The beach house in Aptos was not true to many of the reviews I read. The much touted beach stairs were a block away but hidden. They were a long set of wooden old stairs coming down a big hill with patches of dirt connecting them and not for me. So we ended up driving to a couple of other beaches. Marianne’s ice cream and market were not 2 blocks from the house as some reviews stated-again, we had to drive there. The house was old, which was fine, but desperately needed some upgrading. There were no screens on the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom windows. They needed to be opened as it got stuffy and musty with showers and after a day closed up. The bedroom was small-only fit a double bed (not a queen as it says in description) so we only used it to sleep. Also the comforter on the bed was ripped and old. Only 1 blanket for the couch bed and they were cold. Most cupboards in the kitchen, bathroom, hall, bedroom and living room were very dusty and dirty and filled with lots of the owner’s stuff. The laundry room was hard to use with old beach things packed in. The dryer vent was packed with lint and needs to be thoroughly cleaned. (Fire) We ended up putting all our food in the refrig and on the table instead of cupboards. I wanted a smoothie and found a blender in the tall kitchen cupboard; it was disgustingly dirty, sticky, and old. The whole house felt like that-windowsills dirty, (really only bothered us in bathroom and kitchen), the kitchen and bathroom rugs had stains, and were worn & dirty, so we took them out and used a towel. The tiny tiny bathroom had a small stand, but it was dirty, so we lived entirely out of suitcases for the week. The backyard is lovely and private with clematis and grape vines on 3 sides; I spent most of my time out there. A long table had wicker chairs but three were broken when we arrived so we used others. They were broken before our stay which made me wonder how often anyone checks on things. Two nights, while sitting out front and in back, a skunk and a raccoon joined me. They left, but be aware of visitors in late afternoon. The tenants were to wash all dishes and put them away before leaving. With the lack of attention to the house, we decided to wash any dishes before we used them. Maybe the cleaning service could do this. The internet wasn’t working for a lot of the time we were there. There was an outdoor shower but it was cold. With lots of other rentals to get, I’m sure we won’t come here again. 😔