Lodging

We dedicate a lot of time and effort to accommodation as if there are to be wobbles, this is where it will be. For many children this is the first time away from home and we are alive to the challenges of this. Happily, pupils adapt very well and come to lessons on their first day with chirpy stories about their lady and new Salamancan home.

Homestays come in all shapes and sizes: they might have young children or they might be more the age of students´ grandparents. Older hosts work well as they often have more time to look after their charges. Nice as the idea of having kids of the same age at home is, Spanish teenagers tire of sharing their family with foreign visitors who change weekly and whose homes they won’t visit.

Homestays are selected on criteria including friendliness of host, suitability of bedroom, amount of other guests and proximity to LOLA. All homestays are within 20 minutes walk. Typically students stay in groups of 2, 3 and sometimes 4 classmates.

What happens if it is necessary to make a family change?
Happily this is rare but if you or we think it’s necessary, we get on with it so hopefully students will depart with a happy homestay impression.

This said, we encourage you to control expectations and fostering of stoicism. So, students should expect simple, spotless homes, basic local food and kindly hosts who only speak Spanish. As with life, some students may feel they’ve been especially fortunate with their accommodation because their family have a doggie, or a sweet baby, or a lady that cooks especially well. Growing up is seeking the positive in any scenario and getting on with it, which in our experience most teenagers are pretty sporting about.

Homestays and safety.
All members of the family over the age of 18 have police/CRWB checks. As we can’t do checks on other guests at the homestay, you may prefer to request families where there are no other guests, or that these other guests are under the age of 18, or of the same gender and so on. We are quite used to entertaining this sort of request. As most homestays have two double rooms for guests, if you prefer there not to be other guests you should count on having a few fours.

Allergies, dietary requirements and medicine.
Families can cater for vegetarians and vegans. Those needing special foods or medicine will need to bring these from home. Families cannot administer any kind of medication.

Bedrooms and gender.
As far as LOLA is concerned, students can room with each other regardless of their birth gender, as long as they are not couples. While we can rarely accommodate individual rooms, we aim to be as helpful and understanding as possible if you feel this is essential.

We are rigorous about feedback and optimum preparation of new families who receive an instruction manual including recommended menus, advice on student care and privacy, and what to do in an emergency.

Can you arrange stays at student residences or hotels?
Yes, but we don’t love this option.
First, we think homestays are the safer accommodation option as the adult – student ratio is lower. Family parents are in charge of 2 or 4 students as opposed to teacher chaperone’s 10 students.

A homestay flat is a compact space but at a residence students and teacher chaperones might be at opposite ends of a long corridor, or even on a different floor.

Second, students get more exposure to the Spanish language with a family… and more exposure to Spanish people and their ways. Staying at a family’s home and interacting with them is a font of funny micro memories. A residence or cheap hotel offers none such charms and are often compared unfavourably with grander establishments they might have stayed at on family holidays.
Third, we love that at a certain time in the evening, teachers can say “good night” and off the students go back to their homes. Teachers need a break. Digging students out of each others’ rooms at 1 am where they are playing games is not restful.
And lastly, homestays offer unbeatable value.

Teacher Chaperones’Accommodation

Teacher chaperones stay at nice, central hotels on a B&B basis. We can also arrange additional meal allowances. In the summer we have access to rather basic student residences which can offer some discount on the hotel option but try our best to do our cost-cutting elsewhere.

Before you arrive you will receive a list of participants and family addresses, personalised welcome letters with family information for each student and a plan showing where each student is staying which looks like this (click to expand):

Family Vetting

DOWNLOAD our Vetting procedures here.