When we booked flights to Gibraltar we quickly searched for some accommodation. As we only had a few days there, we ideally wanted to be centrally located so that we could walk everywhere. Using hotel comparison websites the only options were hotels within Gibraltar (well outside our budget), or across the border in Spain in family chain hotels. Before booking one in Spain, we checked Airbnb and came across the gem that we immediately booked. Better value than any hotel, this traditional duplex apartment was located in the Mid Town area of Gibraltar. This equates to a 3-5 minute walk to the main shopping street.
We booked the whole apartment for our 3 night stay. The owner, Penny, was incredibly helpful both before and during our visit. Due to no bookings either side of our one, she allowed us flexible check in and check out. This was perfect for us as we arrived early in the day and left late in the evening.
Arriving in Gibraltar we took a bus to Casemates Square and walked from there to the accommodation in Prince Edward’s Road. The walk took 5-7 minutes maximum.
The Mid Town area is built on the slopes of the Rock of Gibraltar. The roads are narrow and steep, so be aware of this. If you are not used to hill walking, getting to and from the accommodation is a good leg work out! Buildings in this area are all traditional Spanish-type apartments that open directly onto the street. Beware the speeding mopeds!
The accommodation itself has the most amazing entrance hall. You step off the street into a shared hall decorated in beautiful blue tiles and terracotta floor. Upon entering the apartment you immediately see the spiral staircase that leads up to the bedroom and bathroom. On the ground floor you have a kitchen equipped with fridge/freezer, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, and oven. There’s a lovely large table for the family to sit around.
Opposite a comfortable two-seater sofa, there is a large flat screen TV with digital box. This allowed us to watch all our usual UK channels. A ground floor double bedroom has a shuttered window, lots of wardrobe space and a ceiling fan.
The spiral staircase took some getting used to as it is quite steep! Once at the top you find the bathroom (bath with shower over, toilet and sink) and a further bedroom. This bedroom has full height glass windows that overlook a lovely Spanish courtyard garden with beautiful flowers and trees in fruit.
There are over-rooftop views towards the sea too.
Our children, who climbed the staircase swiftly with ease, took the upper bedroom. Us ageing parents took the downstairs one (meaning we could watch TV late into the night!)
About 100m up the hill from the apartment is a small shop where the lady makes bread rolls fresh every day. We wholeheartedly recommend them! They are lovely. You can buy many basic food ingredients there too.
From the apartment you can walk everywhere in Gibraltar. You can walk down into the town (M&S Foodhall, Next etc.) in 3-5 minutes; the marina area within 10 minutes; the cable car base (that goes to the Upper Rock Nature Reserve) in 10-15 mins; and it is a 5-7 minute walk to Casemates Square and the bus station, where you can take inexpensive buses anywhere within Gibraltar.
Overall the location was perfect for us. The whole apartment was plenty big enough for the four of us. It was fully functioning and provided most of the home comforts we wouldn’t have had if we’d booked a chain hotel room.
For more information on this specific accommodation, please visit the Airbnb profile here.
oh wow! that entrance! We’ve recently spoken about going to Gibraltar so nice to read this, and will now take a look at Air BnB as I always seem to forget about using them! Hope you had a lovely time.
Love the tiles on those entrance steps! I liked the old part of Gibraltar, so strange that everyone is English there though, it freaked me out going there after being in Southern Spain!