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Our Experience with HomeAway in Spain



Today I have a glimpse into the AMAZING apartment we stayed in while on Mallorca, off the coast of Spain, last month. We found it through HomeAway while looking for places to stay in Spain and couldn’t have been happier. When we were planning our trip to Europe, I knew I didn’t want to stay in traditional hotels, especially for the beach portion of our trip. Lincoln does so much better in his own room at night (when we do stay in hotels, his pack ‘n play goes in the bathroom) and I wanted the flexibility of a kitchen for feeding Linc and eating ourselves after he went to bed. Plus, because we were traveling with friends who also have a baby, it was important we had space the adults could use to hang out after the little ones were asleep.

I searched and searched on AirBNB and Homeaway to find something next to a beach, big enough for all of us, reasonably priced, and close to the best rock climbing. There were quite a few options but ultimately this apartment was closest to the rock climbing, across the street from the beach, and such a steal at $80 a night. I was a little nervous using this kind of online home rental system (that involved a bank wire to a foreign country and a deposit to someone I’d just met), but Marta was wonderful and the place was exactly what we’d been looking for. All week the four of us kept saying how we’d love to just quit real life and move in.

Here are a few pictures:


^The highlight of the apartment was the view overlooking the water. You could see the beach, the harbor, and the cliffs. The whole front room had floor-to-ceiling window doors that opened up onto a large terrace where the babies loved to play. The view is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

^When we arrived these were spread out over three or four shelves but the first order of business was moving all the breakables out of reach of curious toddler hands. 
^This one had to be included because you see that little cart next to Lincoln? That was the favorite toy of the whole week. He would push it around forever, happy as can be. 
^So much natural light 
^On one corner of the terrace there was a table we loved to snack at while enjoying the view

^Our host had a supply of kids things waiting for us which was perfect! In addition to beach toys, there was an assortment of books and toys and I had lots of fun making up words to the Spanish stories 🙂

^We spent most of the week eating a lot of baugettes with cheese and nashi (Asian pears), the most heavenly of fruits. Lincoln’s mouth here is full of nashi and it makes me pretty happy he loves my favorite food as much as I do 🙂 
^it was a good thing no baby hands could reach this beautiful piece of glass
^Ben put Linc in one of his tank tops … and he walked around in his little dress so proud for a morning 🙂 
^More nashi, or bread, maybe he was sneaking a bite of the chocolate we kept hiding from him.

^This is the view I’m talking about and these pictures don’t do it justice. When the sun hits those cliffs at the end of the day, it is just breathtaking.

You can see a lot more of the apartment here (I didn’t snap any pictures of the back half with all the bedrooms, the kitchen, or the little inside balcony that housed the washer, dishwasher, and clothesline. We’re already dreaming of going back.

Have you ever used HomeAway before? Was it a good experience? 
 
looking to rent a house or apartment while traveling europe? here's the scoop on using HomeAway while traveling in Spain

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5 Comments

  1. I can't believe you came home! I would have never left the terrace 🙂

  2. truly beautiful view! we were in tenerife, another of the canary islands, about 5 years ago and we loved it. manorca and mallorca are on my list.
    b

  3. That looks incredible! I've never used Home Away, but we just used Airbnb throughout our most recent trip to Europe! We got home last weekend and I am so wanting to be back!

  4. so enjoyed your pics what a beautiful place and i love the idea of renting a home instead of a hotel!