Walk to the waterfront! The Cozy Cottag

Please keep the following in mind: The property is located in a safe, quiet, and walkable neighbourhood. We enjoyed strolling to the Delightful Neighborhood Market to grab quick meals and groceries. The interior is clean, well organized aesthetically pleasing, and just the right size for two people. Communication with the owners was friendly, courteous, and prompt. I would love to stay at this property again during my future visits to Tacoma. Here are a few areas where improvements could be made: 1. During check-in, we were a bit confused about which keypad to use. The owner quickly answered our questions and assisted us. However, resolving this issue took about 30 minutes because we were trying to use the rear keypad and it kept timing out. It would be helpful to mention in the check-in procedures that it is the side door, not one of the two back doors, and perhaps provide pictures or a map. 2. Additionally, I hope that the kitchen blinds are repaired for future use as they face the driveway and could not be lowered all the way while we sat down to dine. As a single woman traveling alone with a child, I appreciate an increased feeling of safety and security provided by screens and curtains to block unwanted viewing. 3. Thicker curtains for the bedroom would be appreciated, as the light from the streetlamps made it difficult to sleep comfortably. This is a personal preference, as I like a dark bedroom for better rest.

It was vary clean and the host was great! He had everything provided for us.

Fabulous host and location. Some minor amenity hiccups, but easily taken care of. The 'cozy cottage' does have a second VRBO rental on site. We never heard the other occupants.

Not as advertised - photos are deceptive and the unit itself was not fit for tenants. It smelled strongly of mildew and chemicals, had multiple faulty (not working) electrical outlets, the wifi was not connected or active, the master closet was filthy, had a broom and dustpan full of dirt, along with various other items crammed in. When I pulled out the ironing board, it too was filthy (see photos). Also, the furniture isn't even the same as shown in the photos (rug and couch are shabby and different colors).Host had me check circuit breakers and reset wifi (none of which worked). After a couple hours of back and forth, I finally opted to rebook at another hotel as I was in town for a conference. Instead of trying to fix these issues, the host refused to offer a refund, and insisted that I had not communicated properly (I have record of texts and vrbo messages to verify that I did). Whats more is that this particular host is set up in a way that they can advertise on VRBO, but then they charge you for the rental via separate billing site, thereby removing protections from VRBO when seeking a refund, and allowing the host to make the decision for a refund at their complete discretion. This felt like a complete scam and I will likely not use VRBO in the future as they too were unhelpful in resolving the refund. Other reviews for this site are accurate in that the unit is a quad (not mentioned in the listing), and it was very confusing trying to get in. Renter beware!

Do NOT stay here. This is a total bait and switch in terms of how it is laid out and type of home. This is a quadplex. They don’t tell you it’s not a standalone unit until you’ve paid for it and even then they lie and say it’s a duplex. We would not have booked this if we had known this. We scared the crap out of one of the tenants when we were trying to get into the home (and her very understandably angry father drove up to confront us, which could have ended poorly if he didn’t understand our situation and that it wasn’t our fault )and when we tried to communicate with the owners, they refused to respond to us about which unit it was because I guess they were still trying to hide the fact that it wasn’t a quadplex? I don’t know, but the communication was so terrible and they blamed us for being confused. The whole situation felt like shut up and give us your money. they told us they were being clear because in a picture from a drone of the home there’s an arrow pointing to it, which gives no information about which unit it is. Especially when everything they send just says the address with no unit. And they refused to respond about what unit it was! On top of it the building itself is rundown looking on the outside and with all of the terrible communication, we did not want to stay there.

Quiet and cozy stay, close to Point Defience and enjoyed watching the seals play.

Stay away

We had a nice stay. The house is clean and comfortable, and near the Ruston area.

This place is exactly as advertised - clean, quiet, great location and lots of space to relax and unwind! It was a great stay for us, and we were quite happy we found this place. The communication with the owner was very quick and pleasant. You won’t regret staying at the Cozy Cottage!

It was exactly what we needed. Very comfortable, easy access, convenient location.

The little cottage, in the North End of Tacoma, was charming. The overall cleanliness was fine. There was an unusual smell in the kitchen that was off putting and pungent. The kitchen was not stocked with any washcloths or sponges, which made cleaning dishes a challenge. The bedroom was comfortable, and so was the mattress. The Keurig coffee maker would not work, which was a big inconvenience for me the next morning. Overall it was a good stay with minor inconveniences.

Easy to find, great off-street parking, close to numerous fabulous coffee shops and restaurants, terrific tips of recommended places to go, comfy bed and awesome lightweight comforter. Everything you could need and decorated in an artistic minimalist decor.