I grew up pretty poor, so this place had a special feeling for me.
I think the first thing was the smell, just like grandma's house. You know, wall treatments for the 70s, linoleum, and furniture that's almost too old to use, but no it's fine. The kitchen was a hodgepodge of odd mismatched utensils that just wouldn't come clean and cabinets that had been worn by lots of hands and lots of years. A few didn't quite close right, or took a little wiggle. I love a kitchen with a little character! There's tinfoil lining the burners just like grandma use to do. When we used the burners, the left over bits burned off in that familiar smoky burn that makes you wonder if the smoke alarms were going to go off. No worries though, grandma never remembered to replace the batteries, so I'm guessing we werent going to hear that awful screech here either.
The windows were super dirty when we arrived, but it wasn't a problem. The host thought of everything, including a conveniently placed hose outside that we used to clean the windows. What a view!! I am going to suggest a nozzle of some kind though. While the Ole finger-in-the-end-of-the-hose technique made me feel like a kid, a nozzle would have made the job easier.
The railing cables on the porch (the best part of the house) had come loose in a few places, but it wasn't a big deal. The deck isn't that high, and the thick brush below the deck made for a pretty soft landing after falling through the broken cables. I'm not sure if the host let the grow like that intentionally, but if they did... Nice touch!
The bedroom choices made me feel like Goldy Locks and the three bears. The upstairs room was too musty and the "love sack" conjured up visions of bed bugs and fleas (just like sleeping on the floor and Grandma's, but I wasn't ready for that trip back to my childhood.) The second room had a tiny bed and broken blinds like my bedroom in high school. It made me remember long nights with my feet hanging off the end of the bed and the street light glaring in through the broken blind hitting me in the face all night. We opted for the third room. It had a ocean view (after a quick hose down) and a good sized bed.
I doubt everyone else will love the dank musty charm quite as much as I did, but I'll be honest... The view is EVERYTHING! If you're one of those bougie types that likes the smell of scented oil diffusers over wall paper glue, the stay is still worth it for the back deck, hotub, and peaceful feeling here.
