Retiree on the Road – Wintering in Spain – #5 (Accommodations-Part 3)

You’ve seen where we have stayed – now, let’s look at how we got there. In Part 3, I will be talking about what we look for in apartments when deciding what to book, and a few problems we encountered with various bookings. You get to learn from our experiences.

Looking at pictures of places we have stayed in the previous two Parts is all lovely, and they might inspire you to think that wintering in Spain is a good idea. But more likely what is most important is for me to provide some suggestions on what you might look for in an apartment to ensure a pleasant stay.

I mentioned a few previously, like sufficiently large comfortable beds, in Parts 1 and 2, but here are the most important ones we consider when deciding on a place to rent… In no particular order.

To see any of the photos in this series in a larger format simply click on the image.

What We Look for In an Apartment

1) First off, we want to be within walking distance of the beach. Although we have had one actual beachfront property, as you have seen, it is not absolutely necessary for us. A nice view of the water is just as good. Most important is being able to access the waterfront very quickly because that is where we do most of our walking and hanging out.

There are pros and cons to every type of location. One potential drawback to being right on the beach is that if it is windy and there is a bit of coolness in the air you will certainly feel it on your terrace. With a couple rows of buildings between you and the water, you may be protected from the wind and still be able to enjoy sitting out on your terrace in the sun without a hint of discomfort.

2) And speaking about terraces. Having one is an absolute must for us. If we are in a lovely, sunny, warm locale avoiding winter, we want to be out in it as much as we can be. Cheers everyone!

3) Heat! You would think this would be a given, but in rare situations it is not. Some properties are old enough that they do not have a heating unit. Always look to make sure there is a “heater” in any listing you are considering. This is the typical heating/air conditioning unit that you’ll find in apartments here.

4) This is the second bedroom in the apartment that we are renting this year. We always look for a two or three-bedroom apartment because we always have visitors. There is a reasonable chance that no one will come this year because of the pandemic, but we have had several visitors every other year that we have been here. It’s great for Friends and familyto have a place to get away to for a short winter break, and it is nice for us to have some occasional company. Twin beds in the second bedroom are very typical here.

5) Having a functional well-equipped kitchen is important to us. Because we are here for two months, we are doing most of our own cooking and only dining out occasionally. This is the kitchen that we had in the very first rental unit here in our Marbella. In my opinion, this would have been a much better way to show the kitchen than by that “artsy” picture I showed you in Part 2.

Unfortunately, you never know if the kitchen is going to be truly well-equipped until you get there. Initially we check the listing and photos for a good space to work in, a dishwasher, and stove top, oven, microwave, coffee machine, and other small appliances.

6) Another thing that we have learned to look for is ample comfortable seating for 4 to 6 adults. If you recall the picture of the seating arrangement in our first rental unit, we had only a small loveseat and a couple of small, generally uncomfortable chairs. It did not dawn on us that this would be insufficient until we had guests arrive, and we wanted to seat four people comfortably.

7) The other thing that we appreciate is lots of informative documentation. These tend to cover things like; what to do with the garbage, how to operate the various pieces of equipment, maps, suggestions for local places to eat, bus schedules, etc. Unfortunately, like this year, there are now many situations where it’s no longer done, and you are left to fend for yourselves.

8) It is always best to have laundry facilities in your rental unit. You do not want to be going to the laundromat once a week to wash your clothes. In most situations, you will simply have a washing machine, and you will do what you see in the picture to dry your clothes. Needless to say, they dry in a hurry in the bright sun of the Costa del Sol.

9) I am showing a photo here of a television but what we’re really looking for is Internet and television. Consistently, we have had good wireless Internet in all four of the apartments we have rented. So typically, internet is not an issue, but you must check to make sure it is available in the listing.

Television is very hit and miss. Sometimes owners will state that there are English channels available in the listing. More often than not, they just say there is a television. Again, if this is very important to you, get the owners to clarify exactly what channels are available.

10) Finally, having a grocery store within relatively easy walking distance is important for us. This year, there are five grocery stores within walking distance. One is at the outer limit of how far we like to carry groceries, but the closest one is within 100 meters of where we are staying. A grocery store within easy walking distance allows for frequent trips carrying less goods The alternative is to use taxis to do your grocery shopping.

When Things Go Wrong

When things go wrong… you need a supportive and helpful host. When you are staying in a place for a couple of months, it’s just like at home, things can happen. Something might break, a piece of equipment may stop working, or you may find the apartment is lacking something that you really need. Hopefully, you will have someone who will quickly help you solve your problem. I have found that this is usually the case.

Let’s examine some of the things that happened to us. First up, our stay in Fuengirola. A week before we arrived in Spain, the owner informed me that she had just had the apartment completely renovated, and that it was now a three-bedroom unit rather than the two-bedroom unit we thought we were booking! What????

When we arrived, we found the lovely apartment that you saw in Part 2. She had gotten rid of an enclosed galley kitchen… turning it into a small third bedroom. She restored the kitchen out into the living space where it sat when the unit was originally built. It all turned out very well. No problem there.

Shortly after our arrival the oven door came off in my hand as I pulled it open. Yikes! Kristina the owner came over, had a look and within 48 hours she had had a brand-new stove installed. She did not blame us and acted in exactly the way you would want an owner to do. Great stuff.

A couple of other issues came up over the first couple of weeks, all related to the construction that had taken place. The television and Internet stopped working… she immediately had people come in and they ran a new feed line to replace the old one, which had obviously been damaged in the wall during construction. Fabulous!

The shower stall in the second bathroom had a fiberglass base and we found that frequently while in use, the base would fill with water and overflow onto the floor. No problem. Kristina sent in a crew, and they cleaned out the drain. Apparently, it was clogged with construction detritus from workers cleaning out their tools in the shower stall. Once again, a great response to a problem.

