Our First Airbnb Experience: Casa Rural La Hojalata

While traveling, we usually stay in hotels but when we visited El Hierro island, there weren’t almost any hotels there. The number of rural houses, on the other hand, was astonishing. So that’s why we rented a rural house and also had our first Airbnb experience.

El Hierro has a wide selection of rural properties for rent all over the island. We chose the La Hojalata house because of its great location. It’s really close to Villa Valverde, the capital of the island and also to the tunnel that grants an easy access to Frontera area.

The house itself is near the main road and really easily accessible. It’s decorated with volcanic stones and blends really well with nature. What caught our eye when choosing the accommodation was the huge terrace with a beautiful view of the hills and the ocean below.

While I was a little bit worried about noise because the house was next to the main road my husband assured me that we won’t hear any noise from the car. And he was right. There were not many cars passing by and the ones that passed did not make considerable noise.

The La Hojalata house had one bedroom, open plan kitchen with a living room, and a small bathroom. It also had a storage area we did not use and also a cute barbecue area that we did not use either as we ate out most of the time.

Living room + Kitchen

The living room and kitchen space were a good size and really well equipped. The living room part had a comfortable sofa that could have been used as a bed for kids or to accommodate more guests. I really liked the personal touches of the owners who added throw pillows and blankets for a comfortable down time. The evenings were quite cold, so we made a good use of those blankets.

There were different informative materials and books on the coffee table about the local flora, fauna and the activities the island offers. Another great decorative element I really loved were the candles. I lighted them every night and we enjoyed some great snuggling time in the candle light.

The living room area also had a TV but as the signal was not that good, we did not use it much and it was actually a great change from our usual routine. We did catch the news in our tablet thanks to the 4G router that gave us WiFi. It’s interesting that our phones did not have a good reception in the house but the router worked really well. It was a super great occasion to disconnect from all the social media and internet. As you might have seen on Instagram, I did not post many photos as I preferred to enjoy the views instead of connecting to the internet.

The kitchen was designed like a traditional El Hierro kitchen. The area was really well equipped with gas burners, microwave, and fridge. The hosts had left some milk, water, butter, and marmalade in the fridge and a bottle of local wine on the kitchen table. What a cute detail!

The “cupboards” had all the essentials you might need if you would like to cook your meal instead of eating out. Pots, pans, coffee maker, and some pantry essentials like pasta, rice, sugar, cocoa, etc.

Bedroom

A nice size with a huge built in closet and a double bed. There was also a TV in the bedroom but it worked only when the signal was good. The joys of a tiny remote island! The hosts knew that the nights get cold so the bedding was really warm and comfy. We would have liked firmer pillows, though. The closet had extra blankets, sheets and even beach towels for us to use. We forgot to bring our’s so we were really happy to see them!

Bathroom

The bathroom was small but really functional and well designed. There was a shower stall, the water pressure was not the strongest one but it’s totally understandable for a rural house. The under sink storage had all the products you might need during your stay. Starting with the usual hair dryer, and shampoo and ending with intimate care products.

Terrace

The house has a huge terrace that overlooks hills and the ocean below. There were a small table and chairs to enjoy the views or soak up the sun. My husband also used the terrace to do some yoga.

Things we liked about La Hojalata:

• really quiet
• well equipped kitchen and bathroom
• huge terrace
• little sweet details
• WiFi connection

Things that could have been better:

• no washing machine or place to try clothes (on the Airbnb site it says that they have a washing machine, though. Well, as we did not check out the storage area, these items might have been there actually)
• no oven

Overall we are really happy with our first Airbnb experience and with the house. We would stay there another time too when visiting El Hierro.