As a jet-setter, my closest travel companion has become the accommodation website Booking.com and its app.
1. Flexibility
Most people get more warning about their overseas trips, but for me, it’s a matter of grabbing time when I’m not too busy and the Ginger is between jobs. For a recent trip to the south of Spain, I had about four seconds to organise an itinerary and 14 days of accommodation, so I went straight to Booking.com and started work.
The trick is to initially book rooms that have free cancellation so if your plans change, you can pull out at the click of the button. This is the beauty of not having to pay until you stay.
A leafy courtyard at Hotel Las Casas de la Juderia provides a quiet oasis.
2. Reality
Once we landed in Spain and I realised the distances between the places I had booked were quite short, I re-arranged the whole thing, sneaking in an overnight trip to Tangier in Morocco. Guest-house Dar Souran was smack in the middle of the medina (the old town) and our host Hanan organised a tour guide to show us around.
The hotel was very good value with a lovely breakfast. An unexpected taste of a different culture organised at the last minute.
I was overcome with a pious moment at Hotel Convento in Cadiz – thankfully, it passed!
3. Genius
Only in the Booking.com world am I a genius, but use the website enough and anyone can be one. Genius status gives you a 10% discount on many hotels, can also qualify you for early check-in and late check- out, and in some cases, an airport shuttle is thrown in.
The website also lists all your upcoming hotels in an at-a-glance way so you can keep on top of it. When it comes to how I book, I choose my destination, look at anything that rates 8.5 or over, then go to the map to see where it is because location is key, especially on flying visits. After that, it’s a matter of fitting the budget.
4. Variety
More than 70% of Booking.com properties don’t fit the traditional hotel category, which is a huge part of its attraction. Hotel Convento in Cadiz was a big hit, with all the beauty of a converted convent but no scary nuns, plus the room was huge and had a coffee machine, and the location right at the edge of the old town was sensational.
In Seville, we stayed in Hotel Las Casas de la Juderia, a remarkable rabbit warren of 27 interconnected houses with more than 40 patios, fountains, winding alleys and a tunnel! Oh, and did I mention the pool? At temperatures of around 40 degrees, one of those was essential and I was glad I’d selected pool-only properties when I was booking in the Andalusian capital.
5. Self-catering
We loved Cadiz so much, we snuck back there, to Little Sopranis, a tiny apartment just down from Hotel Convento. There are times in a two-week trip when a girl just really needs a laundry. And while it blew the budget slightly, our favourite was a one-bedroom apartment at Halcyon Days in the port city of Malaga. With a full kitchen, a divine bed, a view of the one-armed cathedral – plus the perfect location – this ticked all the boxes.
In fact, we extended our stay by one night, and had total freedom with check-in and check-out. All that and more tapas than you can poke a fork at right on your doorstep? Si, por favor.
