Magnificient Custom Adobe Estate. Transport to Another Era.

• Best weekend of my life!

  Best weekend of my life!

  • Guest Alex I.
  • Date of stay 09/28/12
  • Review Submitted 10/12/12
  I have no words to explain how beautiful this place is. It's so home and real. There are flowers everywhere and the view is earth-shattering. After 3 days with all of our best friends I honestly felt like we had found a new home and it was truly hard to leave. The whole house is a conversation piece because around each corner is a unique picture or artifact. We had 6 friends staying from England and I think they were convinced that they should move to California, the true life of paradise. In addition to the beautiful house I could also not be more please with the owner, Karen. She is the kindest woman, who seriously went out of her way to make sure out wedding weekend was amazing. She responded to emails quickly and offered about a million essential catering dishes that were invaluable for our perfect day. Thank you soooooooo much. Lots of love. Mallory and Alex Airey

  Owner response: It was a pleasure working with you and Mallory. The photos of your wedding were beautiful. I hope that you and your guests will find an opportunity to return. Thank you for the the thoughtful review. Karen

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 2/2

• My son's wedding

  My son's wedding

  • Guest Sam
  • Date of stay 05/21/13
  • Review Submitted 05/29/13
  My wife and I had a wonderful time hosting our son's wedding week at the house. From the rehearsal dinner, to the wedding itself and then a Memorial Day BBQ the house and the grounds were a wonderful venue to hosts these events. The views and the amenities are outstanding and all our guests really enjoyed the time they spent there. The owners are wonderful people clearly love to open up their house for events such as a wedding and were very easy to work with. I loved staying at the house I would definitely recommend the Schneider Residence to host your event!!

  Recommended for: Pet owners, adventure seekers, families with teenagers, people with disabilities, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Charming and intimate for our wedding

  Charming and intimate for our wedding

  • Guest KatGregBee
  • Date of stay 04/04/13
  • Review Submitted 04/14/13
  We enjoyed our time at the Schneider Residence so much! Met with Karen and her husband before our weekend to plan a bit and they were both so gracious and welcoming. The property is beautiful with fantastic views, a lovely garden and unique and intriguing fixtures and decor. Not like every other house; interesting, personal and wonderful!! Again and again our guests asked how we found this place, they couldn't believe we so lucked out. Thanks VRBO. We were able to hold our rehearsal dinner there as a BBQ that we did ourselves and then a catered brunch for the reception. The kitchen was well appointed for us to cook and serve for 25 at dinner and then the caterer was great the next day to serve for 40. Some of our out of town friends were able to stay over with us in the house, making time for friends to catch up in a relaxed atmosphere. We took advantage of the lovely views and held the ceremony on the front lanai/outlook and did our formal seeting/dining on the back patio. We only had one child with us (age 3.5), but she enjoyed the house and all the amenities, especially the pool table. Our guests included several octogenarians and everyone was able to maneuver on the property well as there were no required stairs. The sleeping loft gives great flexibility and friends stayed up there, while the bedroom wing was extremely quiet despite other people being in the house. The llamas at the next property down the hill proved to be excellent gatekeepers, welcoming our guests. One friend is a birder from out of state and he loved all the beautiful birds that visited the property. Everyone took pictures!! We will never forget our wedding celebration at this wonderful house. We gathered the people we love there and they were part of something important to us. The house, its views, atmosphere and amenities all contributed to our special day and to helping everyone relax and enjoy. Thank you so much for welcoming us and allowing us to stay. It was an amazing weekend.

  Recommended for: Pet owners, people with disabilities, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing, age 55+.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Thanksgiving/family reunion

  Thanksgiving/family reunion

  • Guest Cricket
  • Date of stay 11/21/12
  • Review Submitted 12/03/12
  4 couples, 2 toddlers and a chihuahua loved this place - especially the view. In town for family reunion/Thanksgiving in Moraga, we didn't sped as much time at the house as we hoped. They had everything you could wish for. We hope to stay there next Thanksgiving as well!

