Vacation Rentals by Owner

Amazing Vacation!

Guest: rachel r.
Date of Stay: 09/11/11 Review Submitted: 09/22/11

Had the BEST time at this amazing home in Sonoma. It is overlooking the Sonoma Valley, close to winery's and has gorgeous horses right on the property. Pool and hot tub were perfect at night to drink a bottle of wine and relax. We had 12 girls in our wedding party and had tons of room, this place is nice! Everything was clean and beautiful. I would HIGHLY recommend this place!

Recommended for:Girls getaway

Phenomenal Property!

Guest: rachel r.
Date of Stay: 09/04/11 Review Submitted: 09/23/11

Looooooved this place! We had 12 in our party and everyone felt like there was plenty of room to stretch out on this amazing property! It is gorgeous! The view is phenomenal and then to be able to relax in the hot tub after a long day of wine tasting was perfect! Thank you to Janna for making our vacation unforgettable!

Recommended for:Girls getaway

Spacious - House Not Well Maintained

Guest: Jp M.
Date of Stay: 08/28/11 Review Submitted: 09/18/11

Our friends arranged this house for all of us to stay. It was spacious but if you happen to get one of the many pull-out beds (wine cellar) they are not comfortable AT ALL! Full of springs poking you in the back. My wife and I could not even sleep in the same room and 3 weeks later I am still paying the price for trying to sleep on that contraption they call a bed. Others in the house had the same feedback on the beds. Some of the towels had burns and were torn as well. The garbage disposal did not work the entire week and when the handyman finally showed up, he had no tools and used a "dime" in the outlet to verify power. There was power, but after the sparks flew it turned out the next day he had shorted out the circuit in the laundry room so I could not iron my shirt before wine tasting. The black beverage cooler also overheated and did a poor job of keeping our water and drinks cold. The dishwasher stopped working but we were able to get that going again on our own. The upstairs bathroom toilet also stopped working and was down a day and half. They also left the pool cleaner with the long hose etc. in the pool the entire time and we were skeptical about trying to remove it for fear of breaking something. It made it tough for swimming. Overall it was an average place due to functionality and comfort. If I am going to stay in a home some of the most important amenities to have is a reasonable bed to sleep on, nice towels/linens, and functional appliances/bathroom fixtures. These owners appeared to me to just be getting by with as little up keep and maintenance as possible and over sell the property when they say they can sleep 12 people (not comfortably). Overall, this house has somewhat reasonable accomodations for about 6-8 people. Beyond that your guests/friends will be extremely uncomfortable like I was. If you are a group of 6-8 people looking for a spacious house at a reduced price for the area and want to risk the disruption of what we had to tolerate in this house then this is the house for you. At first appearance this is an incredible house, but once we started using it, our opinion of the property went down hill fast!

Owner response:We always appreciate input, as we strive to make your stay in wine country as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. The rental agreement for the rental reviewed above listed a total of 10 guests legally staying in the villa. With queen beds in 3 separate bedrooms, a king in the master, ad two queen sleeper sofas in separate sitting rooms, we would NOT recommend using a cold wine cellar with no windows or heat, as a sleeping area for an adult, nor do we recommend it in our listing, as a valid sleeping area. We are SO sorry someone was made to sleep on an uncomfortable couch in the wine cellar and can only suggest that they ask for a refund from the person in charge of their rental. The maximum capacity of this home is 12, NOT including anyone sleeping in the wine cellar! The Bosch dishwasher is 3 yrs old and still under warranty. We DID find a broken wine glass and excess food in the drain on aug 30, removed it, and the dishwasher has worked fine for every other guest in 2011. Because we are on septic, we DO ask guests to use the plunger located in the bathrooms, should they clog the toilet. The plumbing works fine in this luxury home, but if someone clogs the toilet, unlike a hotel, we do ask that you plunge the toilet yourself when renting this country home. The "black beverage cooler" is not a beverage cooler. but a state of the art WINE cooler equipped with the newest thermoelectric hating technology should the ambiant temperature fall below set temperature, which for most wine is 64 degrees. We suggest guests utilize one of the two large refrigerators in the home to cool their beverages and beer, and use the wine cooler for storing wine, as intended. In most rental homes, the pool is serviced weekly, thus a pool sweep is maintained in the pool during the week (hotels have pool service daily, most homes in the country have weekly pool services). The hose for the pool sweep is easily put to the side, if the sweep is in the way when swimming or pool is in use, and we recommend guests ask our on site full time groundskeeper to show them how to automatically open and close the pool cover, and put the pool sweep to the side, during use, if they are unsure on how to operate pool equipment. We DID appreciate this guest suggestions re: linens and towels and have equipped the home with ALL NEW linens, towels, bath mats, sheets, and comforters. Thanks for your suggestions!

