GUEST BOOK COMMENTS

Guest: Patrice & Jim (Arizona)
Date of Stay: 07/12/07 Review Submitted: 12/09/11

Thank you so much! The house was so perfect for our family! The location could not have been better (a three block walk to my best friends house) and we loved the quick walk to the beach and town. It was so relaxing and we could not have been happier! Hope your vacation was wonderful! Thank you,

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GUEST BOOK COMMENTS

Guest: Jim & Sue Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Arizona)
Date of Stay: 07/08/06 Review Submitted: 12/09/11

We were very fortunate to discover your beautiful home to rent. We have rented several different houses in Spain, Canada & the U.S. and this one beats them all. It has everything...comfortable, very safe neighborhood, well equipped and walking distance to everything. We thoroughly have enjoyed our 2 weeks here...it is very sad to have to leave. The bikes were a real bonus, riding them to Venice Beach and then to Torrance. We did our daily walk along the beach, watching surfers, swimmers, boarders and the "best" was seeing the dolphins at least 3 different times. The beach chairs & umbrella came in very handy, to read on the beach while enjoying the ocean breeze. We did a few day trips. Shopping on Montana Ave in Santa Monica was "great". Our trip to the Getty Center was very enjoyable and well worth a visit. On our way back we drove east along Mulholland Drive to look at the beautiful homes & views of the city. One Sunday night we went to the Comedy Club in Hermosa and saw Jay Leno. What a great show that was. All in all we had a wonderful holiday here in beautiful Manhattan Beach. Thank you both for your beautiful home, for the welcome bottle of wine and for the green binder that proved to be very useful. We added a few things to it. Take care & thanks again!

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GUEST BOOK COMMENTS

Guest: Jason, Kate, Connor, Carly & Jimmy (Arizona)
Date of Stay: 06/01/06 Review Submitted: 12/09/11

Thank you both for sharing your wonderful home with us. As the parents of three young children, we rarely have the opportunity to catch our breath and spend quality extended time together as a family - your home afforded us this change. At first it was a bit of an adjustment for us all trying to strategically arrange things so that all of your valuables were well out of harms way - and determining how to structure each day. From the outset we were blown away by the friendly community of Manhattan Beach, leading the pack was your immediate walk street neighbors. Everyone was incredibly welcoming to our family and great to our children. It is hard to imagine a better place for a young family. You were right on regarding your home's incredible location in terms of proximity to the beach and town. We were able to walk to great restaurants, shops and of course the beach. Our children also loved walking down to the pier to watch the surfers directly beneath them. We also spent some afternoons at your great community parks, again, the families present were all very welcoming. Regarding your home specifically, I feel very fortunate that we discovered it. The layout worked perfectly for our family and we loved that your yard offered privacy for family dinners in a beautiful environment. It is evident how much you care for your home and we are grateful that you allowed us to share it. On top of it all we had spectacular weather throughout our stay. We were prepared for the "June gloom" but to our delight we had sunshine for 3 weeks. We hope that you had a great time away as well. Thanks again.

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We won't be back!

Guest: derek (Dallas, TX)
Date of Stay: 07/31/11 Review Submitted: 11/27/11

I don't recommend a family with young children rent this home. We have a 5 and 3 yr old and we rented this home for the entire month of August 2011. Our initial problem with the house was the gnats in the kitchen. We called the homeowners and emailed them in our first week notifying them about the problem. I was quite disappointed that they didn't offer any solutions or professional pest control service to remedy the problem. I was left to go to the hardware store (during my summer vacation) and buy several gnat traps and pesticides. The homeowners never offered to reimburse me or even acknowledge what a nuisance and inconvenience this was. Unfortunately, my hardware store remedies didn't work and we battled gnats the whole month which meant that every glass of wine or food left untended for a matter of minutes would be infested. Upon returning back from our vacation, the homeowners emailed us a list of "issues with the house" that completely shocked us. The "list" was mostly small things that any active family would categorize as "wear and tear." You can imagine what we paid to rent this home for the entire month, within that fee, a homeowner must expect to use proceeds to repair or recondition "wear and tear." However, these homeowners were completely unreasonable and quite rude to us in our dealings over the security deposit. After a month of disagreement about what defines wear and tear, they ultimately kept our security deposit blaming us for a carpet stain. My wife nor I ever remember seeing a stain, but it was their word against ours and they had our money. We are no different than any other family that goes to the beach to enjoy a family vacation. We treated this home with the same delicacy and respect that we treat our own home. Unfortunately, the homeowner didn't see things the same way.

Owner response:I have rented my house for 7 successful years on vrbo and have never had my home left in this condition. I think that your definition of "treating your home with delicacy and respect" must be very different than mine. We have never had complaints from any other tenants and always have positive remarks left in our "guest book" at the end of their stay. We have several return renters that happily visit us each year. As a homeowner who rents, and a vrbo renter myself when my family travels, I understand and appreciate both treating a home with care as well as normal "wear and tear." The damages went beyond normal wear and tear and it's unfortunate that the tenant and I were not on the same page.

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Love this home!

Guest: JMPaaa (Brentwood, TN)
Date of Stay: 12/27/10 Review Submitted: 09/15/11

My family and I have stayed at this location on two occasions and look forward to staying there again soon. I just looked back at the pictures on this site and got such a warm, happy feeling thinking about the fun times we've enjoyed here. We are a family of five: 2 adults and 3 children. The location is perfect for us. Close enough to the beach to enjoy a nice, short walk there; close enough to downtown to walk for breakfast, lunch, or dinner to any of the charming restaurant options; yet far enough from the "traffic" to feel like we are in our own quiet little slice of heaven on earth. The home itself is delightfully comfortable and the owners are both thoughtful and responsive. The pics are accurate, the home is clean and well-maintained, and I would gladly recommend it to any friend looking for a place to call "home away from home" in Manhattan Beach! This is our top choice! We love the beach, downtown shops and restaurants, sporting events, Hollywood Bowl, and Disneyland when we visit.

Owner response:We have had the privilege of having the most genuine and thoughtful guests stay at our house. It's been wonderful to hear our guest's positive comments and we appreciate their time and effort it takes to write a review and to sign the guest book.

Recommended for:Sightseeing, families with teenagers.