Laguna Beach

"We stayed a week in August at Roger and Karen's Shaw's Cove Cottage and truly loved our vacation. From the moment we pulled up we knew that this cottage was loaded with charm. The cottage is an original craftsman type home on a spacious lot with an ocean view from the front porch. the Cottage has a wood foundation and is well furnished throughout. The windows are the original single pane and Roger and Karen have done an amazing job to preserve the look and feel of a California beach cottage. The cottage can be found in the nicest part of Laguna, near Shaw's cove and Crescent bay. This location is among the best in Orange County near the pristine coast line and it turns out that La Brea Ave. is very quiet and peaceful. Our family of 4 had plenty of room at the Cottage; the kids 12 and 14 each had their own bedroom my daughter had 1 of 2 full bathrooms. Roger had all the beach gear for us, chairs, umbrellas, coolers, boogie boards, snorkeling gear etc.. Our family went to the beach every day. Snorkeling at Shaw's cove is excellent with visibility of 10-15 ft and plenty of fish to look at. At low tide we explored the tide pools which were amazing and filled with ocean wildlife. This stretch of coast line from Crescent Bay to Heisler Park is truly amazing as you can see contrasts of colors, the turquoise ocean, blue skies, black rocks that guard the coves, stunning cliffs, golden brown sand and crashing waves, a truly magical place. The beach at Shaw's cove is perfect for families, its a sandy beach and at times has small waves that are fun to body surf. Shaw's cove has a lifeguard there in the summer months who turned out to be a great resource. When our family was not at the beach, we would hop on the Laguna trolley (note, it stops near the cottage for pick up and drop off). The trolley is free and our kids used it to visit downtown, explore 1000 step beach, and or to find the perfect surfing spot. My wife and I used the trolley to shuttle us and our friends to the various restaurants downtown, its truly nice not having to drive in Laguna as parking can be headache. At Roger and Karen's cottage you have a driveway which can accommodate 2 cars. I highly recommend Roger and Karen's Cottage at Shaw's Cove, its a magical home set in best location along the sunny coast line in Laguna Beach. We do plan on renting the cottage in the future."

"If you are seeking the vanilla, modern type accommodation, this place is not for you. If you are looking to go back in time, interested in the history of this home/area, enjoy the quiet and simple things in life then this place is for you. It's not to say that you will be completely disconnected as this home is equipped with high-speed Wifi Internet access and comes with a washer/dryer, etc. Even though there was TV/cable we never watched it. Spent most of the time walking on the property, enjoying the ocean view from the patio deck, and marveling at the construction of the home and reading the story behind it. There is no air conditioning but there seems to be a never ending amount of cool breeze coming from the ocean (stayed here in the middle of August where the temperatures were in the mid 80s) and lots of shade from the many beautiful trees lining the property. The owner does provide electric portable fans if needed. The house was built in the 1920s. Its free from drywall and concrete slab floors. Its all wood and with that comes nostalgic properties like the creaking sounds as you step on the wood floors. The property is clean, well kept and the owner (Annette) is accommodating, reasonable and friendly. I would add that if you stay here, to respect the property by being gentle with opening and closing of doors and windows as its all thin wood framed, many of which are original pieces. My family and I really enjoyed the time spent here and we can't wait to visit again. I personally would like to stay here during winter season and hopefully have some rain so I can hear the raindrops hitting the roof... :-)"