Wonderful house, great value, for an extended family gathering
Submitted: November 27, 2012
Stayed: November 2012
Our extended family stayed here for a reunion with from 5 to 16 people staying at the house at different times during our 10 day visit. We found it spacious enough so that we were not stepping on each others toes. Four bedrooms doesn't see like a lot, but with the media room and billiard room added, there was plenty of sleeping room.
The pictures are an accurate representation of the house. It has somewhat dated OTT decor and very comfortable beds. Everything was spotless from the gleaming copper hood and sinks to the bathrooms that were all stocked with piles of towels. There are lots of the owner's family photos and portraits on the walls but they were actually quite interesting.
The ocean view is spectacular and we all posted sunsets photos to our facebook accounts! The pool table and media room kept the kids occupied in the evenings and there were beach toys for the daytime. "Swimming" in the master bath jacuzzi was a favorite with the little ones. Speedy wi-fi but it only covers the ground floor. Luckily, one of my "always prepared" brothers brought a router that we hooked up to extend coverage to upstairs.
We did a big Thanksgiving dinner and had more than enough plates, silverware, serving dishes, bowls, baking dishes, beautiful heavy-duty pots, etc. to work with. The kitchen appliances are quite dated. This did not affect the utility of the great 5 burner gas stove, the oversized fridge, the trash compactor or the dishwasher. However, one of the ovens doubles as the microwave and both have very small capacity (small enough so that half of the pans do not fit in the ovens!). We made do by using the grill as another oven, but it was not optimal.
The house is within 20 miles of everything LA has to offer, but this being LA, navigating traffic is traumatic (multiply what Google maps gives as travel time by 2), so the nearby beach is your best bet. The area at the Manhattan Beach Pier has many good restaurants (we tried 4) and the beach itself is wide with volleyball nets (there was a ball in the garage) and a restroom. Note that there were no lifeguards manning the stands this time of year but the water was too cold to do more than wet ones' feet at the edge anyway.
Use of the two Mercedes saved us having to rent any cars for the non-California people. This house was better stocked than any rental I've stayed at with laundry/dish/dishwasher soaps, toiletries, TP, paper towels, etc. All in all a great value and highly recommended
Recommended for:
Age 55+,
Girls Getaway,
Tourists without a Car,
Sightseeing,
Families with Teenagers,
Families with Young Children
Helpful votes: 1/1
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