By the time I finally arrived in Spain from Lanai, Hawaii, I’d flown on five different planes, ridden in a taxi between La Guardia and JFK airports in New York City, and taken two trains. I’d been traveling for 41 hours straight and was dead tired, but the Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) Conference I was scheduled to attend in Girona was due to start in four hours. Thankfully, the folks at Wimdu had arranged for me to stay in a comfortable apartment in the city center with three fellow travel bloggers.
As Heather Cowper from Heather on her Travels, Isabel Romano from Diario de a bordo, and Laurel Robbins from Monkeys and Mountains scoped out the three bedrooms I plopped my luggage on the polished wooden floor and sank down on the sofa. Too tired to move, I let the other girls take the bedrooms and claimed the fold-out sofa. I rubbed my aching feet and checked out my home for the next few days. The rental agent who checked us in explained that the apartments had just been completely redone, right down to the furniture; we would be the first people to sleep in the new beds. Our check-in time had even been delayed because a crew was still moving in furniture.
Although the furnishing were fairly bare bones, the apartment did provide everything we needed, including a fairly well-stocked kitchen that allowed us to cook rather than eat out, one of the features I most appreciated. It was also perfectly located in Girona’s Old Town, surrounded by restaurants and just a ten-minute walk to the conference center. Best of all, the cost was much less that a hotel room would have been.
Wimdu offers more than 50,000 private accommodation all over the world, ranging from apartments in Rome to houseboats in China. Guests staying in a Wimdu property benefit from insider tips provided by the owner, allowing them to see a city the way the locals see it and even learning about off-the-beaten-track destinations that are rarely seen by tourists who stay in more traditional accommodations. The booking process is easy. Type in your preferred destination, choose your travel dates and use the filters to find places that match your preferences, then click on the individual properties for more detailed information about each.
In addition, travel with Wimdu is worry free, as they insure visitors against damages for up to €500,000, for free and if problems occur customer service representatives are available to sort them out. I loved experiencing Girona like local so much that I’m already thinking about my next stay in a vacation rental apartment.
Read what my friend, Heather Cowper, had to say about our stay in the Wimdu apartment.
Wimdu kindly hosted the author’s accommodations in Girona, Spain. However, the receipt and acceptance of complimentary items or services will never influence the content, topics, or posts in this blog. I write the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Do you have to share the apartment with strangers or can you rent solo, for ex. a one bedroom apartment?
Thanks
You can absolutely rent it solo Rose. We just shared because we knew one another.
You guys were just down from the hall from us – we ended up in the apartment with flaky wi-fi. Still.. the views were nice.. and it was my first apartment with a spiral staircase, so all good 😀 Vera’s written a post all about it, and the importance of having a kettle, which is coming soon 😀
Hi Laurence and Vera – never knew you were right around the corner! We had horrible wifi as well. We complained and were told that it was the “old city” in an “old building” and that they are sometimes hard to get proper Internet installed. Yet there was a router mounted on the wall in the hallway right outside our door, so that excuse was obviously bogus; I think the GiroRooms (the owners of the apartments) just didn’t want to be bothered. Wimdu was great to work wit, but they have limited control of these types of problems in the rental units, all of which are privately owned.
We’ve booked to Wimdu Apartment for out trip there in November! I am so excited to explore Girona Spain. I know this apartment esp. the bedroom will really sooth our tired body after a long day of Girona exploration.
Fantastic, Sam and Nic. I’m sure you’ll love it!
Based on your review, it seems like Wimdu apartment is very comfortable and nice to check-in. I’ll be in Girona Spain next year. I’ll consider this as an option for my three-week stay.
Hi Steve: It is a really good option – more economical than any of the hotels I found and so convenient.
Thank you for the tip about Wimdu. I did a test run on the website and found some really beautiful places in Sydney right near the beaches for something like a normal hotel rate.
I’m curious to know how you managed to share with a few other people. I’m used to living on my own and so if I was thrust into a property with a few people I didn’t know or did know, I think I would feel a bit crowded and unsafe. But maybe that’s just me. Being on my own for 18 years since the age of 17 has to have an effect on you.
Hi Matthew: I usually prefer to travel solo, however in this case I was sharing with other travel bloggers, so we had a lot in common and it was great to be able to share information and tips for a few days. And, we all knew one another from previous conferences and online relationships, so that was much different than being with strangers. I really think it’s totally dependent upon WHO you are sharing with.
I really enjoyed staying with you, Heather and Isabel. For me that’s the other benefit to staying in an apartment, you can have more people than would be possible in a hotel room and everyone has their own space.
I had a great time, too, Laurel. It was wonderful to finally meet you in person.