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

  Owner response: Thank you for the positive review! I enjoyed getting the chance to meet you and show you a bit about the house. We now have a Graco pack n play for the younger set. That should come in handy!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Great Place for a Wedding Reception

  Great Place for a Wedding Reception

  • Guest Damian
  • Date of stay 11/10/12
  • Review Submitted 11/21/12
  My wife and I were married earlier in the year in a very small ceremony. We also wanted to celebrate with our friends and family, however, so 5 months later we planned to have a party. Finding a place for 65 people is not easy, especially because we wanted it to have outdoor access. We considered Stern Grove, churches in the Berkeley hills, city of oakland rental properties, etc., but none of them had a unique feel. This place, however, did, and we are very glad we found it. Things we liked: Our dog could explore and run free The view / setting is stunning The drive uphill is unique and feels rewarding The parking is ample for a large party The layout allows people to spread out inside, out front, out back and upstairs Thanks for letting us have our celebration here - everyone loved the venue, and wanted to know more about the owner who was willing to open up such a nice place for others to enjoy. Thank you Karen

  Recommended for: Pet owners, families with young children, families with teenagers, romantic getaway.

  Owner response: This was an unusual event for us, we generally do not allow non- overnight events. Our typical contract is three day minimum to hold any small reception at the property. The bride and groom were so enthusiastic! We provided service utensils, warmers, and water pitchers. You did a beautiful job leaving the house as it was found, in clean condition. (65 guests is a bit over our upper limit.)

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• Absolutely Unbelievable

  Absolutely Unbelievable

  • Guest Adam
  • Date of stay 11/05/12
  • Review Submitted 11/11/12
  Breathtaking is the first word that came to mind when I drove up to the Schneider's property. The views are absolutely magnificent. I grew up in the Bay Area, and to see Mount Diablo from the JACUZZI in the BATHROOM made me almost giddy. And thats just the beginning. From the unique layout of the mansion, to the hospitality of its owners I was struck dumb by our luck in this find. My wife and I were having a reunion with friends after a college reunion at St. Mary's, and we could NOT have picked a better place. We all relaxed in the jacuzzi with wine and watched the sun set over the valley. The girls sat in the sauna and gossiped about us while the guys played pool. I have one staunch exerciser buddy who could not have been happier with the endless pool. He was in there every day! (So were we, but not to exercise.) The backyard is especially beautiful. Stone bricks, and just fabulous gardening that the owner has done. Flowers and fairy lights everywhere. It was a dream. Because we set the whole thing up, we got to stay in the master bedroom, but I must say, the other bedrooms were beautiful too. The master is pretty luxurious, though. Huge king bed, views of my beloved mountain. I could go on and on, and already have. A few words about the interior: The dining room is super fancy and perfect for large parties of up to ten I would say, although there is a separate table that can be moved in and would fit I think. We all chipped in on dinner one night (the kitchen is huge and very accommodating) and sat around the table until one in the morning! The windows in the dining room look out onto the valley! Ok. I'll stop now, but I could go on and on. This was one of the best weeks we have ever had. I will DEFINITELY book again...maybe in winter when we can use the fire places... Thanks again, Karen. Wonderful wonderful wonderful

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

  Owner response: Thank you for the very complimentary review Adam. We try very hard to keep our guests happy and anxious to return. I am sure you would love to be in the house during the wintertime! We do have a wood stove in the front room and a fireplace near the pool table and plenty of wood. Did you get a chance to use the sauna? That is especially appealing after a cold afternoon shopping downtown Walnut Creek and it's new Neiman Marcus store. There is also great cute shops in Lafayette also with several options for coffee and tea breaks. I will be looking forward to seeing you again soon Adam! Karen

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Chairman of the board

  Chairman of the board

  • Guest Ron
  • Date of stay 10/22/12
  • Review Submitted 10/31/12
  Exellent vocation. Very quiet and comfortable Villa. All what you need, avaliable. Super location. We were travelling two families with kids, our chldren liked this holidays very much.

  Recommended for: Families with young children.

  Owner response: It was exciting to have your family from Estonia! You left a note that the children liked the house so much they didn't want to leave.They also liked shopping with the upscale stores and great restaurants. I hope you will be back this way soon!