Recommended for:

Well Appointed Mediterranean Home

Guest: susie r. (ohio)
Date of Stay: 07/03/11 Review Submitted: 09/23/11

This well appointed Mediterranean home was Ideal for our family reunion. We had family members coming from coast to coast, including the middle, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in wine country, at the Black Sterling Villa. What a treat it was--not only having vineyard views from most windows, but also we enjoyed watching the owner, Janna, working some of her beautiful black horses---which i guess are imported from somewhere in Europe. Home was everything and MORE than we expected. Cooking in the well supplied kitchen was a breeze, and even my picky aunt was happy. Great room has soaring ceilings an just a great place for all of us to gather. W rented both homes and will be back. susie

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

BETTER than in the Photos!!!!

Guest: lauren17holla (ohio)
Date of Stay: 05/16/10 Review Submitted: 06/08/10

All i can say is... the photos do NOT do this place justice!!! What a nice luxury home, with views to absolutely DIE for!!! I got married at Cornerstone and we rented both the Black Sterling Villa, and the sister property next door, the Black Sterling Vineyard Estate. We thoroughly enjoyed BOTH properties, annd they were walking distance to each other. My friends and family had a superb time sitting on the various decks and sipping wine, while gazing at the adjoining vineyards. Bonus: watching the baby friesian horses. My bridesmaids even surprised me with a riding lesson one one of the stunning friesian horses!! This was the nicest vacation rental we have ever experienced. We WILL be back!!! I would highly recommend this home to anyone visiting wine country. Lauren

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, people with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Great time in Sonoma Wine Country!!

Guest: jpommer (aptos, ca)
Date of Stay: 11/01/09 Review Submitted: 11/21/09

Our family of twelve had a wonderful relaxing time at the Villa. The house is very spacious, well appointed and comfortable. The pool, fountains, and grounds were beautiful and very private (kids had a great time feeding the horses!). The location is also excellent - quiet neighborhood very close to hiking, bike trails, 2 incredible parks with lakes, wineries, restaurants, farmers market, etc. We had a fabulous family vacation with this house as our base. This is a wonderful home, in an ideal setting. Our week was delightful, thanks in part to the rental of a very nice home in an ideal location. I would highly recommend the Villa --ideal for a family reunion!

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

We recommend this Villa-Great house,awesome horses

Guest: sjohnson942 (ohio)
Date of Stay: 10/09/08 Review Submitted: 10/29/08

We planned a get together with college buddies at Wine Country, and rented the Black Sterling Villa sight unseen off the web. Wow--what a great experience! House was exactly as stated, everything was just as we had seen in the photos. And the owners provided such warm hospitality--we were pleasantly surprised at such prompt answers to our questions...something we have not found with other homes we have rented. Additional bonus : the gorgeous black horses on the property. A group of us took riding lessons on the frisian horses housed in the owner's private stable. It was the highlight of our trip. We will be back. This was the nicest home our group has ever rented. Susan in Ohio

Recommended for:People with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Thank You For a Memorable Week

Guest: J.E. (San Diego)
Date of Stay: 07/20/08 Review Submitted: 07/31/08

Thank you very much for sharing your home with us. We had a wonderful week celebrating my mother's 80th birthday. We had family members flying in from 7 different states, and all remarked at what a great home the Villa was--really ideal for our family reunion. Views were breathtaking, and we enjoyed watching the baby horses frolic. Thanks again, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will certainly recommend your home to other families.

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

Family reunion

Guest: Don & Kay (Fort Worth, TX)
Date of Stay: 07/13/08 Review Submitted: 08/06/08

My family, consisting of 11 adults and six children (all under 10 years old) used this home and its companion home for a week long reunion in July. We could not have been more pleased with the accommodations. The property was clean, obviously well maintained and beautifully appointed. We had everything we needed including a very well equipped kitchen. We were able to move in and immediately feel right at home. We enjoyed the swimming pool and the hot tub and the older children had a great time horseback riding. They also enjoyed their morning ritual of feeding the horses carrots. The location was great and we enjoyed Sonoma and its environs. The town square was a plus for the children and we enjoyed meals at the Girl and the Fig and Della Santina. We stayed mostly in the local area, but did venture as far away as Bodega Bay. With six kids in tow, we didn't make as many wineries as we would have liked, but we made a bunch. Going in shifts seemed to work for us. The owners could not have been more friendly or helpful. It was a pleasure to meet them and we look forward to staying in their villa again.

