We were lucky to be able to arrange an home exchange with Carolyn for our place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
We stayed in the Joyluck house so this review refers only to that property.
First, it has an amazing location, close to both Sonoma and Santa Rosa, in the heart of the Sonoma Wine growing region. Food and wine were very special in the locality, with an abundance of fabulous restaurants within a few miles.
The property itself is "hidden away", and basically stands alone, there are neighbours, but you wouldn't know it!
Joyluck is a wonderful eco property, powered by the sun, and all timber, which we love.
Many days we just wanted to sit in the sun in the wonderful "Mediteranean garden"and watch the Humming Birds a few feet away. Shop the stores, stock up with great food and wine and just enjoy the peace and tranquility.
The house had everything you could want for two people to stay in comfort. We mostly ate or sat outside, right through to 9.00pm. However inside was cosy and comfortable with a wood stove (not needed when we were there) and a nice dining area downstairs with the kitchen and cloakroom/shower. Upstairs, huge open-plan double bed room overlooking the downstairs accommodation, plus plenty of closet and drawer space and bathroom with double shower.
The house comes with two beautiful ginger cats, the "butter boys". We are cat lovers and enjoyed them snuggled round our feet during the night, not everyone'e cup of tea perhaps, but most certainly ours!

If you are looking for a truly memorable experience with lovely, open and friendly people who make you feel very welcome, then you could do no better than visit Mayacama Mountain Retreat.

Don't let the pictures fool you...this place is living on it's laurels. Envision a once popular grande dame hotel that has been neglected and is now filled with cobwebs and in disrepair. But dangerous to the point where you and your spouse could die!

For example; there is an old 4 burner gas stove in there. All four pilot lights and the oven pilot were lit when we got there. But in trying to boil water for coffee (all you get is a French press) we learned that only the back two burners would light up...one of them partially.

During our last night while we were asleep all of the pilot lights went out. My wife woke up around 3am (Thank God!!) and this small cabin reeked of gas. We opened all the windows/doors and went out on the deck until the smell cleared. (BTW you get eaten alive on the deck once the sun goes down so forget about any thoughts of enjoying the deck in the evening.)

And to add insult to injury the owners refused to reimburse us for that night!! In the most unbelievable fashion they insulted us and tried to blame us for the pilot light going out. You would think that in this day and age they would have had some sort of fail-safe shutoff valve on that dangerous stove.

But they chose instead to act like total jerks. I would use stronger words but I am certain that you get the point. These are the kind of individuals that are all sweetness and light when they are taking your non refundable personal check two weeks in advance but heaven help you if you have a problem...then their real personalities come through loud and clear.

And let us tell you about the hot tub. Their picture shows this spotless tub with an awesome view. No Way! The view is now all overgrown with shrubs and my guess, based on the smell when the cover was pulled back, is that the water has not been changed in a long long time. Not to mention the leaves in it or the fact that you get charged extra to use it. A cruel joke.

In fact here is a list of some of the other cruel jokes we experienced there:

DVD player: the screen is so small that you can barely see it from where it sits atop a vertical cabinet.

Outdoor shower: once you brush the spider webs out of the way you can use it. But again if it is early morning or late afternoon be prepared to be eaten alive by the bugs.

Cups and utensils: you get two mugs...one cracked. The 'silverware' is a Salvation Army collection of mismatches stuffed in a jar.

Views: the cabin is down in the woods...there is no view. Yes, there is a great view at the Stargazer but you better get back before it gets dark.

We have travelled the world and enjoy looking for unique and off the beaten path places to stay. This is a place to avoid at all costs. Sadly their website is very misleading but more to the point it could have cost us our lives! Add in the way the owners treated us and it is clearly a place you should never book. We will never go back!

This place was amazing. It is a little difficult to get to, but well worth it. The winding road to the top of the mountain had some fantastic views of the grapes in Sonoma County. When arriving Carolyn & Gary were very friendly and made us aware of all the amenities associated with the property. They include a suspension bridge hike to a mountain side for a beautiful sunset (we of course took a bottle of wine to enjoy during the sunset). There is also a hot tub that can be utilized, which adds to the relaxation.

It is in a great location for getting to the wine highway (highway 12).

The house itself is a quaint little round house with a very open feel. The kitchen is perfect size for a couple, with a little fridge. We enjoyed the time here. It has a great balcony with a large Weber grill for cooking out. And even more awesome, there is an outdoor shower!!! This was a great surprise, but even at 50 degrees in the morning, it is quite nice to shower with the birds in the background.

Our stay was in November 2009 for out honeymoon and could not have asked for more from our hosts!

We stayed here after our wedding in Santa Rosa before heading out to Hawaii. All I can say is we still remember and love this place, even after being in Kauai for the next week! Beautiful location up in the mountains but still close enough to Sonoma and Santa Rosa for quick day trips. And how many hotel rooms come with a swinging bridge and private lookout/stargazing hut? I can't say enough about how much we loved this place!