Onsite parking is available at the property.

North Park, charming Garden Cottage by Balboa Park, Zoo, & popular venues Reviews, Deals & Photos 2026

Q: Is North Park, charming Garden Cottage by Balboa Park, Zoo, & popular venues pet-friendly?

No, pets are not allowed at this property.

Q: Where is North Park, charming Garden Cottage by Balboa Park, Zoo, & popular venues located?

Located in University Heights, this apartment building is 1.5 mi (2.4 km) from San Diego Zoo and 2.7 mi (4.4 km) from Balboa Park. San Diego Natural History Museum and Old Globe Theater are also within 2 mi (3 km).

10/10 Excellent

Adrienne S.

Jul 21, 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great spot! Great host!

We had a very good time here, the host was lovely and gave us some great recommendations :) The space was clean, well looked after, and comfortable. So close to lots of fun things and good food. We would definitely recommend!

Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2024

8/10 Good

Cindy M.

Mar 2, 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Good location, clean, adequate

This little old cottage was just what we needed, had more than we needed and was clean. Wish the parking was better and the heater was updated.

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Ardys D.

Feb 24, 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Excellent location and comfy rooms!

The cottage was perfect for two people and the host was exceptional. Francesca made us feel most welcome, almost part of the family. It was an easy walk to Morley Field, to University Heights, Hillcrest, and South Park. We walked home from the Zoo and Balboa Park Museums, but drove to the Maritime Museum and the Library downtown. We'll definitely be back.

Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2025

8/10 Good

Jennifer B.

Apr 7, 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great apartment, great location

The apartment was fully appointed, spacious, clean, and comfortable, and easy walking distance to 2 bus lines and Balboa Park itself, as well as coffee shops, grocery stores, and restaurants. The patio was pretty bare of plants and greenery so did not particularly have an inviting garden feel, but did offer plenty of seating.

Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2025

8/10 Good

joni p.

Mar 17, 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Warm get away

We arrived late at night, really difficult to find the little house with out a porch light on.Otherwise just fine. The rain had made the patio kinda messy but we still enjoyed the sunshine.

Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

John A.

Mar 15, 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Perfect for What I Need

As a senior, I need a quiet place to rest in the afternoon and sleep at night. Visiting my son in North Park we were out early and walked 5-8 miles a day exploring different places. Everything (including my son) was an easy walk from this rental. I plan on returning.

Stayed 8 nights in Mar 2025

10/10 Excellent

Christine P.

Mar 5, 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Quaint cottage in North Park

Great location near all the eats, drinks, and entertainment. Parking is rough in the evenings. Area is flat so walking from car to cottage was easy. Suggest ubering. Hotspot at the Lafayette Hotel within walking distance.

Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Toni H.

May 22, 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

San Diego

Apt was as i expected; perfect location as it was literally 6 blocks from my other daughters apt and walking distance to coffee etc. Had all the amenities that we needed for our short stay. There was an unusual heat wave of 89 degrees and there was a fan but somehow it didnt work that well as it think it needed to be cleaned.

Stayed 2 nights in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

Emma D.

May 25, 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Conference stay

My friend and I stayed here for a few days while attending a conference in town. The cottage is small but super cute, nice neighborhood, walkable to restaurants and coffee. The only slight issues were that the heater, even when off, produced some heat. The shower had very low water pressure and felt like it couldn't fully rinse of soap/shampoo etc. Otherwise the host was quickly responsive and the cottage was very clean!

Stayed 4 nights in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

Patty K., SAN FRANCISCO

Sep 6, 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Nice apartment in North Park

This is a small apartment but clean and comfortable. We stayed in this area because our daughter lives close by. It’s residential so I’m not sure if there are places to walk to but it’s a good location. Easy check in with a code. There are a couple of other units. There was good communication. It was quiet. We didn’t have any problems finding street parking.

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Melodi H.

Oct 9, 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Felicity

I had originally booked for an August trip, and was unable to make the trip, Francesca worked with me to push my reservations to this weekend. Was sent a door code a few days before, it was about 15 mins from airport. The unit was spotless, I am in love with the old kitchen cabinetry. I did at one point have a problem with the Wi-Fi but after checking with Francesca and a few people I knew in SD, it’s turned out that it was my provider. (AT&T) Looking forward to a return trip & hoping to try one of the upstairs units.

Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Russ R.

Sep 20, 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Awesome stay for near but out of downtown!

I was going to stay in a hotel downtown and I am SO VERY GLAD I chose instead to try a VRBO outside of downtown. This was a perfect experience. The location was perfect! Walking distance to restaurants and coffee shops (you must try Baja Betty’s) and a very calm and quaint neighborhood. The communication from the property owners was great. They were even flexible and when my dates shifted by a day, since there was availability, they said “No problem! “ and made the change for me. Internet worked great! Roomy shower with really hot water which was great too! Plenty of room for two! If you have a car, be aware of the parking restrictions…posted ONLY at the corners. No parking on 2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 7 am to 10 am for street sweeping. Got hit with a $56 parking fine. If I have to stay in the area again, I will look for Francesca’s properties!! Thank you so much for a great VRBO experience!

Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Karen R.

Apr 14, 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Cute place and neighborhood

We enjoyed our stay in this very convenient one bedroom. Very close to restaurants and nice neighborhood. Parking is a bit tricky but we managed just fine. Thank you.

Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2025

8/10 Good

Eric S.

