Too bad the rooms were not clean at all - dust everywhere, you are afraid to put something down and walk barefoot over the floor - although bathroom and sheets where clean....

Too bad, as the location is excellent, the interior is not my style but it definately has heaps of charme, and the they really take care of you for breakfast like (although some of the bread bags where way out of date and even had molt, again so contrasting...)

They have 2 charming cats, they are everywhere in the house, so really cool if you like cats but stay away with allergies

They have 1 room with a seperate bath, if you dont like this, make sure you mention

Free internet, fridge,...

Dont really get it, they make sure you get everything you ask, are super friendly, this place has so much potential...why dont they clean???

With pain int the heart i have to give a poor rating: because of the dust I would not want to go there again

@ the owner: take care of the dust and only put 2 bags of bread or bagles out there for which you track the date and the review would be very good! Keep up the hospitality!

We can’t actually find a word bad enough to describe our stay. we read enthusiastic comments from the past so we were glad to stay here, until we actually got there: we don’t know what happened but the situation has to be completely changed.
We were coming to LA from Sequoia National Park. The day we were supposed to leave the park, we received two lines from Sylvester, the innkeeper, saying that he had made ‘a mistake’, so no room would be available for us (we had booked one of the cottages in the garden for two nights). Really upset, we wrote him back to ask for some kind of solution, and he offered us his own bedroom, with 20 $ discount. That sounded us really unusual…We got to LA in the evening: the place is almost hidden from the street and therefore hard to find from the street, no parking is allowed in front of the house and the private parking is ridiculous. At the main door, the ring bell was out of work, all the contacts (mobile phones) stuck on it were mute…we waited for 15 min. until finally Sylvester came and opened the door! No apologies of course from him. The house is prehistoric, and it hasn’t seen a vacuum cleaner since years. On the shelves in the corridors were empty bottles of milk, sticky shower gel, repellents for bugs ….Sly then took us immediately to his room on the second floor and it had not at all been tided up for us: the room was tiny, filthy, stinking, completely messy with dirty linen and towels thrown on the floor and dust everywhere; the shelves were overwhelmed of bags, boxes, shoes. No words to describe our faces….we asked for a different accommodation in the house, or at least for some help in finding a different place to stay in the surroundings, and the answer was ‘that’s the only option you have, girls!’. We were forced to accept because the innkeeper had our credit card details and we were afraid to be charged for the room. There were three of us, and the room had no sufficient place for three beds and our luggage. Sylvester added an extra bed which consisted of bedding thrown on the floor in between the dust and the dead bugs. There were dead bugs everywhere on the floor. The bathroom was dirty. The shower was out of work, and there were mould and snails in the bath tub. We came down to ask for some explanation, but the innkeeper was impossible to find: he disappeared. When he came out eventually, he acted extremely rude, and appeared reluctant to answer our questions. We asked for some help in setting up our visit to the city and the only answer we were given was ‘use the computer over there’. Due to our complaints, Sylvester took us to the bedroom of Mr. Austin, who spends all the day lying in his bed. He appeared to suffer from some serious illness, which we are of course really sorry for: nevertheless, this cannot be an excuse for the treatment we received. Mr. Austin’s room was stuffed with medicines, syringes, catheters, and a full urinal on the table. Last but not least, Sylvester told us that ‘the main door’s always open 24 hours a day, we’re all friends in the neighborhood’. So no key and no problem for coming back late in the night…. The first night we came back at 11 pm and the main door was locked. We found the rear door opened and we managed to go to our room passing through the kitchen…..our room was still filthy, we actually wanted to walk out right now, we would have preferred to sleep in our car than touch that beds. Second day: the breakfast…Sly simply didn’t care about us, we asked for some tea, butter and breakfast stuff, and the reply was always ‘please, make yourself home’ which meant exactly ‘don’t bother me’. When we came home at night, at about 11 pm, the main door was locked again, and so was the rear door: we had been left out of the house. We tried to call the mobile phones on the door….all mute…and, obviously, the ring bell was always out of work. We tried to knock at the door, we yelled, all useless. We waited for half an hour in the courtyard, we were about to call 911, then one of my friends tried to climb up the wall of the backyard and succeeded in entering the house and unlock the door, without breaking her legs, thanks God. The day after, we left at 7.00 in the morning, refusing to have our breakfast. And again, the last surprise was that to pay for the stay with credit card you have to go to Sylvester’s office which goes through the bedroom of the poor Mr. Austin. The only good thing is that we refused to pay for the entire stay, considering the shameful accommodation we experienced….and Mr. Austin accorded us a discount: we paid only for 1 night, and no taxes. Our entire stay has been horrific. We are very disappointed about this, because it very recommeded even by friends and the result has been terrible.

