Your source for villas, apartments & holiday rentals in Spain and the Canary Islands
Noteworthy stories of the week
In the news
Iberia move into Heathrow T5 – welcome news for travellers as Iberia moves into Heathrow’s newest state-of-the-art facility in time for the summer flight schedules (via Travel Weekly)
New routes from London City to Menorca – British Airways has announced new flights to Mahon (MAH) from London City airport, beginning 25th May (via Travelmole)
Scots have the most ‘family friendly’ airports – a poll by Skyscanner in time for the half term break has named Edinburgh, closely followed by Glasgow, as the UK’s most family friendly airports. Heathrow got the wooden spoon, coming in last (via Skyscanner)
NIE madness just got madder – the Spanish government is now insisting everybody has to attend in person to get their NIE number which is required by law to buy Spanish property. Rich foreigners aren’t struck on the idea of queuing for hours at police stations, and property developers selling to them aren’t happy either. An argument is well under way (via The Olive Press)
Monarch chief makes sharp exit - after less than 18 months in the post, Conrad Clifford has stepped down from his role as Chief Executive of Monarch. The company insisted it’s not a problem (via Travel Weekly)
And a nice video of Spain…
The Spanish tourist board made a nice video about world heritage cities. Government austerity measures left them short of cash for the sound track but the rest is a nice montage of beautiful places in Spain. Enjoy!
Our top travel stories of the week
In the news
TripAdvisor rebuked over ‘trust’ claims – the Advertising Standards Authority has ordered travel review site TripAdvisor to rewrite some of its marketing claims, particularly those stating their reviews are ‘trusted and honest’ – on the basis some are probably faked. It was a bad week for the firm, who own HolidayLettings.co.uk, and for once they didn’t appreciate the national spotlight (via BBC)
Thousands stranded by Spanair failure – the Barcelona based operator left 20,000 passengers in the lurch after running out of financing options. Vueling, Easyjet and Ryanair are all on the prowl to pick up their routes (via TravelMole)
Only 1 in 10 Britons book with a travel agent – as many as that? We’re 100% web based so we rather liked this story. Apparently the 30 year decline for high street agents continues like a slow motion car crash. There is a nice mention for TripAdvisor in this piece; they are very popular with travellers – most of whom must have missed our first story (via Mail Online)
What guests really want on a self catering holiday – we came across a great blog this week with some excellent advice for owners. This piece discusses six interesting ideas for making guests happy. We also recommend following @LindsayInSpain on twitter. (via HolidayPropertyExpert)
Overseas holiday home owners warned to pay bills - Second home owners in Spain are being warned that they must remember to pay their bills and taxes in these financially challenging times or they risk losing their property. The Perez Legal Group said that some owners don’t realise that they own local rates and can find themselves facing a large bill if they haven’t paid, citing a recent example of a couple from England who own an apartment in Marbella and were shocked to discover that they owed the town hall €11,000 in unpaid municipal rates and taxes (via Property Wire)
Quote of the week
John Bishop goes horse riding in Spain – a refreshing change from worthy but dull travel blogs, this cheeky scouse comedian gives his take on a recent riding holiday: ”Rule number one. You are on a horse, not a Chopper, so do not lean back hoping for a wheelie. You will look stupid”. So good, we photoshopped a tribute. (via The Guardian)
