We've stayed at many rental properties, but Nelson's Retreat is our new favorite. The location is perfect; parking included, a short block walk to the bus stop, shopping, restaurants, & entertainment. The cottage itself is absolutely charming - very clean, fantastic decor, comfy bedding, well stocked kitchen, beautiful garden and patio, luxurious bath towels & bath robes, etc. I could go on.
The owners, who live on site, are very helpful & do a wonderful job of making you feel welcome, but are not intrusive at all. We only saw them twice during our stay (when we first arrived, & when they assisted us by printing a Groupon). They go above & beyond to make your stay truly special; fresh flowers in the living room & bedrooms, chocolates on the coffee table, a large bowl of fresh fruit on the kitchen table, soft chocolate chip cookies (which our kids devoured the 1st night), microwave popcorn, cereal, bagels & cream cheese, a dozen organic eggs, half gallons of milk & OJ, a variety of yogurts, butter, bottled water, a variety of soda. All of these items were very unexpected, but greatly appreciated. This meant we could spend our 1st night taking in the beautiful San Francisco sunset rather than shopping for breakfast food.
I was also very impressed when I opened the bathroom cabinet. There were new tooth brushes & a bottle of toothpaste, shampoos and conditioner, body lotion, a new mini first aide kit, disposable makeup remover wipes, & much more. Again, very unexpected but these items just go to show that the owners want their guests to have a comfortable stay.
This was our first trip to San Francisco & we loved it. The only problem we had was that we didn't pack enough warm clothes (it is much colder than we anticipated). We still had an amazing time. We would recommend; Alcatraz for sure, the Exploratorium (especially if you have kids), Pier 39 / Fisherman's Wharf (somewhat of a tourist trap, but worth checking out), catching a Giant's game at AT&T Park (bring warm jackets), a bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge (rent bikes thru Blazing Saddles), Muir Woods, Sutro Baths (Not part of our original plans, but so so glad we discovered them), Golden Gate Park, Go Cars (great fun but go early in your trip - we drove by many sites we wanted to go back to visti.
Even with all the fun we had, we always looked returning to our comfortable home away from home at the end of the each day. We would definitely stay here again!