We changed our plans at the last minute and needed to arrive a day early to the property. The owner was wonderfully gracious and accommodated us without any problem. The home is, I sense, literally the home of the owner...it seemed like she lives there and then vacates for vacationers. Clothes in closets, lots of personal things around, etc. I have no problem with that. But I've had a lot of experience with VRBOs and for the most part, the rentals were strictly rentals. So this was a first for me and on the morning we arrived, the owner's friend was doing his laundry in the house. I'm not a stickler for privacy. We were with my adult daughter. But if you're looking for privacy, this may not be the place for you. There is a tenant who lives behind the property--really, the unit it attached to the vacation rental and the tenant's back deck is directly adjacent to the guest bedroom window. You cannot open the drapes without looking into the tenant's kitchen. Parking for the vacation rental is on a fairly busy street, too. Again, no problem for us. But if you have small children, it's a narrow sidewalk and you'd want to be careful getting kids in an out of a car. But let's move to the positives! It is a charming cottage with a ton of personality. Appliances are all topnotch. It was very clean. Nice sheets, towels. The side terrace is beautiful with a pot belly fireplace. True, it is a busy street and other reviewers claimed the traffic was noisy. Not so much for us..the view is beautiful sitting out there. We scored with 75 degree weather so we BBQd and had a fire and pretty much tuned out the cars. There is a market about five blocks down the hill and this property is within walking distance to the aquarium and Cannery Row. A moderately long walk but certainly do-able. For dog-owners, this is paradise. The side terrace and garden are securely fenced in. You are also about 20 minutes from Carmel...dog-heaven beach!! Again, to be clear, I absolutely loved this place...but I really feel that giving a review without some kind of critique is not being fair to the owner or the prospective renter. I know that when you are on a budget you want to maximize every dollar. And the privacy issue, while not a big deal to me, might be for others..also the busy street for small children. Otherwise it's a charming little cottage in a town that otherwise features kinda modern, non-descript hotels.