My husband and I discovered that living in our home during a full kitchen remodel was impossible, and because we weren’t sure how long we’d need to live somewhere else, the typical solutions were either uncomfortable (stay with family/friends) or too expensive (stay at a hotel, rent an apartment). Then I thought to look for something online, and almost had to pinch myself about how perfectly it worked for us to stay with Mike and Dakee in Gillespie House’s Lavender Room! Like other reviewers, we initially had concern about sharing a house, but after a quick pre-booking tour of the place, we realized it would – and did – work out great! The way they have it set up, it felt private even though the other two rooms were occupied. Our roommates were students at the flight school nearby, and we all got along great – the few times we saw them. The Lavender Room is self-contained; we had our own bathroom (nicer than ours at home!), a super-comfy bed, and a huge closet (especially important, since we ended up staying longer than originally [optimistically!] expected. We also loved the Jacuzzi tub, our own TV with Apple TV, and having total control of our room’s climate (remote-controlled heater/AC unit in the room). The desk was good when we needed to work, and not only was the Internet FAST, there was even a printer! The kitchen had everything I needed to cook healthy meals (stove, full-size refrigerator, rice cooker, microwave, toaster oven, blender), so we saved a ton on eating out, and with a washer & dryer, we didn’t have to use a laundromat. We even used the propane grill outside. OH! And speaking of outside – WOW! The house sits atop a hill overlooking El Cajon and Gillespie Field; the views were amazing during the day, the sunsets unbelievable, and at night it was great to look out over all the twinkling lights… like being up in the mountains, but with all the conveniences you’d expect, including access to three freeways (67, 8, and 52) in less than five minutes! And our hosts… what can I say? When people say “they thought of everything” it’s not hyperbole. They were right next door, but we never saw them unless we asked to! One day I asked about Kleenex, and an hour later Mike brought us four boxes! On our first day, we came “home” to find a bag of Starbuck’s Pike’s Place beans in the kitchen, next to the coffee bean grinder. I mean, c’mon, right?!? We were invited to their home for dinner twice, but couldn’t, so a few days after our second “no, sorry” we were treated to home-cooked food that they brought over for everyone to eat. I can honestly say I’ve never felt so welcomed. I don’t expect to remodel the kitchen again any time soon, so don’t foresee staying at Gillespie House again, but EVERY out of town guest who comes to see us will stay.
