Travel Tip: Thoughts on Where to Stay
Travel Tip: Thoughts on Where to Stay
Why we are avoiding short-term rentals and AirBnB
I was inspired by Brenna’s post at Kiss Me on Tulips to think about the criteria we use when choosing a place to stay when we travel. Judging by the filter criteria listed on most booking sites, our priorities are somewhat unusual.
‘Accessible by transit?’ Yes, please; parking garage or airport shuttle? We couldn’t care less.
That got me thinking about how our travel priorities influence our choice of places to stay, and why that’s important to carefully consider.
We have also started to avoid Airbnbs in favor of boutique hotels, largely for two reasons.
First, the large number of full-time vacation apartments has decimated the local housing stock in popular tourist cities, reducing the housing that is available for the people who live there and driving up rents. The city centers of places like Venice and Prague have become virtual city museums devoid of the local life and culture that made them so attractive in the first place.
As Brenna mentions, when the AirBnB platform was new, it helped link up travelers with people renting our their own home or apartment—or a room or two in same. Sometimes people would rent out days in their vacation home to help defray the costs of having it.
Now, it’s more likely a company owns multiple apartments (sometimes whole apartment buildings) reserved exclusively as vacation rentals, outfitted with combination locks at the entrance and stocked with cheap IKEA furniture.
One city leader in Prague has likened this short-term rental business model to operating a “dispersed hotel.”
Second, is the safety factor. When I am staying in an unfamiliar place, I really prefer a hotel with at least one staff member on-site. I have read too many stories online from people who were defrauded or found themselves in an unsafe situation via an online ad.
Hotels are a better choice in most cases. They are usually in the center of commercial areas, not the middle of a residential neighborhood, and they are set up to accommodate the needs of tourists.
But until I read her article, I hadn’t thought much about how our values and priorities as travelers are reflected in our choice of accommodation. She writes:
I also like to align my accommodation with my personal values of adventure, connection, and richness. When I’m traveling, this means visiting a place with a connection with nature, connecting with locals, and experiencing a high-quality lifestyle.
Our family has similar, but slightly different, priorities. For example, a kettle or coffeemaker is a must for me—not a nuisance. And I think our personal priorities when we are traveling are walkability, history and character. And we look for accommodation (and restaurants and activities) with those things in mind.
It’s important to know this when getting (and giving) recommendations about certain destinations. What makes a great trip for us, might not work for you and vice versa.
No parking needed
We try to stay in a city’s historic center, which is almost always walkable and close to most of the sights we want to see. We don’t drive, so where we stay needs to be accessible by transit or on foot.
An added bonus: These are more likely to be small, independent hotels and hostels in beautiful older buildings.
A good example of a perfect type of hotel for us is the Globtroter Guest House (yes, it only has one ‘T’) in Krakow. Tucked into a back courtyard of a building facing the Plac Szczepański, many of the rooms have balconies overlooking a lush interior garden.
It’s then just a short stroll to see the city’s Market Square and St. Mary’s Basilica, and you can grab a meal at one of the many restaurants and cafes in the old town.
The rooms feature plenty of Old World charm—14-foot ceilings, oak floors, huge windows. And there were no key cards. We were presented with three keys when we checked in: one for the outer door, one for the hall door and then one that unlocked our individual room. A bit quirky, but right up our alley.
I felt that we could really get a feel for the culture and the history of the city.
Vibe check
The downside of smaller hotels is that they may not have more modern amenities like elevators or air conditioning. And the furnishings will tend to be more utilitarian rather than luxe. (Globtroter did have cable TV and good wifi, which is rare.) The upside is the view our your window will most likely be cobblestone streets and church spires instead of highways and parking lots.
Sometimes you’ll luck out with a ‘best of both worlds’ situation and find a hotel in a new building, but an old area. This was our experience with the Aparthotel Neptun in Gdańsk. With 39 ultramodern rooms and small apartments in new building, Apart Neptun is located down a quiet side alley in the Old Town just a couple of blocks from The Long Market, and a stone’s throw from both the shopping street Mariacka and the waterfront.
Our deluxe room had a small kitchenette that allowed us to make eat some of our meals in, as well as free high-speed internet while we enjoyed the view of the 13th century basilica outside our window.
We chose this location above the exquisite Hotel Central, despite it being immediately next door to the main train station and an having a very well-regarded on-site brewery. It’s housed in one of the 124-year-old Gothic brick buildings that make up the railway’s former administrative complex.
My husband is a craft beer aficionado and my son is a railfan, so, at first glance, it seemed like a stay there would be a no-brainer. But the frontage along a busy street (it is still the center of a city of half a million people) made us reluctant.
Staying in the heart of the Old Town was definitely worth the longer walk from the tram stop.
Note: This story is from our trip to Amsterdam. I didn’t take photos of where we stayed—The Eden Hotel in the canal district—but this breakfast spot, Blin Queen, was just two doors down. Great coffee, pancakes, and view of the Amstel.
Trip planning
We usually scout out our lodgings on Booking.com and then check the rates by calling the individual hotels directly. One, the hotels benefit by not having to share the booking fees with the website, and you can often get a better rate. Two, I have gotten spam phishing emails after booking through the platform, and the emails clearly had information related to our stay. It’s clear they don’t have the best security.
If you do book through the platform, just be sure to only conduct transactions through the app or in person - do not respond to emails.
I also search Instagram and other social media to see if I can find travel content about the location we are planning to visit. I’ve also found YouTube “walking tour” videos to be really helpful for checking out places in advance. (My faves are ProWalk Tours and Walking Eye because they include so much information in their maps and captions.)
You can get a feel for what the different parts of cities are like and even some ideas for what you want to see and do.
What do you think? Do you like old and historic or modern, all amenities when you choose a place to stay? Have a travel or hotel booking tips? Leave a comment and share below.
More to Love
Here’s what I was looking into online this week when I should have been watching the weather forecast.
Reading
In keeping with the travel advice theme, Brent, one half of the duo behind Brent and Michael are Going Places, shares his all-time favorite travel hacks. And writer Katja Hoyer gives us the culinary history of a Berlin classic dish—currywurst.
Watching
Andrew Bossom, a.k.a. Rewboss, explains the impact of the recent state elections in Thuringia and Saxony—and he does a much better job of explaining it than I did last week.
Listen
Local tour guides Jonny Whitlam and Pip Roper combine their encyclopedic knowledge of German history with acerbic wit and strong sense of irony to bring you an informative and entertaining look at Berlin.
It starts off with an episode on the revolution of 1918 that ended the German Empire and established the (short-lived) Weimar Republic.