Hello!
We are Caroline & Emmanuel, French-American, former city dwellers (NYC, SF), and fell in love with the area when we bought our house mid-2022 to start a family (still working on it!).
We’ve had our adorable little cottage up for rent for less than a year, after lovingly renovating it (down to studs!) for 14+ months. To date, our guests’ impressions and experience has widely exceeded our expectations (and theirs!), so we’re very proud and excited to continue sharing it with you, and uphold our SuperHost reputation! We’re still fairly new hosts but have learned a lot and are constantly improving: if you think anything is not up to your standards, please do tell us immediately! We’d love to help, instead of reading a bad review later for something we could have fixed during your stay.
Emmanuel is a former pro racing driver, now an independent app developer (check out the CardPointers app!). Caroline works in fintech (legal/compliance), loves cooking, gardening, and doing stuff around the house, and is the master renovator behind all this! She has spent thousands (literally) of hours renovating the cottage on her own with a lot of love and continues to do so daily. Any ideas, suggestions, questions: let us know, we’d love to make your stay even more special!
NOTE: we don’t charge cleaning fees, unlike other places. But properly cleaning after your visit takes ~90min; sometimes we’ll have a cleaning service do so when we can’t (over $100 at our own cost). So, please read and follow our house rules, in part made to avoid you extra fees. We hope you understand and thank you for your help!
YOUR SPACE: a century-old 2-story cottage entirely handmade in redwood by early owners, likely before the 50’s, with its private patio/mini-garden and balcony. It is comfortable for up to 4 guests (queen bed upstairs, 2x loveseats downstairs). We recently met one of its tenants from the 70’s, who said it used to be the highlight of Panoramic, nicknamed the “mountain tower” and “milk carton”! We’ll soon hang pictures of what it looked like, it’s incredible to see how this quirky building has lived through decades.
YOUR EXPERIENCE
Enter your space under a magnificent redwood tree, looking over a wonderful, just renovated private patio, adjoined by a tiny wildflower garden, to then walk into the house’s unique and bright living room with 2 single pullout sofas (twin size) that are fantastic birdwatching and reading nooks. Move into a modern, brand-new kitchen to gather around a nice meal, or refresh in the shabby chic bathroom (large shower stall with bench - no tub, sorry!). Finally, go up the creaky wooden staircase to the light-filled loft, to rest on a wonderfully comfortable canopy queen bed under the cathedral ceiling; watch your favorite Netflix show, simply stare out the windows to the ocean (or the fog!), or chill on the private balcony to watch nature
AMENITIES
1. Fully equipped kitchen, including coffee (French press), teas/infusions, kettle, electric cooktop, microwave, toaster, mini-oven, full-size fridge, plenty dishes, serveware and drinkware
2. Small propane BBQ and firepit/table seating 4 on the patio (no wood fires allowed)
3. A bench and table for 2 on the upper balcony to take in the gorgeous views while sipping your morning cup
4. All linens are provided
5. Flexible check-in/out can sometimes be arranged, ask ahead.
6. EV charging on premises
7. Possible e-bike rental
8. Pop-up crib on request
9. Unless you are going for a hike or bike ride (local maps and guides available for you to plan those - do not take them with you!), we have a mini-library and a basket full of board/card games, pencils and paper for your entertainment. The upstairs TV has an AppleTV device to connect your own Apple, Amazon Video or Netflix accounts.
Any other queries welcome, we’ll do our best to cater to your needs!
We provide basic pantry items and “backup” food/snacks for your convenience (salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, herbs/spices, oatmeal, rice, sugar, ramen and pasta cups, cereal bars, canned soup). You will also find backup toiletries, first aid kit, sunscreen, ear plugs, eye masks etc. Those are for you to use freely during your stay, if you’ve forgotten or just run out. Please be responsible and considerate, don’t take it all home :)
LOCATION
1. 10-12’ from downtown Mill Valley, up a steep winding road; 20’ from Golden Gate Bridge
2. Weather can be unusual to some (see below): golden rule is to dress with layers
3. Many shops, restaurants, supermarkets, and entertainment in town and around (Mill Valley, Sausalito, Corte Madera and San Rafael), within 10-20min by car. Most restaurants’ kitchens do close at 8:30-9pm
4. The century-old Mountain Home Inn’s restaurant and its gorgeous bay views is just 5min walk away!
5. Supermarkets (Good Earth, Whole Foods, Safeway) usually deliver; UberEats and DoorDash also (order BEFORE 8pm)
6. We particularly love Mill Valley old town’s numerous and super cute shops: check out the Depot cafe-bookstore in the old gravity car train depot, Playa, Gravity Tavern, Le Marais bakery, Watershed at the former Lumber Yard, Stefano’s solar powered pizza, Hook Fish Co., Super Duper burgers or Bob’s Donuts!
