Great location and pleasant accommodation

Guest: Multigenerational & Multicultural (Salt Lake City)
Date of Stay: 11/23/11 Review Submitted: 11/28/11

This was a perfect base camp for us to visit other family in the area for Thanksgiving. The cottage was clean and comfortable and accommodated our family of four (children 9 & 11) plus one grandparent. We really appreciated the functional kitchen and chance to prepare some meals. We loved the fresh eggs from the garden hens and was welcomed with wine, bread, and homemade jam. When booking, I was looking primarily at availability and price to enable us to visit family nearby. I was actually not really aware of the gem Healdsburg itself was! Amazing town and festive atmosphere for a Thanksgiving weekend. WiFi was a bit spotty but direct plug in for internet was possible and cable worked just fine. The surrounding views were amazing. We took some great photos of vineyards, rollings hills, and early morning fog. We would like to return in the summer to take advantage of the canoe and river trips just at the end of the road as well as the outside patios this cottage offers. What a great place - we will be back.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Una bella vacanza nella campagna di Healdsburg

Guest: crazykey (Perugia, Italia)
Date of Stay: 10/18/11 Review Submitted: 10/26/11

Una casetta classica americana molto accogliente nel tranquillo paese di Healdsburg e dotata di tutti i comfort si possono gustare anche i prodotti genuini della terra che Blake coltiva. Posta a poco più di un' ora e mezza da San Francisco e circa 40 minuti da Guernville dove vi sono le famose foreste di sequoia è in una posizione ottimale per poter visitare una buona parte della California del nord. Mi sento di dare il massimo di valutazione anche per la simpatia e accoglienza di Anita e Blake. Gus

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

Garden House was winner for our family vacation

Guest: Casey (Littleton, CO)
Date of Stay: 08/03/11 Review Submitted: 10/07/11

The house was very clean and well equipped with many extras, e.g. patio, barbecue. The proximity to recreation, wineries and Healdsburg was outstanding. Our family of 4 adults had plenty of room. Blake and Anita were very accommodating and responded very quickly to a couple of requests/questions. The setting is quite unique, being in the middle of a very well maintained garden. We picked and cooked some sweet corn from their garden that was awesome. I definitely recommend this property. Casey

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

Wonderful getaway in wine country!

Guest: Jen (Baltimore, MD)
Date of Stay: 06/01/11 Review Submitted: 08/07/11

Blake and Anita are fantastic hosts and the property and house are great! Spacious, has everything you need and as a bonus - a beautiful garden out back (fresh veggies and eggs at the ready) and a vineyard vista from the front (the lush vines Blake's got going in the garden are nothing to sneeze at, either)! Located a few minutes walk from the Russian River and about a 15 minute walk into downtown Healdsburg, we didn't need our car the entire time. *Plenty* of wineries on the way, whichever way you go! (And Bear Republic is walkable, too, if beer's your thing!) Also, be sure to hit the town park on Tuesdays during the summer for live music! Thanks again, Blake and Anita, we had a wonderful time!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, people with disabilities, sightseeing, pet owners, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+.

super friendly and a gorgeous garden, what more could you want?

Guest: Jeff (Denver, CO)
Date of Stay: 05/06/11 Review Submitted: 05/12/11

We loved our stay at Blake and Anita's garden house. They were so warm and friendly upon our arrival, and we were pleasantly surprised to find they gave us some fresh organic eggs from their backyard for our breakfast. Blake gave us a great tour of his beautiful and extensive garden and let us pick as much as we needed for dinner that night (which turned out to be fantastic!). We want to go back later in the season when more of their garden is in season! We also loved the back porch, complete with charcoal grill and a chiminea which Blake gave us some wood to have a nice little fire. It's about a mile walk to town, but it's nice to be somewhat off the beaten path on a quiet street. The beds are not the best and you have to not be bothered by the occasional rooster crowing, but we'll definitely stay here again!

Recommended for:Sightseeing, pet owners, age 55+.

