All the other reviewers spoke the truth! This little house is such a gem. We enjoyed a weeklong stay during my daughter’s graduation from Chapman University. My in-laws flew in and my both of my adult daughters stayed with us as well. Plenty of room for everybody and everything was thought of that we might need. Keep in mind this is a vintage house not a modern mansion. It has a few quirks, especially with the bathroom arrangements, but it all worked out for us.

My family enjoyed our stay at this home. The location is great, and the house has a lot of charm. The driveway is a great feature—no street parking or tight turns into a garage located in a narrow alley like a lot of houses in the area.

Great location. Close to bay beach. Close to Marine shops, restaurants and grocery store. All the amenities including RO system for filtered drinking water. No adjoining units. Very comfortable. Slept great. The owner was available and nice. I will stay here again.

This is a lovely cottage with lots of character and cute decor. Very comfortable, plenty of bathrooms, and a few steps from the beach. We truly enjoyed our stay, and Julie was very kind and helpful when we had a flight cancellation and arrival delay.

Ten day stay with 2 of my siblings & our spouses. A daughter & 2 grandchildren plus dog. Perfect for everyone. Well stocked kitchen, great location, comfy beds. Highly recommend. Plus owner was very accommodating & personally came to batten down become Hilary hit.

Loved every minute of our stay in this very quaint, extremely charming home! We had a lot of space and it was great having our own bedrooms. The patio was amazing… secluded, lovely, roomy, and peaceful! In addition, it was truly a plus to be able to park in our very own driveway and not have to battle alleys and street parking. Exploring Balboa Island, the bay, walking to the store, riding the ferry was so easy and convenient from this location. It was a super experience! We’ll be sure to return!

My husband and I, along with our two toddlers, booked a 2 week vacation on balboa. Unfortunately, the pictures and condition of the home were completely misleading. We have pictures and documentation of all the issues below. •Exposed, what looks like black mold growth on the wall next to the back door •Nearly half of the windows did not open. (I did not get video of this) •8inx8in hole in the drywall of one the bedroom closets with exposed plumbing •tankless water heater being held up by black tape •Large patches of green moss that we almost slipped on several times in the courtyard •Exposed termite damage in a bathroom door jam •large chunk of paint peeling off the wall •holes in the screen door We checked in Sunday night and I called Julie the next morning to let her know our concerns. Her initial response was, "Then just leave, if you don't want to be there, we do not want you here." I said ok and asked about refunds....she told me the right thing to do was to charge us a cleaning fee plus the nights we were there. We found a new place the next day and informed Julie, she then put in WRITING that we would only be charged cleaning fee plus the nights we stayed. She took about a week to respond to us and then she said the issues were considered minor and that we would only receive a partial refund. We brought it up to VRBO and they kicked it back to us to deal with. We are obviously very upset and are now having our CC company dispute the charges.

We are locals who stayed in this property in between living in a long-term rental and moving into our renovated home. The house checked many boxes that are difficult to find on Balboa Island: private parking for 2 cars, indoor laundry, single home on the lot, and a large outdoor patio. The owner was super kind and quick to respond and resolve any issues that came up. There are things that could use some upgrading, a friend said it reminded her of the funky little beach cottages in Maine she visited as a child. Overall we had plenty of space for our family of 5 and stayed cozy through a very stormy week in January. It is a quick walk to the main drag, the location was great.