1. It inspires us.
We love it when our accommodation inspires us and our family. The look and feel is definitely important... but also the use of space, details... and overall experiences. I am pretty sure the pictures explain a lot but every little corners at Dome in the Desert was truly magical. I loved all the eclectic details the host created with authentic artifacts. We are collectors and admirer of unique artifacts so we really appreciated it. During day time we used the sun room a lot to relax and hang out... and kids loved loft space (though it did make us feel nervous when Coco was going up and down the ladder). We enjoyed experiencing different light quality in the morning and late afternoon... and watched sunset outside on deck chairs.
2. Plenty of kid's friendly space
For everybody's sanity... we always look for an accommodation with plenty of space for kids to run around and explore. I am sure the girls will grow up and will be okay with space limitation in the future... but for now (2 & 5 years old)... I love it when they can be free to run around and explore without worrying about waking up next door neighbors at 6am! We also had a lot of downtime since we traveled with Coco's pace. So it was nice to be able to come back to the dome house at 3pm after exploring Joshua Tree National Park and enjoy the rest of afternoon at home away home without needing to go anywhere else. Girls drew with chalks (provided by the dome house) on a chalkboard, had a lot of fun "treasure hunting" in a property which was safely gated and fenced. Oh and they were totally fascinated by an indoor swing chair.
3. Cook our meals
To keep things simpler for everyone, we prefer cooking our own meals as much as we can while traveling. We can make sure to offer kids something healthy (and something we know that they would actually eat!). Our mornings started early (but slow...) in Joshua Tree. We ate our breakfast in pajamas and took our time getting ready. Girls played in other rooms while Frido and I finished our dinner conversations... all of that is so much less stressful when we rent a house with a kitchen instead of staying in a hotel room.
4. An oasis for grown-ups
A little lounge area for grown-up is always such a treat! Kids went to bed at 7pm and it was nice for grown-ups to be able to relax for the rest of evenings just like we would do at home. We turned on a fire place, had glass of wine and enjoyed reading through some books that were a part of Dome house library. I was especially intrigued by "modern bohemian" coffee table book and was throughly exhausted and headed to bed every night by 10pm!
I hope you have a moment to enjoy the pictures! We really can't wait to get back:)
Happy traveling!
xoxo
-w
