Places to Stay

Where you stay is one of the defining features of how you travel. It is way more than where you lay your head it night. It is one of the “foundations” of how you choose to see the world. It is not just about budget, it’s about what you get from where you stay. On a long trip it is your temporary home. Where you stay makes all the difference to your travel mood! If the place is impossible to find, you turn up and it is way below expectations, staff are rude and the hot water and AC don’t work, it can REALLY make a bad impression. It is however, IMPOSSIBLE to guarantee you choose well every time. We find selecting a hotel follows the bell curve of life. 80% are exactly as we had hoped. 10% are better and 10% are worse. What you pay does however, not seem to be an indicator of what you get (it does help if you are paying top dollar) and trusting that a chain guarantees consistency is also false these days as so many are franchised and owned by individuals.

The most important factors for us are location, cleanliness, social space and price- you can rank these as suits you.

What sort of accommodation suits you?

Sometimes you have no choice. In some locations there are only Bedouni tents or rooms in family homes. But generally you have several options that include:

Hotels: Usually owned by a company, has 10 or more rooms, has a reception and is not in someone’s home. Hotels usually clean rooms daily, have private bathrooms and all linen and often toiletries, hair dryers, internet and TV’s. We tend to end up here as we location matters to us and hotels do have the prime locations. Flexible check in and ease of booking are also important to us and hotels tend to work better here. We do use chains when we find one that suits in that country e.g. Accor is great in Europe. The star allocation should be valid and there is a body to complain to if there is an issue.

Guest Houses/ Home stays/ Air BNB: This section of the market has been transformed with the internet. In some countries it is almost unregulated so whilst it provides so much more choice, there is also so much more variability in quality. Sometimes when you book thinking you have booked a small hotel and you end up in bedroom of a private home. The lines seem somewhat blurred. On the downside, this sort of accommodation can be hard to locate, may have limited check in times, may not actually be any cheaper and may just be someone’s flat when they are away for the night. On the upside you can meet amazing hosts and travellers and get great value amazing homes in unique places.

Hostels: Mostly dorm rooms but sometimes with doubles. Often shared bathrooms but are very social and you meets lots of people (we are however old enough to be their parents). Usually have great central, backpacker friendly locations near public transport. Can be party places and noisy. Often have communal kitchens and lounge areas.

Maybe Couch surfing: Mmmmmm……not sure about this. Looks risky but some swear by it. I guess you could say we couch surf as we often turn up at the house of travellers we’ve only met briefly. At least we have met them! Check out the web sites. It is big business.

Housesitting: I have a whole post on this as we do this all the time and have found it a great. Simply you look after someone’s house and usually animals or garden, in return for free accommodation. It doesn’t suit everyone as it is a REAL trust relationship on both parts. Our experience shows that like-minded people are attracted to this sort of accommodation and most of the sits we have done are for travellers who often sit for others when away. They love retired couples and Aussies seem to be a large number of the sitters. We have made friends with people we sit for. Yes, you can be unlucky and end up in a so-so house with a manic dog, but the web sites are so extensive that we have always had sits to match or exceed our expectations. But the travellers bell curve will apply (80% are exactly as we had hoped, 10% are better and 10% are worse).

House Swapping: Increasing in popularity .This means you actually swap homes and sometimes cars (not sure if they would take resident children as well, but there’s a thought!) If like us, you rely on your house being rented for an income, this isn’t an option. People with 2 homes use this really successfully as they move between the two. Some sites have a direct swap, same dates , whilst others allow a credit system or negotiated dates. There are some great web sites.

Tents/Cabins/Motor homes: This is an excellent option if you want to be in in nature and outside cities. You do however need to have your own vehicle (ideally 4x4) so you can get the best spots , away for others. Paid camp sites can be expensive (almost the same as a cheap hotel) but of course it is a totally different experience. There are amazing websites with free camps, free showers, free cooking facilities all around the world. You can “camp” in a $100,000 motor home with all comforts, or you can have a tent, 2 chairs and a few sleeping bags in the back of the car. The positives are that campsites are VERY social and attract like-minded outdoor type people (interestingly the motorhome crowds- often well stocked retired Germans- tend to hang together and the campers have their own space). We tend to only have short spells camping and look for a cabin- usually because we don’t have the gear. Cabins are great with a car as there is always parking and you can do day trips based from outside the towns. Remember, they are seasonal and close in winter in Europe.

Finding somewhere to stay

If you are in town: If we are coming back a second time we often drop into a place we’ve seen on the internet. You can’t always get an idea of what the “area” is like on line. They won’t tell you there is a mosque, brothel or train line next door. It is often worth asking for a little discount, especially for multiple nights. Look for the main accommodation area (we look at where they are clustered on Booking .com) and go back a few blocks. If you are hunting for a room, if you can leave someone with bags while someone else scopes the area.

On line: These days most of us book online. It sure beats “door knocking” at 11pm in the rain with 3 children, a battered Lonely Planet guide and a tight budget. We use Booking. Com as we have the App and it is easy if all hotels come through the one site. It has lots of additional features and we have found them helpful when we had problems. You could use Hostel world, Hostel Bookers, Hotels Combined, Agoda, Trivago etc to check out the range and cost of accommodation before you arrive. You will find one where the layout suits you. We like to use the same booker for the whole trip so we can remember and track our bookings.

