This year my Mom and I are starting, what I hope will become a longstanding tradition, of spending our birthdays together! I have also deemed this year, “The Year of Hard Things,” and for this trip I made her come along for the ride!
You may be thinking, what does this have to do with an Airbnb? Well, my mom hates the idea of Airbnb despite the fact that she has never stayed in one. She is a first class all the way type of traveler and has some pretty strong opinions about staying at someone else’s house while on vacation.
So in the spirit of hard things, I decided that we would take the plunge and book not one but two AirBNBs during our Puerto Rico trip. Our first experience was delightful, once we adjusted to a few things.
The hosts brought us fresh donuts for breakfast from the bakery she worked at and the accommodations were perfect for the first part of our trip, which was to visit Universidad Metropolitana (UMET)’s Nursing Program.
Once we had all of the official business out of the way we headed to our second Airbnb, which was in Condado, about 10 minutes Old San Juan.
We had quite the time finding the unit, arranging for parking, and then using the complicated system to open the door! Meaning it was such a ridiculous process with roadblock after roadblock that we considered getting a hotel instead. But, once we FINALLY got the door open I was happy that I forced us to step out of our comfort zones.
The Space:
The condo is a one-bedroom studio with a IKEA-style sleeper sofa. The listing said that the condo was oceanfront, but a better assessment would be that the ocean was off to the side, but only about 50 feet away from the condo.
The host, Michaelangelo, did an exquisite job of remodeling and decorating the condo! You can tell from other units around the condo, that the complex sells/rents each unit individually and not all of them are on the same level, so we felt mighty lucky to be staying at this unit.
Amenities:
Aside from being steps away from a beautiful private beach, the condo is also within walking distance to tasty restaurants, bars and casinos.
The facilities at the condo included a pool, tennis & basketball courts, BBQ areas by the beach, wi-fi, and cable TV.
Michaelangelo also provided contacts for local tours and points of interest, which turned out to be a valuable resource!
Verdict:
My mom raved about this Airbnb and although she is not coverting by any stretch of the imagination, I think I was successful in getting her to expand her horizons!