So, keep in mind, that mini disasters like this might happen, but if you have a great host the problem will get addressed quickly and you will not be found to be at fault.

Now, let’s talk problems with electricity. As I have said previously, electricity here in Spain is very expensive. Typically, if the landlord doesn’t mention it in their listing it is included in the rental price. Just as frequently owners will say it is “X” dollars for the rental and “Y” dollars for electricity per month. Bottom line, make sure you know how much you are paying, or not paying, for electricity long before you get here.

Unfortunately, this year we ran into a very different situation. There was no mention of electricity charges in the Airbnb posting. When we got here, the realtor pointed out this little box in the picture below. The owner had installed a control mechanism over the heater/air conditioning units. To actually get heat you have to keep plunging one-euro coins into this control box.

The owners had left about 10 coins in a bowl for us to use. The apartment hadn’t been lived in for a couple weeks so it was quite cold and damp. We probably put in eight of those coins on the first night to get the place up to temperature. We envisioned hundreds of dollars in unexpected costs.

We decided immediately that there was no way we were paying any additional money for electricity because we had not been advised that we would have to do so, and that we would go elsewhere if need be. I immediately went online and found us another lovely apartment in the town of Nerja for February and March as a backup plan. I told the rental agent that we would not pay for electricity and would certainly consider moving elsewhere.

I assume she talked to the owner because the next day she announced that we would not have to provide the monies to operate the electricity. As it has turned out, we rarely need to plunk one of their coins into the box because the sun during the day pouring in the windows keeps the place nice and warm.

That all said, this was not the worst “electricity” problem we have experience in a rental unit in Spain. That’s up next.

WAIT! I’VE CHANGED MY MIND! I have just removed an epistle that I had written here about some very bad things that went wrong with our original rental in Marbella in 2017…. Including a very serious electrical one. One of the reasons for this decision is because it made this article far too long. 🙂

The other reason is that somewhere down the road I think it’s best to do a separate post about Airbnb/VRBO rentals and the importance of a good host, as I have highlighted here. I would like to draw more attention to the good hosts we have had over the years, rather than focus on just the worst one. Stay tuned! I may get to it before I go home at the end of March.

The benefit for me going through all these different scenarios and situations is that it made me think about what exactly is important to us when contemplating renting in Spain – what are my “guiding principles” if you will. So, I came up with the following list.

 

Guiding Principles for Renting

1) Identify Your Wants and Needs – It’s a good idea to do what I have just done… make a list of the things that you would like to have in or near any apartment you rent. Do not assume that your needs will be the same as ours. Someone else’s could just as easily be, “I want to be on a golf course out in the country with a distant view of the Mediterranean, and I must have a rental car, and I am happy to drive to perform all my errands.”

2) Best Time to Rent – I’m not sure this would be true for everyone, but here is what I think about the timing of our winter rentals. I normally do not start looking for an apartment for February and March until November. Why you ask? Very simple, the summer rentals are over, so the major influx of cash has ended for the owners, and they are probably beginning to contemplate whether they will be able to fill their units in the winter. I’m assuming a lot of these folks simply want to get their expenses covered during the off season.

You can probably even get away with renting within a month of when you plan to arrive, if you make the decision to go at a late date. Our first year here, I said to the Love-goddess, “I am pretty sure that we could’ve just flown here and then found a place to spend the next two months”. This proved to be true when I found a very acceptable apartment for us when I thought we might have to bail on the one we are currently in. Here is a link to it, SB Casa Mimmi, Burriana Nerja.

3) Be Flexible – Try to avoid being rigid as to exactly where in town you want to be, or even what town you want to stay in. It is very easy to travel up and down the coast to visit other towns that are of interest to you, and there are lots of great towns along the coast to stay in. We have already stayed in three different towns in four years.

4) Ask For a Price for the Length of Your Stay – Never book without contacting the owner. If you are looking to rent for a couple of months like we do, you will get a much better price. Here is an example. The unit that I was looking to book as a backup in Nerja was offered to me for $4678.04 for two months i.e. approximately $2340 per month. I recently checked how much it would cost for the month of April without contacting the renter, and according to the listing, It would have cost $3257.

5) Enquire About 2 or 3 Properties – Don’t get your heart set on one property. Find a couple others that are of interest as well. Contact the owners of all of them and see what comes up. You might find that what you thought were your plan B or C selections are half the price of your plan A choice, and all of a sudden B or C becomes much more appealing.

6) “Google Map” the Neighbourhood – Before you make your final decision, Google map the general neighbourhood to see if the amenities that you are going to need, like a grocery store, are close by. You will not know the exact location of the property you rent until you book it, but they will give you the general area, which usually is good enough to do some checking.

I can often find the exact building in Google Maps before they tell me the address by comparing the images in the listing to images I can find in Street View or in Satellite View.

6) Scrutinize the Listing Closely and Ask Questions – Look to see that all the things you need, laundry facilities, Internet, bathtub 🙂 are listed. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions before you book. Questions like: is there an elevator? do I have to pay additional money for electricity? are there instruction booklets? etc.

7) Don’t Get Fooled by Photos – Don’t learn after the fact, like I did, that there is the potential to be fooled by the photos in the listing. My first thought now always is “what aren’t they showing me?” Think about the photos and see if there are some obvious holes in what you need to see. If they are showing you more outside pictures than apartment pictures, that is probably not good. A really good listing tries to show you every room, and in some detail.

And there you have it. You are all ready to start looking for potential bookings in Spain for next winter. 🙂

Next Up: The logistical or operational things you need to know about as you begin your stay.