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• What you see is not what you get

  What you see is not what you get

  • Guest Deborah W.
  • Date of stay 09/14/12
  • Review Submitted 10/15/12
  This is an updated post because there were important issues I didn't include in the original as my first impression was wrong and I didn't know it. I thought my wedding weekend would be a small and quiet affair and all would go well but it didn't. The property has nice gardens and views but the owners are very neglectful of details. After one of the two nights my officiant stayed in one of the spare bedrooms she had bed bug bites. We asked Karen to later check the bedroom and she said she didn't find anything. My friend had to spend money to fumigate her own home days after the stay at the Lafayette house because they had been brought in by her and her luggage which was also in the spare bedroom. Also, when you're cleaning up before you leave they have a list of things you must do to get your full deposit back. In wanting to make sure I got mine back which I did you needed to dump all waist baskets in the home, take your trash with you if it was in excess of one outside bin and leave it as it was when you arrived. I was told that their maid would clean the property just prior to my checkin (that's who I would get the key from). So essentially I felt like I need to clean like a maid in order to get the deposit. The cleaning list is very lengthy and I didn't know why I had paid so much for my nights stay if it didn't include cleaning like a hotel would. The worst of all is this. The night before our wedding which included 10 children my fiance and I found a loaded revolver in the kitchen area on a book shelf waist/child height. I was very upset by this and couldn't believe Karen could have left this behind as it's a deadly weapon. Thank god we found it and not an inquisitive child not knowing what it was and we put it in the our bedroom hopefully for safe keeping during our special weekend. Huge over site that could have been awful for me and my guests. Also, two doors to the home wouldn't close and lock properly. One off the game room and the other from the sauna/bathroom. In the list of must follow to get your deposit back it states all doors must be locked when you leave. I had to call her to make sure what she wanted me to do and she said just leave it, not a problem. This property did not make me feel safe! In discussing issues with Karen I found her to be very combative and argumentative which doesn't make for a comfortable stay as you need to be able to have a good interaction with someone you're doing business with.

  Owner response: I have asked repeatedly that you remove your posting which is composed of lies and libelous comments. For whatever reason Home Away and VRBO refuse to delete any post made by a verified guest. Perhaps I have to take legal action. You told me that you would always have wonderful memories of your wedding at our home and you didn't believe that "Jennifer" got bedbugs at my house. I guess arguing for my reputation makes me combative although all our personal meeting were very cordial. I have a certified inspector's report that showed I do not have any budbugs. Your friend does and she didn't get them here.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/3

• Paradise 45 Minutes from the SF

  Paradise 45 Minutes from the SF

  • Guest teaspills
  • Date of stay 08/18/12
  • Review Submitted 08/27/12
  Karen's home is a veritable slice of paradise located 45 minutes from the Bay. With amazing amenities, (pool, pool table, hottub, sauna) we felt completely at home while feeling we had truly managed to escape to some place magical. Karen went to great lengths to make sure our stay was easy and hassle free. I will definitely be reserving an additional weekend or two in the near future.

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

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 0/0

• Get away

  Get away

  • Guest michelle s.
  • Date of stay 08/01/12
  • Review Submitted 08/13/12
  We had a great time at the Residence. The owner was extremely nice and helpful. The house was amazing the views were beautiful. Everything was there and usable. The house is a rustic beautiful getaway. The road to the house is paved and nice down to one lane at times. There is alot of wild life such as deer and turkeys which were fun to watch. The house is well built and is very close to town, bart parking, grocery etc. The house was a nice size for a large party, we had 11 people. I think a better fit would be 8 or less for more privacy. We did have a issue with water pressure if there were two or more things running at the same time. However hot water was never a problem. Very nice beautiful home and location. Easy to get to San Fransico and or Half moon, San Jose, Oakland airport and Monterey. We loved Lafayette nice place to visit and shop. We had a great time!

  Owner response: Thank you for staying for the week Michelle. I was not aware the water pressure was a problem for you as you didn't mention it. We had a filter system and a new on demand hot water tank installed so guests could take showers without concern for running out of hot water. The water pressure is being repaired. I am glad you enjoyed your stay, the house is indeed a special place; great for families with children as part of the group. Having 11 adults and using the sofa bed is not ideal for a week. Yes, sleeping 4 couples and a few kids is a better fit for the house.

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Additional information about rental rates

No fee for cleaning or small pets.

$500 refundable security deposit due immediately to reserve dates. Balance in full due 2 weeks prior to occupancy.

Additional Fees and Taxes:

9.5% lodging tax