Recommended for:

Not quite what it is stated to be

Guest: NY Visitors (El Paso, TX)
Date of Stay: 06/22/08 Review Submitted: 06/30/08

Property is NOT 5 bdrms-loft has been made into room but has no doors to close off to other room so not private and shares bath with other room; downstairs has sofa sleeper stuck in empty wine closet; kitchen/gameroom has only sofa sleeper and no refrigerator or microwave or kitchen supplies....so 3 private rooms with actual beds, one open loft room with bed . General amenities are lacking and kitchen is just ok-def not "gourmet" as stated...microwave from 1970 and did not work, wifi only available on outdoor patio, no firewood, hot tub DEFINATELY NOT 10-person ( maybe 6 if lucky), mis-matched sheets and towels and lacking good cleaning. Only big screen tv in small room has satellite and other 2 tv's in 2 rooms not working.

Recommended for:

Perfect Accomodations for 4-5 Couples

Guest: shaw (cary, NC)
Date of Stay: 06/15/08 Review Submitted: 07/26/08

We have a group of 4-5 couples that travel together, and this year we decided to visit Napa/Sonoma Wine Country. We all wanted to stay together, under 1 roof, and so we decided on the Black Sterling Villa, after seeing the photos and description online. When we walked in, we couldn't believe the views!!! Truly amazing vineyard views ---the home sits on top of a hill and has better views than most of the Vineyards we visited! The home provides comfort and privacy for couples traveling together, and we love to cook, so we put the well stocked kitchen to good use! The guys went golfing one day, and the girls spent a day at a nearby spa (they LOVED the Sonoma Mission Inn Spa) . The location was ideal for us. We would highly recommend this home, we sure enjoyed our stay, and found everything clean, and in good working order. To the owners, who we met on our first day there and were very personable, thank you so much for sharing your home with us.

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

Thank You So Much For a VERY Enjoyable Week!!!!

Guest: rbarn (austin, TX)
Date of Stay: 05/18/08 Review Submitted: 07/15/08

i rented both the Black Sterling Villa, and the sister property next door, the Black Sterling Vineyard Estate, for a week in the summer, 2008, for our familly reunion, and we thoroughly enjoyed out stay, both in wine country, and at both of these vacation rental homes. The views, the interior decorating and furnishings, the ambience, the area, the incredible friesian horses that my kid's had riding lessons on, the proximity to Sonoma square just 5 minutes away, as well as the incredible wineries nearby [Viansa Winery was our hands down favorite]--everything made for a memorable week in Sonoma Wine Country!!! We loved hanging out in the heated pools--the slide at the Villa pool was a hit with the teenagers. This was a family reunion we are not soon to forget, and the Black Sterling properties were IDEAL for us. The owners were very hospitable, and answered any questions promptly, and returned emails immediately. The homes EXCEEDED our expectations, and we rent vacation homes every year. We highly recommend the Black Sterling Villa and Vineyard Estate. Thank you for sharing your homes with us!! Regards, 4 families with kids from texas

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, tourists without a car, pet owners, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Really Enjoyed Our Stay

Guest: satisfied customer from NC (Chapel Hill, NC)
Date of Stay: 05/11/08 Review Submitted: 08/17/08

Thank you for a very enjoyable week. My wedding was across the street , at Viansa Winery, and my family and wedding party thoroughly enjoyed staying at your Villa. The location was just perfect for us--as the San Francisco and Oakland airports are nearby for my out of state family members, and the downtown sonoma shops are restaurants are nearby---and the setting could not have been more ideal. The master bedroom suite was where my husband and i spent our wedding nite, ad we hope to come back every year on our anniversary!! Thank you again, you were a joy to work with and i will never forget my wedding week at your villa.

Recommended for:

Wonderful Getaway in Wine Country, Super VIEWS!!!

Guest: happy guest from fla (sarasota, FLA)
Date of Stay: 04/13/08 Review Submitted: 08/13/08

It was my husband's 40th birthday, so i planned a little get together with our friends, and this Villa provided the perfect setting. Great luxury home smack dab in the middle of the wineries--- we loved Viansa, Cline, and Gloria Ferrar champagne caves. Very nice amenities, clean, kitchen stocked with everything we needed to "eat in" , and the pool was certainly enjoyed by our group. Thank you for opening up your home to us, we thoroughly enjoyed it and will highly recommend the villa to our friends and family.

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

Thanks for a Great Week!!

Guest: happy guest from LA (los angeles, ca)
Date of Stay: 03/14/08 Review Submitted: 08/24/08

Just wanted to say thank you, we had a very enjoyable weekend at your lovely home in sonoma wine country. I must say, i can't imagine why you don't LIVE there, what a nice, well kept gigantic home, with views, views, views..... We especially enjoyed your older horse (i think his name was Sterling?) who roamed the property, greeting newcomers. My daughter is still talking about him.... Thanks again, we will recommend you to anyone wanting a vacation home in Napa/Sonoma

Recommended for:People with disabilities, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, pet owners.