John's Garden Cottage was perfect for our trip to Colorado Springs. It is a historic cottage filled with antiques and unique character. So much better than a cookie-cutter hotel! The three bedrooms were really comfy. (Note: the master with the king-bed is up a really steep flight of stairs. Not a problem for us and even if you can't do the stairs there are two beds downstairs.) The air conditioning was welcome after our days of exploring Colorado Springs in 92-94 degree heat! The little front porch was absolutely wonderful and we spent our mornings drinking coffee, enjoying the cool air, and admiring the view from there. The neighborhood is nice and quiet in the evenings and it's an easy 5 minute walk to downtown Manitou Springs.
John sent us good check-in instructions ahead of time, was really friendly, met us when we arrived and showed us around. He was also there to collect the luggage that our airline lost and had to deliver to us! The cottage had lots of tourist brochures for local attractions.
A couple of nice-to-know items:
The kitchen had what we needed: coffee maker, refrigerator and microwave (there is also a stove/oven). If you're looking to cook elaborate meals this might not work for you as it's really small and the utensils, etc. looked basic. John provided coffee, tea, hot cocoa, sugar, coffee whitener, cookies, and some bars. Unlike some VRBOs we've been to, there were no food supplies left by previous renters at all such as mayo, butter, jam, pasta, spices, etc.
If you have dust allergies you should consider another location. The cottage was very clean where it counted (floors, bathroom, kitchen, and bedding were all perfect) but the antiques and wall decor were dusty.
Overall a wonderful place to stay and we enjoyed our visit very much! Thank you John