House of Bliss: 6BR Hillcrest, Sauna, Secret Room, Yard

Welcome to the first home ever built in Hillcrest (1903) - completely reimagined as a sophisticated, artistic retreat designed to create moments of wonder, peace, and joy! Sleeps 14 in spacious rooms. Rejuvenate in the infrared sauna. Discover Secret room through a bookshelf.  Relax in private yard oasis with fire pit, putting green. Barbecue in the outdoor kitchen. Play in game room with pool table, Pac-Man, foosball. Make music in the room with guitars and vinyl. Wake up with coffee station. 1-2 blocks from everything. This is bliss! 

## The Story Behind the Bliss

This is our one and only Airbnb, and we designed it with a clear vision: to create a space where every detail serves relaxation, peace, and joy. I'm a professional storyteller and keynote speaker who's spent 30 years teaching people to "follow your passion, live your bliss." My partner Polly has 30 years of hospitality expertise. Together, we renovated this historic home in 2022, transforming it into a contemporary sanctuary where at least one moment will make you say "Wow, this is bliss." We continue to pour enormous time, energy, and resources into making this house extraordinary.

## The Space - Bigger Than Photos Can Capture

The house sleeps 14 comfortably in rooms so spacious they surprise everyone - those 1903 bedrooms were built on a grand scale!

### Three king bedrooms downstairs:

**The Flower Room** (master) features X-ray flower photography on glass, flower stained-glass windows, and an en-suite 1/2 bathroom.

**The Rock n Roll Room** is themed for music lovers with an electric guitar on the wall, an acoustic guitar you can play, and a record player with a vinyl collection - perfect for those who've never played a record or haven't in years!

**The Hotel Resort Room** features a king bed with luxurious tufted headboard, golden accent pillows, and a window alcove with cushioned bench - perfect for reading or morning coffee. Curated beach art, TV, and closet. Light-filled and peaceful.

All our beds have high-end mattresses (not foam!) and beautiful linens because we believe great sleep is the foundation of a great holiday.

### Three bedrooms upstairs:

**The European Room** features two queen beds with a window view of a rounded chapel roof that makes you feel like you've woken up in a charming European village. Crisp white shiplap walls, beautiful original wood floors, TV, and AC keep it comfortable year-round.

**The Robert Mitchum Room** features a king bed with luxurious linens and iconic beach photography - including a stunning piece of Robert Mitchum dancing at Cannes. TV and closet. The room captures that classic California coastal spirit with effortless cool.

**The Secret Room bedroom** has a private double bed with its own bathroom across the hall - and here's where it gets fun: inside this bedroom is a bookcase, and behind that bookcase is a SECRET ROOM! Enter through the hidden door to find a mystical sanctuary with a glowing full moon light, cosy pillows, and personalised love reading cards. As one guest said: "All of the kids, aged 5 to 85, enjoyed looking for and sitting in the secret room."

**Three beautifully renovated bathrooms** - two downstairs (one en-suite), one upstairs.

## The Kitchen & Dining - Made for Gathering

The fully stocked kitchen features a show-stopping $15,000 working 1920s red stove that guests absolutely love, plus all modern conveniences. The dining table seats 10 under a beautiful lotus flower chandelier (the lotus symbolises bliss!). There's also a bench-seat kitchen table perfect for morning coffee.

## The Living Room - Wonder & Comfort & Coffee

Huge and open with a 58" TV (Netflix, HBO Max, Roku) and a sunporch, but the real magic is in the details. There's "Slow Dance" - an $800 art piece showing two feathers in magical slow motion. On the wall hangs a custom-made $1,600 3D wooden map of San Diego crafted in Europe, showing exactly where the House of Bliss sits in the city.

The coffee station is fully loaded with a Nespresso machine, high-end drip coffee maker with grinder, assorted teas, beautiful mugs, and everything you need for the perfect morning ritual.

Throughout the house, you'll find genuine 100-year-old oil lamps converted to electric, illuminating the space with pieces from its own era. Just inside the front door, a glowing orange sign declares: "Bliss Happens!" - and guests adopt this as their name for the house.

## Spaces That Invite You to Linger

**The Rug Room** serves as the heart of the home - a spacious gathering area centred by a beautiful Persian-style rug, featuring the coffee station, original leaded glass windows, vintage lighting, and an open flow that invites conversation and connection.

**The Sunporch** is a light-drenched retreat with floor-to-ceiling windows, skylights, and vintage seating overlooking the garden. The perfect spot for morning meditation, reading, or simply soaking in California sunshine.

## The Game Room - Upstairs Entertainment

The game room features a pool table, ping pong, Pac-Man machine, foosball, Connect 4, couch, and TV - the perfect hangout space.

## The Outdoor Oasis - Your Private Urban Retreat

What truly surprises guests is our completely private backyard sanctuary in the heart of Hillcrest. While you're just 1-2 blocks from restaurants and nightlife, you have this peaceful escape with gas fire pit built into the outdoor table (no propane hassles!), outdoor kitchen with barbecue and sink, putting green for friendly competition, cosy seating areas with loungers on artificial turf, string lights creating magical evening ambiance, misters along the fence to cool the space on warm days, tall standing heater for comfortable cool evenings, palm trees and thoughtful landscaping.

## The Laundry Room

Your own private washing machine and dryer with a sink and stocked with cleaning supplies for anything you might need during your stay. No shared facilities, no quarters needed - just the convenience of doing laundry whenever you want.

## The Details That Matter



Polly personally quality-checks the house for 2-4 hours after our professional cleaning team finishes - inspecting every inch to ensure perfection. You will arrive to find the house thoroughly clean and ready for you in every way.



## Your Stay Supports Children Around the World

As you walk upstairs, you'll see framed photos of 25-30 children from around the world. These are the children we sponsor with revenue from this Airbnb. Your stay directly supports their lives and futures.



## Guest Access

Self-check-in with late check-in and late check-out available by request. Two driveway parking spaces included, plus ample free street parking.

## Location - The Best of Both Worlds

As the first home ever built in Hillcrest, we're rooted in history while being perfectly positioned for modern convenience - 1-2 blocks from Whole Foods, restaurants, nightlife, coffee shops, film theatre, comedy club, farmers market, and boutique stores. Five minutes to city centre Gaslamp District and Little Italy. Ten minutes from the airport. Close to San Diego Zoo, Convention Centre, and PETCO Park. 15 minutes to the beach!

## Other things to note

This 120-year-old home has beautiful quirks - the dining room floor isn't perfectly level and some floorboards creak. We think it adds to the charm of living in Hillcrest's founding home.



Two and a half bathrooms with a full house has been easily managed by guests with a little scheduling coordination.

You can smoke in the yard, but not in the home.

Every stay includes a complimentary copy of my bestselling book "Man 1, Bank 0" - a true storey that's entertained over a million people worldwide for three decades and toured as a smash-hit comedy show for 14 years.

We designed this home to be sophisticated, artistic, and deeply intentional. Every element - from the secret room to the vintage stove to the tiny book worlds - serves one purpose: to create an experience of relaxation, peace, and joy.

This is our life's work made tangible. We can't wait to share it with you.

It's self-check-in, with late check-in and late check-out by request and availability.