Our apartment wish list in Split presented some challenges: We needed parking, but we wanted to be near the pedestrian old town. As always, I wanted value for our money (plus wi-fi, a washing machine, charm, a quiet place to sleep, a good host…). We really lucked out on all fronts in Split and ended up with one of our favorite AirBnB apartments to date…with a tiny caveat I’ll get to below.
Our host Vlatko was very responsive from the moment we booked. As promised, he was waiting in the street for us with his little boy when we arrived from Dubrovnik to “hold a parking place for us.” This was the first inkling that the billed guaranteed parking might not be so guaranteed; that caveat I mentioned. The parking turns out to be sort of a first-come–first-served affair at the end of the dead-end street on which the apartment sits. David did his usual awesome job of maneuvering our bigger-than-expected rent car into the snug parking. Vlatko explained that there was “usually” parking and, if we happened to come back and there wasn’t any parking, we could just park in the paid lot next door and then look down from the apartment window until a free space opened up and move the car. Hmm. Not how I wanted to spend my time in Split. Despite this potential hitch, we actually didn’t have a problem getting free parking on our return from our one daytrip to Krka, Trogir and Solin.
The apartment itself is brand, spanking new and charmingly decorated. The building is old and has been in Vlatko’s family for generations, but it has been entirely remodeled with high-end appliances and fixtures in the kitchen and bathroom and good linens on the bed. A full-size washing machine was only a week old, still sported a sticker and required a quick turn of a spigot to get the water flowing for the first time. There’s a small restaurant across the street, but otherwise this is primarily a short, residential street and all was quiet at night save for one persistent bird.
A pretty little park lies across the street that intersects the opening to the apartment street. The walls of the old city abut the park. The walk into the old city is no more than a few minutes.
On the last day during breakfast, I looked out to see a vehicle wedging itself into the deadend parking area of our street. Two couples had been inside, but now one man drove and the other directed him into an ever-more-stuck position. Their wives circled the vehicle, the wife of the driver finally wrapping her scarf around a short pole so that her husband could literally bump it as he reversed then move an inch or so forward as he tried to maneuver his way out. From my vantage point, it was clear that the man giving directions was directing the exact opposite of what should be done. I called David over to the window to witness the show and after watching a few minutes, he couldn’t resist calling down. It turned out the people below were from Canada so “hooray!” English would work. David took over directions and soon got them out of their dilemma, being proclaimed a hero by the ladies below. I couldn’t resist snapping a photo, so here’s a clear shot of, not only their predicament, but also the free parking situation (ours is the black car to the far left) and the paid parking just up the steps:
At $86/night, all taxes and fees included, the apartment fit my definition of value, taking into account typical rates for Split.
You can check out this apartment at: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7261473?sug=50
If you’re new to AirBnB and want to give it a try on this or any other apartment, you can use my referral link which should get both of us $30 in AirBnB travel credit: http://www.airbnb.com/c/tcuthrell Let me know if you have any questions.