This bed and breakfast is a NIGHTMARE!!! We can’t actually find a word bad enough to describe it! PLEASE DON’T STAY HERE FOR ANY REASON, don’t trust to comments from past years, we don’t know what happened but the situation has to be completely changed!! We were coming to LA from Sequoia National Park. The day we were supposed to leave S.N.P., we received 2 (TWO!!!!!) lines from Sylvester, one of the hosts, saying that he had made ‘a mistake’, so no room would be available for us (we had booked one of the cottages in the garden for 2 nights)! Really upset, we wrote him back to ask for some kind of solution, and he offered us HIS OWN BEDROOM, with 20 $ discount. That sounded us really unusual…I want to clarify that we are used to travelling with Hostelling International, and B&B associations so we are quite trained to basic accommodation and shared services like toilets and kitchens, we weren’t looking for a luxury accommodation! We got to LA in the evening: the place is almost hidden from the street and therefore hard to find from the street, no parking is allowed in front of the house and the private parking is ridiculous: 2 cars and it will be full…at the main door, the ring bell was out of work, all the contacts (mobile phones) stuck on it were mute…we waited for 15 min. until finally Sylvester came and opened the door! No apologies of course from Sylvester for the situation he caused or for the delay….First impression: the house is not old, is PREHISTORIC, and it hasn’t seen a vacuum cleaner from ages!!!! On the shelves in the corridors were empty bottles of milk, shower gel, repellents for bugs and an opened, stinking can of peanut butter….Sly then took us immediately to his room on the second floor….OH MY GOD!! It had not at all been tided up for us: the room was tiny, filthy, stinking, completely messy with linen and towels thrown on the floor and DUST EVERYWHERE; the shelves were overwhelmed of bags, boxes, shoes, everything you can imagine! No words to describe our faces….we asked for a different accommodation in the house, or at least for some help in finding a different place to stay in the surroundings, and the answer was ‘that’s the only option you have, girls!’. We were extremely reluctant, but forced to accept because he had our credit card details and we were afraid to be charged for the room. There were three of us, and the room had no sufficient place for three beds and our luggage. Sly added an extra bed which consisted of a bedding thrown on the floor in between the dust and the dead bugs!! There were dead bugs everywhere on the floor!!! As soon as we were alone in the room, we discovered that the windows were impossible to close: in the evening, with the lights switched on, the room was full of bugs, mosquitoes and moths! How could I describe the bathroom??? It was the DIRTIER restroom I’ve ever seen in my entire life, even compared to every hostel or camping I’ve ever stayed in!!!! The shower was out of work, and there were mould and SNAILS in the bath tub!!!!!! In case you were thinking about, yes I typed correctly: SNAILS!!!!!! . We came down to ask for some explanation, but Sly was impossible to find: he disappeared!! When he came out eventually, he acted extremely rude, and appeared reluctant to answer our questions. And that was when we first met the owner, Mr. Austin: due to our complaints, Sly took us to the bedroom of Mr. Austin, who spends all the day lying in his bed. He appeared to suffer from some serious illness; the room was stuffed with medicines, syringes, catheters, and a FULL URINAL on the table!! AN URINAL FULL OF URINE!!!! WE DIDN’T WANT TO TOUCH ANYTHING IN THERE!!!! Last but not least, Sly told us that ‘the main door’s always open 24 hours a day, we’re all friends in the neighborhood’. So no key and no problem for coming back late in the night….BUT THAT’S NOT TRUE! The first night we came back at 11 pm and the main door was locked. We found the rear door open and we managed to go to our room passing through the kitchen…..the room was still filthy, and the towels provided were old and bad-smelling….trust me, we actually wanted to walk out right now, we would have preferred to sleep in our car than touch that beds!!!! Second day: the breakfast…Sly simply didn’t care about us, we asked for some tea, butter and breakfast stuff, and the reply was always ‘please, make yourself home’ which meant exactly ‘don’t bother me’. All the furniture was incredibly dirty…But we hadn’t seen the worst yet!!!! When we came home at night, at about 11 pm, the main door was locked again, and so was the rear door!!!! WE WERE LEFT OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!! We tried to call the mobile phones on the door….all mute…and, obviously, the ring bell was out of work! We tried to knock at the door, we yelled, all useless!! We waited for half an hour in the courtyard, we were about to call 911, then one of my friends tried to climb up the wall of the backyard and succeeded in entering into the house and unlock the door, without breaking her legs, thanks God!! The day after we left at 7 in the morning, refusing to have our breakfast. And again, the last surprise was that to pay for the stay you have to go to Sly’s office which goes through the filthy bedroom of the dying Mr. Austin!!!!! The only good thing is that we refused to pay for the entire stay, considering the shameful accommodation we experienced….and Mr. Austin accorded us a discount: we paid only for 1 night, 110$ and no taxes. Our entire stay has been HORRIFIC!! IF YOU BUMP INTO THIS PLACE, RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!! Just to complete the picture…The cottages in the garden are more like a garage, nothing more… the garden is messy, abandoned and obviously extremely dirty….also the plants are dying in that house!! We completely agree with other travelers (PLEASE READ ALL THE COMMENTS LEFT IN 2010!!!), this place should be reported to the Health Authorities!!!

I had to spend one night in LA recently for work and so I looked for a similar b&b near my job site on Sunset Blvd. Secret Garden looked nice on the website and was a reasonable price, so I went for it. I wouldn’t consider myself a picky traveler but a lot about the experience was a bit janky. Most of the property feels cobbled together, haphazard and run down: mismatched beat-up furniture in the rooms, most areas in serious need of a deep cleaning, odd choices of decorations, etc. The main house is pretty cluttered and hasn’t been upgraded since the ‘70s (and shows it). The host was perfectly friendly but there was a casualness about everything that bordered on carelessness. I wasn’t expecting restaurant service for breakfast but it took almost 45 minutes to get a simple meal, which I had to wolf down so as not to be late for my business appointment. The garden and courtyard could be lovely if the furniture wasn’t covered in dirt and there weren’t stray cooking trays lying around… If your expectations are low and you don’t mind the funky/dirty rooms and haphazard hosting, you’ll be fine. All in all, I survived one night but won’t be coming back anytime soon.