May 23, 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Close to everywhere I wanted to go.

Attending my son's graduation and a little vacation while there. Minutes from airport, balboa park, San Diego zoo. Very pleasant cottage like dwelling, great for two. Coin operated washer and dryer on premises. On street parking available. Just make sure your back to your VRBO by 4/5pm. Just inherit to this area of San Diego.

Stayed 5 nights in May 2025

10/10 Excellent

batbara r.

Jun 23, 2024

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Tiniest of tips

This is a perfectly lovely place to stay and I will come again. You may wish to have a small fan available for bedroom. It was hot this weekend and that would have been the very best thing to have.

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2024

8/10 Good

Rodney H.

Jul 15, 2021

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location

Quaint and clean.

Nice place, calm and quiet. Very comfortable. Parking was tough. Description said lots of parking on the street, but we had to park about a quarter of a mile away every time we needed to park.

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2021

8/10 Good

GIGI M.

Apr 11, 2025

Liked: Cleanliness, communication, location

Disliked: Listing accuracy

Cute dwelling, nice neighborhood

The property is duplex, not a stand-alone cottage. It was a good size for two people, and close to our family member living nearby. Many restaurants, shops, bars etc. within walking distance. The site exterior photos need to be updated. There is not a garden anymore, it is all paved with patio chairs. Guests need to be told the name of the dwelling as well as the address. Confusing otherwise, but a nice neighbor showed us to the door.

Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2025

8/10 Good

Lauren R.

Jul 10, 2023

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Great little place to stay

Great place to stay, my only complaint was a hair dryer was listed under amenities but couldn’t find one in unit. Also there were some hanging ornaments above bed that kept bumping into each other at night and making noise, I’d recommend moving these out of the bedroom. Other than that, great location and unit.

Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2023

6/10 Okay

kelly k.

Mar 21, 2024

Liked: Cleanliness

Disliked: Communication

Review

Very noisy in the area and the unit itself especially the furnace. Thin walls could here neighbors.

Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

2/10 Terrible

Wade T., Denver, CO

Sep 3, 2023

Disliked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, listing accuracy

Cancelled hours before stay

I received a cancellation a few hours before my stay was scheduled to begin and had to scramble to find another place for the night. Being a holiday weekend, this was not easy or cheap. Will not attempt to stay here in the future.

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

2/10 Terrible

Lorraine B.

Nov 11, 2023

Disliked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Double Booked/Did not stay at unit

We booked the unit in July to be close to our daughter when she gave birth in October and arrived to find out the unit had been long-term books and we had not been cancelled. I am unable to say anything about the condition of the unit but the rating system only allows for 1-5 stars. The owner was contacted and apologized profusely, but it did take several hours of phone calls and emails to resolve. Overall, we were disappointed, but VRBO staff did find accommodation for us that first night and we were able to book a hotel instead of a VRBO for the remainder of our visit.

Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Ajay S.

Jul 19, 2022

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Pleasant courtyard, good location

This apartment “Felicity” is between North Park and University Heights, and walking distance to Hillcrest, which is a fun neighborhood. A short 5-10 min drive or a long walk gets you to the edge of Balboa Park. Liked: Adequate for the needs of two people for a short stay; superb, well-maintained courtyard with cool plants and seating make for a great place to relax outdoors in the shade and chat or drink tea or coffee (especially great if you have family or friends staying in one of the other units!); excellent ceiling fan in the tiny living room area makes the room a pleasant place to relax indoors Could be better: no ceiling fan in the bedroom and the window fan is noisy = can get warm in there at night - a tower fan would be welcome; it’s a nice residential neighborhood with a lot of cars so you may have to hunt around for parking on other blocks if you get in late Nice stay overall, and yes I’d stay here again.

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022

2/10 Terrible

Ron G.

Jul 4, 2022

Liked: Check-in

Disliked: Location, listing accuracy

Small

Pictures were from a different larger unit -- unit was very small - outside was filthy - write up said main places were within walking distince - they wernt - i was very upset about the place & would never go back even if it was free

Stayed 7 nights in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Rainbow w.

Sep 14, 2021

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

fantastic place for the price and a great area. lots to do in walking distance.

The place was very homey and felt like my historical home in college. The are was great to walk around in. The property had other units rented on it and I had thought it was only just the one at first. however everyone was so nice and kept to themselves, i will definitely stay here again and recommend it to anyone who likes the area where your able to walk to the store, to dinner and just to take in all the history of the homes of the area. As an architect I enjoyed staying in this area.

Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2021

10/10 Excellent

Lara B.

Aug 23, 2021

Liked: Cleanliness, check-in, communication, location, listing accuracy

Everything you need & more!

This cute little apartment has everything you need & more! When we travel we usually only return to our hotel/rental to sleep so although we did not utilize the apartment very much, but it has everything you need if you want to relax on the couch& watch TV, or cook an entire meal- they had a ton of kitchen supplies. The outdoor area was super cute, the neighborhood felt very very safe at night and it is in an amazing location! We were able to walk to the zoo & walk to coffee/breakfast in the morning. Only 12ish driving minutes away from Little Italy/ Downtown! I will say, the parking at night (on weekends) is pretty tough so expect to park far. And be aware of street sweeping days, the signs are spread very far out and if you don’t look for them you might miss it… we got a ticket this morning :( 10/10 though, thank you!!

Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2021

North Park, charming Garden Cottage by Balboa Park, Zoo, & popular venues

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