Healdsburg Heaven

Guest: DW from DC (Rockville, MD/USA)
Date of Stay: 04/20/11 Review Submitted: 04/22/11

Granted I'm old friends of Anita and Blake, owners of this "Comfortable" vacation house. But I had not seen them in at least 30 years and knew nothing about their place until me and another friend from the past showed up for a reunion with Blake and Anita. We did our reunion on a Wednesday because the place is booked many weekends and other favorite times. Blake and Anita are great hosts and their guest house is great fun. 2 comfy bedrooms, nice bath and roomy common spaces, including a large covered patio in the back, overlooking their incredible garden. Inside are flat screen TVs and WiFi, and a laundry facility. Organic eggs from their chickens are plentiful and the garden is available for gleaning. Their place is both a cozy spot for cocooning, and/or an efficient and comfortable base for exploring the area.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, sightseeing, pet owners, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+.

Hanging with friends and throwing a dinner party

Guest: Four Eyes (Healdsburg,CA. Sonoma Co. )
Date of Stay: 10/11/10 Review Submitted: 12/03/10

My wife and I have a very small house in Alexander Valley. Its way too small for company. But since our friend from Denver was on her way out for a visit, we knew we had to think outside the box. We found this great place on V.R.B.O. and fell in love with it. It was clean, had great electronics and felt like home! We ended up moving over for the week, along with our dog, who got to play with "Miss Lilly" on the fully covered patio. Of course, they liked the chickens and organic garden as well. Our friend has many friends in the Santa Rosa area, so they popped in an out throughout the week. Just like those high society people we read about in the newspaper, we decided to throw a dinner party in her honor! Roast leg of lamb, herbed mashed potatoes, Organic vegetables and salad and we were living it up! Our hosts, Blake and Anita, were so helpful with extra tables and cooking gear that they felt like part of the gang. We invited them to join in and Blake went right to work putting finishing touches on our Fall/Harvest themed decor. It was truely a wonderful time! We won't hesitate to pull this same scenerio the next time we have company coming to town. Bruce

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

Nice place to stay with many added benefits!

Guest: Sonoma winery getaway (Chicago)
Date of Stay: 10/13/10 Review Submitted: 10/19/10

Clean and nice place to stay. We were greeted with fresh eggs from their chickens in the fridge, along with a bottle of red and white wine from a local winery. The next morning we were given a basket full of heirloom tomatoes! Blake and Anita were very accommodating. Great location. Minutes from Healdsburg square, Hwy 101 and many great wineries.

Recommended for:

Wonderful weekend in healdsburg with the best hosts!!

Guest: Lauren (San Francisco)
Date of Stay: 08/20/10 Review Submitted: 08/22/10

We just got back from a weekend in Healdsburg and stayed at Blake and Anita's wonderful home. Words cannot simply explain how nice and accommodating Blake and Anita are. They live next door and rent the other home they own. When we arrived we found a dozen organic eggs in our fridge straight from their chickens! They also left us the most amazing heirloom tomatoes that they picked from their garden and 2 bottles of delicious wine. The house itself is very cute and cozy. The beds are comfortable and the kitchen has everything you need. The patio is huge with lots of sitting areas, a grill and a huge farm in the backyard. They told us we could pick any vegatables we wanted. We ended up picking corn and it was so tasty! Anita also gave me a private tour of their farm (over 1 acre) where they grow corn, tomatoes, squash, spices, sunflowers, and tons more. If you have a dog, this is the place to stay! The house is a 5 minute walk to Russian river where we took our black lab to play each morning. Then Blake and Anita offered to watch our dog while we went wine tasting which was beyond generous and kind (watching a 1 year old black lab is no easy feat)! Our dog was able to run in their garden all day long, play with their dog Lily, and even swim in a mini pool they made for him! Another plus about this house is the location. We were 1 mile from the center of Headlsburg which has amazing restaurants and tasting rooms. When we left, Anita gave us a gorgeous bouquet of sunflowers that she picked right from their garden! Blake and Anita truly made our weekend unforgettable and we'll be staying there everytime we go to healdsburg in the future. It is so rare to meet people as kind as Blake and Anita and we can't wait to go back and visit them again!

Owner response:OMGosh! Thanks so much for the warm review. If we could review renters you all would be 5/5! Sincerly, Blake & Anita

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, pet owners, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+.

Guest: Winery Owner (-)
Date of Stay: 08/13/10 Review Submitted: 08/16/10

The place is great. Right in the middle of a garden with a big wonderful patio. Plenty of space for eating, inside at the breakfast bar or kitchen table, or outside on the picnic table. The furniture is cozy and super comfortable. Great TV and WiFi. Blake and Anita are great hosts if you need them. Very generous, enthusiastic and accommodating.

Recommended for: