Location. Location. Location. This property had a great location. My family (with 2 teenage children) have stayed in many vacation rentals, almost always waterfront. This one is located right on the nicest beach in Costa Brava.
The apartment is large and well designed, in good condition, but don't expect brand-new. We stayed during one of the hottest heat waves in Spanish history and the unit is not air conditioned, but the owner provided fans and there is good ventilation and a sea breeze.
It was hard to tell from the listing and reviews exactly where the property is (we had trouble finding it) so let me help you. It is in a large gated community between Tossa de Mar (a smaller, up-scale, but touristy beachfront city with a beautiful castle and old city walls) and Lloret de Mar (which is much larger, more middle class, with casinos, and crowds). Both of these nearby towns were VERY crowded during our time there (their busiest time of the year), especially on the weekend when Barcelonans came to the area. The best part of this property is that the beach is private.
The gated community is at Santa Maria de Llorell. Roads run down a hill from the gatehouse for about a mile to the Mediterranean. It is a beautiful development, with many homes worth millions of dollars. But none of them are on the beach, except two small buildings with six total units, and Paolo's is one of them! Walk down a few steps and you are on a beautiful beach with beautiful clear water.
Because the community is private, the beach doesn't get crowded (and European beaches really can be crowded!). At 11am I counted 10 people on the entire beach. By 3pm there may have been 300, but the area is very large.
The sand is not fine, but it is not pebbles either. The beach has a snack bar and a place for water sports (kayaks, Hobies, water skiing, diving, etc.). Take a kayak a few hundred yards north and you'll find beautiful cliffs, inlets, and rock formations.
We took an evening drive to Girona (beautiful old city) about an hour away and strolled the streets in Tossa de Mar every other evening. We had planned on other local day trips, but the beach and water was so beautiful that we decided not to leave the property.
Finally, there is a supermarket next to the gatehouse and the unit has a dedicated parking space. Very convenient!