We like to stay in unique properties when we travel if possible, and this award-winning glass house was certainly unique. Virtually every interior and exterior wall in the home is made of glass panels (there is one solid wall and a curtain for privacy in the bathroom) and if you're interested in architecture, by all means book this property.
There are other benefits of staying here, as well. The home is well-equipped to keep a family busy, with a ping-pong table, trampoline, hammock, DVD player. It's air conditioned and has all the amenities, including high-end appliances and fixtures (Bosch, Duravit, Gaggineau). The property manager responds almost instantly to emailed questions, is a wealth of helpful information about the parks , and returned my deposit within hours of our departure.
Location is about as good as you're going to get unless you stay in Sequoia National Park. Note that the park entrance is only minutes away, but that is misleading. To get to any of the "good stuff" in Sequoia you're going to have to drive at least 40 minutes on wind-y roads. To get to Kings Canyon you have to drive considerably further. There doesn't appear to be any other towns that provide easier access.
There were two major downsides to this property. First, it is infested with ants and mice and the owner appears to be more concerned with using all-natural products to address the issue than with actually getting rid of the pests. Ants are everywhere. I was picking ants out of the shower and when I picked up a book I had been reading from the floor, it was crawling with ants. Mice are a problem, too. My daughter saw one run across the bathroom floor while she was showering, and one ran across the living room while we were all watching a DVD. To me, a person should be able to live with whatever pests they feel comfortable living with, but once you decide to rent out your home (especially for the nightly rate we were charged) you need to make sure the home is pest-free.
And secondly, this house is clearly someone else's house. We frequently rent homes instead of hotels when we travel and most are rental properties designed for a guest's comfort. In this house, I felt a little like Goldilocks barging in to someone else's living space while they'd momentarily stepped out. The limited storage space in the cabinets and fridge were filled with their food, and half the closet space contained their clothes. The effect was more Airbnb than luxury property rental.
