Winter Plans

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Now that summer is finally here bringing with it beautiful warm weather, I'm thinking ahead to winter. Always 1 or 2 steps to the future I think I'd like to go back to Nice for about 4 weeks. I'm also thinking of Lisbon for 2-4 days. Mid Feb to mid March. We spent 5 weeks in Nice a couple of years ago and loved it.
I think I'd like to try an Airbnb this time but I'm wondering about negotiating for a discount. I think it's harder to do that when booking on their site as the rates seems set.
Pauline are you still thinking of going in November?
Are others thinking ahead as well?

 

[Pauline]

Keep me posted on your plans. I could see us going to Nice in November!

You should be able to ask for a discount for a longer, off-season, stay on Airbnb, just like you can on HomeAway. Prices are set for shorter rentals.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Keep me posted on your plans. I could see us going to Nice in November!

You should be able to ask for a discount for a longer, off-season, stay on Airbnb, just like you can on HomeAway. Prices are set for shorter rentals.

I'm looking at Feb/ March. Trolling through Airbnb my head is spinning. So many places even applying filters. One of the things I don't like about their sit is they don't have a neighborhood filter. Anyway, when I finally find a place that looks reasonable, I find they are all booked for my dates. I think b/c they are people's homes and they rent them out during summer months. I've had good experiences with Airbnb but am getting tired of their site, hidden costs and just the amt of inventory.
Went to Homeaway and many of them advertise on airbnb but easier to use and you can search by neighborhood. But many of their reviews are dated but not as dated as VRBO. I'm not looking at a pace when the last review was 2009!
Another challenge is that for that length of time, Ron needs space to work and quick internet connection. Often holid\y rentals are not srt up for this especially low and mid range.
Still lots to choose from. I've book marked many.

 

[Chris]

Have you looked at the Nice Pebbles site? I rented from them in March and would definitely do so again. Some of their apartments are a little pricey in high season, but others are very reasonable, especially off season. (We had a very nice 3 bedroom - 2 bath apartment for under 1500 euro a week.) I also found them very professional and efficient to deal with.

 

[Pauline]

I second the recommendation of Nice Pebbles. We rented from them a few years ago and had a nice apartment in the Carré d'Or neighborhood, six blocks from the sea. We have a profile of the British couple that run the agency. I will use them again for our next trip.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

I second the recommendation of Nice Pebbles. We rented from them a few years ago and had a nice apartment in the Carré d'Or neighborhood, six blocks from the sea. We have a profile of the British couple that run the agency. I will use them again for our next trip.

Yes, I've rented from nice Pebbles 2x. Once for 5 weeks. Wrote all about it on ST. Yes, they're good but pricey and geared to the short term UK market as their prices are in British pounds. I just thought that I'd like to cut out the middle person this time if possible. Nice Pebbles is quite a large operation and requires a fair bit of infrastructure. At the same time, if something goes wrong with an apartment, you know there are alternatives as they have many on their roster.
I am keeping them in mind for sure.

 

[jonathan]

Although Airbnb doesn't have a search by neighbourhood setting, it does have a zoomable map, so you can set that to cover your preferred area, and then click on the markers.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Now I'm thinking of splitting time between Nice, Lisbon and Madeira. I think something like 2 weeks Nice, 3 days Lisbon and 1 week Madeira. Madeira looks like it has some lovely walks and if I go towards end of March I may catch spring blooms. I've scoured Airbnb for Nice and Madeira. My idea of travel porn is surfing apartments. Nice Pebbles has quite a variety. There are so many for Nice on Airbnb and quite a few have most of the year blocked. I think these are owner's apartments and they rent them when they feel like it. In the end will probably go with Nice Pebbles.

These are my rough ideas and they can change at any time, of course.

Pauline, if you go to Madeira in November I will look forward to hearing about your experience.

 

[Pauline]

This Madeira hiking guide was recommended to me by someone who has been there a few times:

Madeira: The Finest Valley and Mountain Walks by Rolf Goetz (I bought it)

I still have not figured out where we will go this winter.