Sometimes it’s ‘good’, sometimes it’s great with Roomorama

I’d heard of Roomorama through the grapevine. Their name had begun popping up frequently in conversation with travelling friends and the reviews so far had been pretty good.

Having had experiences with another rental company earlier this year when visiting Paris so I knew the benefits of using a service such as Roomorama over staying in any hotel. So I was delighted to hear that Roomorama were coming onboard as our main accommodation provider when in Pamplona for Girls Running with Bulls.

Pamplona Experience

When it came to Pamplona we weren’t fussy where we laid our heads and thank goodness we weren’t because many properties get snapped up almost a full year in advance!
One condition we did have was to be within the town walls to ensure that we were in the heart of the actions and that we were as we could hear the gun signalling the start of the race from our apartment.

Our apartment in Pamplona was ‘nice’. It had its problems like any house, smelly fridge and an annoying shower that liked to clog up, but it fulfilled its brief for the four-days that we were living there. Being on Descalzos, the apartment was right in the center of the action and we had peña bands playing outside every night, could see the carnival and bull pens from our window and it managed to sleep all four of us – a miracle in it’s own right as properties are quite small in the city center.

With only one bedroom Nicole and I both slept on the roll out mattress in the lounge but we did wish that the host left us with two blankets instead of one. Thankfully the weather was hot and I managed to sleep comfortably without a blanket.

The kitchen was the one redeeming factor in the property. Though small and the fact we only cooked one meal in it (thanks Jeannie!) it was… well, a kitchen!

Would the property have been my first choice? No, but it was the experience. We may have complained a little bit at the time longing for our own clean houses but we weren’t there to judge the accommodation (much…) but soak up the experience much like what one does when camping at a music festival for three-days in the pouring rain.

Second Chances

The Pamplona property was good but I was sure there was a better way to see them. I’d decided to head to Barcelona next and instead of spending time in a hotel I decided to take the challenge to find a great Roomorama property. Amazingly, I found it!

Barcelona Experience

Arranging accommodation in Barcelona was a last-minute ordeal and I spent quite a number of hours researching and trying to find the best apartment to stay in.
In my hunt for the perfect property I had a few considerations – I wanted to find a property with good recommendations from past visitors, something fairly central to the city, and something near the train stations. I also wanted to have my own room and Internet.

Thankfully someone was able to meet my fussy recommendations at such a short notice and I was rolling up to a beautiful property on Gran Via in Barcelona – and it had super fast Internet.

The owner was amazing.

He was leaving for a trip the following day but gave me detailed instructions on how to get around Barcelona, how the transport system worked, where I should eat, and some suggestions for what I should see.

The place was stunning.

The apartment was decorated in a modern-yet-hip style which offered an insight into the personality of those who lived there as well and offering a sense of class. Working from the living room/kitchen table in midafternoon with the sun streaming through the wooden bi-fold doors left me feeling like I was living a story straight out of a Spanish novel.

As for the rest of the flat the kitchen was small and easy to get around. The bathroom was shared and nothing impressive but it was clean and the guys I were staying with provided me a shelf to leave my shower products. But it was the bedroom that won me over.

I was thankful to have a private room to myself. Though simple it housed a comfortable bed, desk and chair, closet, and ample lighting for any point of the day. With no air-conditioning unit I was also thankful to be given a fan and a window opening inwards into the building to let the cool air from the foyer in.

It wasn’t a lavish hotel suite but it was comfortable and offered me a real insight into what another Spanish home looked like.

And there was even a French bulldog called Pepe who seemed to take a real shining towards me.

Would I recommend Roomorama?

Roomorama have been nothing but helpful and I would definitely use them again. The website is very streamline and easy to use and the site offers plenty of options to find the perfect home for your next holiday.

My advice would be to research a number of properties in areas you’d like to stay before contacting one or two people. Though it took extra time, I am so glad I was patient enough to research the Barcelona property to find something that suited all my needs

 Have you used Roomorama? What did you think?

Big thank you to Roomorama for providing us with accommodation
in Pamplona as part of Girls Running with Bulls
I paid for the Barcelona property 100% out of my own pocket.
As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.