Hillside Cabin Review: My First Airbnb Stay

Background:

One of my friend’s family members has an Airbnb cabin in Crestline, California, which is about an hour and a half drive away from Downtown Los Angeles. Points of interest in the area include Lake Arrowhead (8 miles) and Big Bear Lake (30 miles). These mountain resorts are good for hiking, lake and recreational activities in the summer, and snow activities in the winter. We thought it would be fun to visit for a beginning of summer stay and go hiking and relax at the lake.

I’ve stayed at the Lake Arrowhead Resort back in 2017, and at the time the property was part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, but now it isn’t affiliated with Marriott anymore. The nearby areas itself don’t have many hotel options, which makes Airbnb an even more attractive choice.

For the cabin I stayed at, prices for a weekday stay this summer start at $155 per night (plus the $170 cleaning fee, which is a flat rate regardless of your length of stay and a $30 ish per night Airbnb service fee). Pretty great value for a 3 bedroom cabin!

The Cabin:

Nestled on a hillside, after turning off the main road you pass a few houses on a narrow alley. Then, you pop up at the property, and there are two parking spaces at the base so you don’t have to worry about the hilly driveway.

The cabin is a 3 Bedroom/2 Bath. Upon climbing up the stairs to the entrance, the first floor of the cabin contains two bedrooms. To the left, is the smaller bedroom with 1 Single Bed. And to the right, is the primary bedroom with a Queen-sized bed, TV and en-suite bathroom. A major plus was that the lamps next to the beds had USB charging which was convenient. Overall, these rooms were clean and tidy.

Upstairs is the main living area of the cabin, with a large family room, dining area and kitchen. The focal point was definitely the high arched wooden ceilings, and the vintage fireplace. The television also has the ability to connect to all of your favorite streaming services which came in handy.

The kitchen was fully stocked, which was perfect as we made a lot of meals ourselves.

There is a full bathroom on this floor, as well as a bedroom off the family room with another queen sized bed.

The bathrooms were nicely fully stocked with shampoo, conditioner and body wash. Plenty of towels were provided as well.

Deck:

The outdoor deck was very nice, with a seating area, picnic bench and grill. It also overlooked a lot of trees, making for a relaxing experience. A perfect deck for some outdoor morning yoga!

Nearby Activities:

Lake Gregory is only a mile from the cabin, and we did the nature loop hike as well as rented paddleboard and aqua cycles. There is a “beach” area at the lake, inflatable water park and plenty of rental options (duffy boats, kayaks, etc). A nice lake to relax at and spend a few hours.

Outside of cooking meals at the cabin, we did try a restaurant in nearby Lake Arrowhead called Spade and Spatula and I had a California Burger which was pretty good. Would definitely go back in the future!

The Verdict:

Overall, my first Airbnb experience was quite enjoyable and I would definitely consider it in the future. Especially with hotel prices very expensive this summer with the surging demand for travel, a quiet mountain retreat at an Airbnb may be a great budget friendly option.

How have your Airbnb experiences been? Feel free to comment below!

Safe travels,

Ty