An ancient 4-floor stone house, tastefully renovated, in too-die-for cute Mala Rudina, a tiny village at the end of the track by Stari Grad. It's a 15' walk on a trail bounded by ancient walls to a charming cove for repose and recreation. The house is ideal for families and groups of friends, and is equipped with everything you'll need inside and out: toys, bikes, kayaks, paddleboards, snorkeling gear, etc. *If you are a smaller group, let us know: We have a house for 8 and a house for 4 too.*
The space
For a start, our photos on AirBnB are old, not professionally done, and badly in need of an update. We'll get around to it soon! (Mostly: The courtyard has been completely redone with new walls, plantings, benches, mood lighting and a professional grill.) But one thing hasn't changed: The house is for those who enjoy simple, informal, communal country living, and who enjoy spending time outdoors in the courtyard, in our cove and further afield. It’s not posh, and you won’t find chrome, glass or any luxurious touches -- though we do have high-quality linens, stone countertops, custom-fitted solid wood furniture, Artemide lamps, etc, etc.
The large open-plan bedrooms and the wooden floors don’t offer a lot of privacy (sub-optimal acoustics) ... but they do offer a lot of fun and togetherness. The house works well for three families, but we like it best for two, with kids and perhaps a set of grandparents in tow. Or perhaps for four couples or a group of friends. Ideally you're 8 to 10 guests. 12 works but is tight, and any more than that is downright crowded: Please check the floor-plans at the end of the photo gallery to understand how the bedrooms are set up. (If you're an extra big or extra small group, or coming in the off season, please let us know, and we may be able to negotiate a different price.) Ats far as fit out, here’s the aforementioned new Dalmatian stone grill in the courtyard, and a full kitchen on the ground floor with everything you'll need (ice-maker, blender, immersion blender, pasta maker, ice cream maker, etc.) and a washer and dryer. There's also a second smaller kitchen in the attic flat with a second washing machine. The house has three full bathrooms, and there are ceiling fans and air-conditioning in every room. There are also lots of bicycles, paddleboards, kayaks and windsurfers that are yours to use gratis. Oh, and we have more snorkeling equipment than you'll need and more Legos than your kids will :-)
The house has been built and rebuilt over hundreds of years, with meter-thick stone walls that keep it cool even in the hottest days of August. If you look closely at the façade, you can see where it’s been added to and modified over the centuries. As we are newly renting it out after our rebuild, there may be a hiccup or two, but a) we promise it won't be anything more serious than the birthing pains of an old house reborn, and b) Tereza (my friend and trouble-shooter in Vela Rudina) will be able to sort whatever it is ASAP. On the other hand, most things in the house are new, so please do take good care of them. We hope you’ll come back to see the changes and improvements that we continue to make, and this autumn we'll start renovations on two more houses in the village, so you can bring your cousins and uncles and aunts next time ;-)
All of the windows look out across the story-book gorgeous Hvar island landscape and the idyllic village of Mala Rudina. The higher floors have sea views to Rudina’s Duboka bay, over the Kabal peninsula and to the north across to the island of Brac. The best views are those to the west, from the French windows in the attic. We are the tallest house in the village, and the only place in Mala (Little) Rudina where you can drink your sundowners while watching the sun set into the pristine Adriatic waters beyond Stari Grad bay. The windows themselves are clad in supremely unattractive white PVC, but happily you’ll be spending your time looking out of them rather than at them. Equally happily, they all have mosquito screens ... which are not very frequent in European houses.
Guest access
The whole house and all the sports equipment within it (bicycles, paddleboards, sailboards, kayaks, snorkeling gear, beach toys, etc ...) is yours to use. We have two small sailboats at the sailing club in Stari Grad as well. You can unload your car in the square in front of the house from where you'll walk about twenty meters to our front door, but you will need to park about hundred meters away, as cars aren't allowed in the village square overnight.
Other things to note
We prefer weekend to weekend, as it makes it easier to plan for others and saves us from too much booking Tetris. But we're flexible, so let us know if you need a mid-week arrival or departure ... especially as Saturday (traditionally 'change-over' day for most houses on the island) is hectic for ferries and border crossings. Off-season, we can do shorter rentals, and if you ask for it (meaning if you've read this far and if you remind me :-)) ... you get a free night's lodging bonus for a two week booking. Pls keep in mind that there is no parking in the square in front of the house. You can unlock the barrier and unload there for arrival and departure, but you cannot park there. Pls park only alongside my ramshackle blue jeep or elsewhere where you see cars parked on the edge of the village. Finally, the last section of the walk down to our beach may be tricky for the very young or very old -- part of the walk is along a new loose gravel road, and the sun can be fierce -- and there are lots of stairs in the house too. Please keep that in mind before booking.
