn't objectionable and any urban location will have city noises. We would strongly recommend this property to anyone wanting a "homeaway" experience in an incredible city. We loved being in a neighborhood instead of a hotel on the wharf. We would do it again and not change a thing. Thanks Joan for a memorable visit and a great home away from home!! One additional travel tip: if going to Alcatraz during the summer season book online before you get here. They were sold out two weeks in advance. We managed to score some tickets because of a cancellation for two of us but that was just luck.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Wonderful flat in charming neighbourhood - we're already planning another stay

Guest: Steve (Northampton, United Kingdom)
Date of Stay: 07/27/11 Review Submitted: 08/11/11

We stayed at Joan's place for five nights, having decided on the Noe Valley as a central location for sightseeing in SF, and it turned out to be the perfect choice. The flat is delightful, with lovely wooden floors and high ceilings, nice furnishings and everything was spotless, and the pictures dont really do the place full justice - it has a huge amount of space and had everything we needed, fantastic kitchen, great lounge and sitting out in the quiet and private backyard was a real treat.The location of flat was perfect, literally just around the corner from the Muni stop ($2 ride to downtown SF or the beach without needing to change was great value) and we enjoyed Marthas for coffee and breakfast, as well as Barneys Burgers on 24th Street so much we went back again. The area feels super safe and was very quiet even during peak weekday times. The grocery store on the corner was amazing and Safeway was just around another corner for a big shop, and we could happpily stay here without a car - Parking?...well this is SF and but we found places without too much bother. We throughly recommend this place to anyone needing a convenient base in a lovely area, and we hope to stay at Joans place in next time we're in SF, Thanks Joan! Woods family

Owner response:Thanks a million... Love to have you back !

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

SF Living

Guest: Angie (Chicago, IL)
Date of Stay: 07/07/11 Review Submitted: 07/18/11

We stayed in this flat for several days with our three boys and loved it. It is big, comfortable, clean and well appointed. We appreciated having room to spread out and a place for breakfast and snacks. The neighborhood is full of great restaurants and small shops. We bought delicious Acme bread and fresh fruit for breakfast every morning at the corner shop. Public transportation couldn't be easier. Our City Pass got us free transportation on all Muni streetcars, busses and cable cars. It made traveling the city a breeze! Joan was a pleasure to rent from. We will be back!

Owner response:Angie ... we are so glad you and your family enjoyed your stay ... looking forward to seeing you in the future !

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

We were entirely happy staying here

Guest: Stumpfer (Boston)
Date of Stay: 06/05/11 Review Submitted: 06/20/11

We stayed here with 4 adults and 3 small kids. We found the apartment to be very beautiful and clean with a nice back patio. There was plenty of room for all of us. The place is accurately described and we found it to be larger and prettier than it looks in the pictures. The owner was responsive and friendly. If you have kids, there is a portacrib and stroller in the front closet. The neighborhood is great with a bunch of little local restaurants around. The J-Church train stop is right around the corner so it's very easy to get downtown from there. We would definitely recommend this apartment to friends and we would be very happy to stay there again if we find ourselves in San Francisco again.

Owner response:Thank you ! .... We know how hard it was to travel traveled with our own kids so, we thought we could make it a bit easier to have the portacrib and stroller already here for families. We are so glad you enjoyed your time here and hope to see you all again.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Wonderful stay!

Guest: Edward (Washington DC)
Date of Stay: 03/24/11 Review Submitted: 04/10/11

My sister and brother and I spent a week in SF and stayed at this wonderful flat in Noe Valley. First, the place is HUGE. The eat in kitchen alone could accomodate 4-6 people easily. Did I mention there is also a full separate dining room that seats 6-8 people! The appliances all look new, plus there's a laundry room off the kitchen with full size washer and dryer. The apartment was spotless, and had a spacious updated bathroom. The beds were all very comfortable, which is saying something since we are all over fifty. Public transportation is literally at your doorstep. The neighborhood is quiet and charming and has many restaurants, coffee shops and local groceries (the best meal I had, and there were plenty of great meals, was at a place around the corner called Pomelo, fantastic!). Also, the owners were very available and accomodating with all our requests. It was such a pleasure to stay at this apartment. This was a once in a lifetime trip for my family and staying at this apartment only made the whole experience that much better. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

Owner response:Ed ... thanks so much for the kind words ... the whole point is to make the family feel comfortable - like it was your own home for the time you were there ... thanks again ...

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children.

Great Place to Stay!! All the comforts of home!!

Guest: Fun in SF (MA)
Date of Stay: 04/21/10 Review Submitted: 04/26/10

This was a great flat! The house was very comfortable. It had all the amenities anyone could want. The crib and stroller was great for our babies use. We felt like we lived in the neighborhood. Everything was within walking distance. The kitchen was fully equipped and very comfortable to work in. We would definately go back and recommend it to other families or couples who want a little more space. A great deal for the money. The only difficult part was finding parking. If you don't need a car I would recommend using the public transportation, which was pretty much the next block over.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.