Huberto’s Place

We enjoyed our stay and we liked that there was a discount for staying for 7+ nights. Primary reason for selecting this AirBNB was location: 2 and 10 minute drive time to family members who we were visiting. Secondary was look of the place from photos–clean and well kept and I liked the blue and gray color scheme. Third was pricing–kept it mid range–just some place where we could keep our stuff, sleep at night, shower, and breakfast.

Below is my usual super detailed review of every nook and cranny of our AirBNB. I asterisked (***) the reasons why we couldn’t quite give it 5 stars. Therefore, if asterisked items are not a biggie for you then you can consider this place a 5 star rating.

The Location:

For us it was absolutely perfect. 

Like there was only one other AirBnB place that was a better location in Rohnert Park, but that owner gets a total ZERO stars cause she couldn’t even bother to reply back to us to let us know why our original request to stay there was rejected. Huberto’s place was a total 5 stars for location and he does a great job of lighting up then gated entrance so you know where to turn from the highway when it’s  super dark out.

Parking the Car:

Fantastic! Gated property. Super easy to get in and out. Really well planned driveway.

Guest House Next to Main House:

If you’re worried about staying next to the main house that your stay might be interrupted by the owner or whoever owns/lives in the main house, then I say put those worries aside. We had a wonderful uninterrupted stay here. Yes, there were people coming and going, but only twice did our paths even cross in such a way that we waived and said hello.

The Kitchen:

Neat and clean. 

Very well sized fridge and our first access to a freezer on this 3 week road trip.

Large stove top. We used it only once to heat up our makeshift leftovers chicken soup.

Enjoyed the big, undivided sink.

Heads up: No tea kettle nor electric kettle. There is a coffee machine. I happened to have my large Pyrex to heat up water in the microwave to pour over my instant coffee, but not something I normally road trip with. (It was a necessity at our lodge in Yosemite.)

Recommendation for owner: I would replace out the dish drying rack and pan as it didn’t look clean. Replace it out with a simple wire rack. One that’s easier to keep clean. Easy workaround for us was to use the drying mat instead–thumbs up for alternate drying option.

The Bathroom:

Neat and clean.

Loved the towels—fluffy and abundant and cute patterns. Sucker for when people stock bathrooms with big and soft towels. And enough of them.

Floor mats also nice and abundant. 

Storage space: There is a medicine cabinet plus shelving above the toilet for storing bathroom item. Both excellent. Counter space around the sink is pretty decent.

The shower is bigger than it looks in photos. I was able to raise both elbows and out at 90 degrees and not touch the walls. We are not fans of rain shower heads—especially for such a small space made it tough to get away from the water. Also, after you turn off the shower you have to wait a minute before beginning to dry off with a towel cause it takes a while to drain the water out of the shower head. Getting out of the shower is a bit tricky—small space and can’t open door all the way so you have to step out diagonally. I would not recommend someone with mobility issues to stay here.

Shower storage space: The ledge up by the window can be used for storing shampoo, conditioner, razor, etc. There is molded shelving within the shower, but not enough space to hold all bathroom items for two people. When stacking stuff on the ledge keep in mind that you’ll need access to open the window to vent out the steam from the shower. No exhaust fan in bathroom.

Christmas Lights (outside):

Owner had lights up in the front garden and a very extensive display. This was a nice sight to come “home” to. We are lazy. We don’t put up lights so we enjoy others’ meticulous work. =)

***The Lighting:

Every single light bulb is the harsh bright blue light throughout the house. It’s blinding. Even for my husband who is not as sensitive to light as I am. (Backstory: I have more light receptors in my eyes than the average person—I’m totally superhuman like that). 

Bedroom is the worst. There’s one overhead recessed light and one night stand light. For those who love to read you will not be enjoying cozy reading time in bed. Unless you turn off the lights and just read by the light of your Kindle/Nook. I prefer real books, so I need a light. The night stand light is one of those modern lights with a glass cover that aesthetically, to some, it looks pleasing until you turn it on and actually want to use it. It blinds you with bright light. It needs a softer/warm light bulb but even more so it needs an actual non-glass lamp shade. We shunned the lamp to the ground and even then it was still too bright to use so we gave up on it—perhaps we should’ve put a towel over it, but didn’t wanna burn the place down.  We ended up placing our wedge pillows that we brought from home at the foot of the bed and faced the headboard when reading so that the overhead light would be behind us instead of blinding us. 

The lights in the kitchen and eating area and bathroom all have same issue, too bright. Normally we could come up with workarounds, but this is seriously the first time that we could not make them work no matter what we tried. Sorry, Huberto, but the lights really gotta get replaced out with warmer light bulbs and/or consider dimmer switches for some of the lights.

Ironically, no light at the entrance to our apartment. I had to keep using my phone to light the lock for my husband so he could open the door cause it was that dark.

The Bedroom:

Queen bed. I was good with the mattress. Husband not as much.

I liked the pillows.

I liked the bedcover color. I’m a total sucker for blue.

The sheets are soft, but they kept stealing my socks off my feet. It was interesting. Something about the fabric, perhaps.

There are two sofa chairs in the room. I moved them out into the hallway and placed them below the TV. There is no shelving or chest of drawers to put away stuff in. So, by moving the chairs out I made room for our giant suitcase on the ground to access our clothes. There is a closet with hangers, but you can’t hang socks and underwear (well, you could, but not enough hangers.)

Recommendation for owner: Move out one of the chairs and that round glass table and instead put in a chest of drawers. Or! Add a couple of shelves to the closet. But really need some shelves to store things that don’t hang. When staying more than a couple days getting stuff in and out of a suitcase is cumbersome.

***The Dog:

I’m a dog lover. My husband is not. We do have a dog and my husband loves my/our dog. (Dog came before the husband.) They have formed a very special bond. But staying here confirmed for my husband that he definitely still does not like dogs. And this dog really had him stressed out. Normally I’m able to protect him from dogs to put him more at ease, but this dog was too much. It’s a herding dog, so yeah, he circles, and herds, and he is at your feet at all times. It’s his job. It’s in his breed. I don’t fault him for it. He is friendly. But! He does jump up on you. As much as I love dogs I don’t like this behavior from dogs. Twice she jumped up on me and threw me off balance. If you are by yourself and you do not like dogs, then this is not a place for you. Doesn’t matter how many reviewers have said the dog is nice. She is. But if you are truly afraid of dogs then this dog is not going to win you over. My husband truly has had a tough time with this dog. We knew coming here that the dog would be a compromise. 

***The Rooster:

It never stops making noise when it’s dark outside. I’ve heard it crow at 7 AM, at 6 AM, at 3 AM and all the minutes in between. It stops finally when the sun is up… that or I’ve left the place and I can’t hear it anymore. (Husband says he also heard it when the sun was up.) If you can sleep with earplugs in, great. I cannot. My husband does. He was fine with the rooster. I was not. It kept waking me up and I had a hard time falling back asleep. I knew there would be birds and a rooster at this place, but I had no idea it would keep me this much from sleeping. So, for me, the rooster was a problem.

Extra note. We were kindly asked by someone on the property if we needed anything and we said we didn’t. So, we did have a chance to ask for things, but we opted not to.

Would we stay here again? Yes. (Our hope, however, is not to have to. Prior to Covid we had wonderful free lodging at our family member’s shared guest space.)