ANIMALS, WILDLIFE
1. We have cats in the main house, but they do not go out. Linen from the cottage is washed separately, but we can occasionally carry a few cat hairs with us when cleaning the place for you; some dog/cat hair might linger from previous guests, despite our careful cleaning. Apologies for any inconvenience. There is a small supply of antihistamines in the bathroom if needed
2. If you have pet(s): NO PETS ALLOWED ON FURNITURE (extra charge for fur removal). The private patio is not an animal relief area (bag it!), and please leash your dog outside, to avoid issues with local dogs, or any wild animal attack
3. The cottage is in nature: this means critters of all sorts abound. We do try and manage any annoying or harmful insects (flies, wasps, spiders, mosquitoes) and rodents by using eco-friendly and humane treatment. But you may still see/hear some. You will likely see/hear a wide variety of birds like gray doves and hummingbirds, but also loud crows, hawks, owls, and possibly encounter bucks and deer (be careful on the road!), lizards, squirrels, foxes, raccoons, coyotes and even bobcats. You might even hear coyotes howling at the moon at night! Most aren’t a danger to you, just observe quietly from a distance without bothering them.
4. We feed birds and encourage birds/insects to go about to promote pollination. This is very important for nature! Please do not harm the birds, butterflies, bees
PARKING: we reserve 1 spot for our guests (immediately to the left of the black arch). If you need more or your vehicle is very large, please inform us ahead.
STRICT HOUSE RULES: we strive to make your stay as enjoyable and easy as possible; in return we ask you to please respect our rules. No one really loves rules, but they are needed to make things as safe and enjoyable as possible for everyone: you, us, our neighbors, and the next guests after you. Non-observation of any of the rules may force us to charge you extra fees and/or report you to VRBO.
In essence (detailed explanations in our house guide):
1. Be respectful of our property and neighbors, especially when using the driveway, walking by and parking.
2. ABSOLUTELY NO parties/events; NO unregistered guests; NO shoes inside; NO illegal substances on the premises; NO re-arranging of furniture
3. NO SMOKING of any kind, anywhere: we are in a very fire prone area, none of us want the cottage to burn, or a fire to spread to our beautiful nature. For any smoking needs, please walk up 30 yards to either of the little benches facing west / the ocean; take any waste with you and dispose safely
4. Keep noises levels reasonable; respect the noise curfew (10:30pm)
5. Trash sorting: dispose of qtrash in provided bins and PLEASE SORT OUT compostable / recyclable items per instructions in the kitchen. We risk having garbage collection suspended otherwise, so not sorting out your trash will force us to go through and re-sort it (not enjoyable), with an extra $20 charge.
7. Do your dishes before check-out (please use dish soap and effectively remove all traces)
8. Turn off all lights, heaters, AC, TV, stove, music etc. when leaving
THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES FOR RESPECTING OUR RULES!
WEATHER
- It is California. BUT Northern, and the Bay Area! Meaning weather is consistent year-round, averaging 45-60° during winter, and 55-75° in summer, mostly with sun, but we do get rain, storms and FOG
- Rainy months are December-February, best summer months August-October
- May-October sees a lot of daily fog that provides water to our beautiful area, but it is INTENSE. It comes from the Pacific, spills over the mountain into the Bay, and makes pockets. Sometimes it clears up by sunrise, sometimes it lasts through noon. We may have some here and nothing down the road, or reverse. There is no way to anticipate, so be prepared and prudent on the road
- As soon the sun is gone (clouds, fog, trees or at dusk) you will usually need a light jacket (or a coat in winter). It can be surprisingly cold quickly due to winds, so we recommend to always pack a light jacket!
- In August-September we can get a few days of very hot weather (over 80-85°). Usually it cools down enough at night; an AC unit is available on both floors, if still too warm. But please use it sparingly, trying to be respectful of nature.
NOISE:
1. The cottage is nestled in nature and completely quiet at night, but we are right off the one single road up the mountain, so you may hear some traffic during daytime.
2. We have very few neighbors, who do like their quiet - so do we! Please be respectful and limit noise (voices, music).
3. While the upstairs bedroom is physically separated from downstairs, there is no actual door (only a curtain). Privacy disclaimer :)