Try to find hotels that offer free cancellation or at least a period of free cancellation while you are still making your plans. Some charge a lot more for this luxury so you’ll have to weight it up. Look at the way the room is paid for, sometimes your card is just to hold the room and you pay in local currency upon arrival (this often means they don’t have credit card facilities), sometimes the full amount is taken at the end of the free cancellation period and more often the card is charged on the day you arrive. Most hotels with credit card facilities charge you by swiping your card upon arrival.

Check for hidden extras or secret features in small print. Sometimes there is a local tax added after payment as this can be as much as $10 extra a night in local currency. Sometimes the small print (especially in BNB) adds extra for linen or cleaning! Sometimes check in time is very limited, or parking is exorbitant. One tip, if there is no photo of the front of the property there is probably a reason! They are meant to say if the room is “internal” (no windows) so look carefully. They’re also meant to list all the features (toiletries, TV, AC etc.0 so sometimes you have to read the list to see what the DIDN’T mention.

Do post your honest reviews, these are REALLY helpful. Read the comments of other travellers before you book- you can tell the difference between a real review and a fake on- though the booking sites claim all reviews come through them.

Check the map and make sure the room is in the location you want. We put the address into Maps.me to make sure we can find it. If it isn’t on Maps.me we rarely book as that is often a sign we will have trouble finding it on the day. Small hotels can often be down alleys and are badly (or even none at all ) signposted.

I also put the phone and email in as a contact in my phone. That makes it easy to locate and call (or ask someone else to call if you have no sim) if you can’t find the property. I always email small properties directly a few days ahead and advise them of my arrival time-and get a reply. This is a pain to have to give them a time range but preferable to knocking and no one is there. This should not happen if they are a good hotel (especially if you arrive in their listed check in times) but does sometimes.

Some General Accommodation Tips

Location matters: This is a big for us but it does depend on the sort of trip you are having. If you are city hopping and using public transport with a backpack or travelling alone, you will obviously be much better off near the transport you are using. If you are coming in by train- stay near the station- there are ALWAYS hotels there and ALWAYS food. If this is a driving holiday is great to be near a shopping centre and not far from the main road. We love old cities, but remember all old cities are not the same. Every old city has a local or a run-down part and it is possible to end up there without realising it. They often have alley ways that can be a maze and hotels may need coordinates to get there as they don’t show on a map. We still stay there, but have these things in mind when choosing. Don’t save a few dollars and end up way out of town. Be near the taxi, bus or MRT (whatever you are using most).

If you don’t like the room, don’t unpack, ask for another one: You can respectfully say- “I was hoping for a room with more light, or a bit quieter or with …..” We find we usually get something we are happier with. If it is really bad- especially if you don’t like the “feel”-don’t even try for an upgrade- just leave. Take photos of what the problem is. Ask for a refund, but if they become difficult, take it up with the booking website. The advantage of having a good record with one company (e.g. booking.com) is that when you complain they will usually help. We have only left twice in hundreds of rooms (once when the mattress and pillows were mouldy and once when the sheets were threadbare and stained), both times Booking.com has given us a refund.

Security: Many hotel rooms have safes. If there is no safe, sometimes the hotel will have a main safe, but generally we lock it in a suitcase. It is a bit obvious if a staff member walks out of a room with a suitcase. Remember, your passport, phone, credit cards should ALWAYS be with you anyway. Lock the door at night and if unsure put your bag in front of it.

Book ahead if you are arriving after dark. There is nothing worse than a 10pm flight and looking for a hotel late at night. Book ahead, near the bus or airport and get directions (some have courtesy shuttles or pick-ups)

At check in: Pick up  or photo a business card, confirm reception hours and check out time and collect internet password- We put the number and address in your phone, collect a business card or take a photo when you arrive (the card is usually in the local language). Many hotels today have What’s App.

Internet: Internet is tricky, there is no way, unless you are lucky enough to have someone in the reviews make a comment, that you can find out in advance if there is terrible internet. It is not unusual for it to be “patchy” or to find out “oh, we are sorry your room has a poor signal”. So, politely ask to move rooms if you can. We are set up as much as possible to live without it (downloaded music and movies), but as we often don’t have a sim and rely on internet for communication, REALLY hate it when we have to go to communal areas to use the internet.

Cheaper is Not Always Better. Many cheap hotels are unclean and the beds are uncomfortable. We use mid-range hotels (just above the 'budget' price range and sometimes aimed at domestic business travellers) and slightly smarter looking places (particularly in low seasons).

Breakfast is good as long as it does not jack up the price. Look for a place with a decent breakfast it’s also a great way to load up on snacks for the rest of the day, cutting down your food budget.

Watch for taxi scams: Occasionally when you ask a taxi to take you to a hotel, you’re dropped off at a different hotel, they may say that hotel is closed. Do not stay or pay the driver. Get out if you see people and other taxis around.

Watch for Noise: In main backpacking areas, try to avoid crowded hotels/hostels ,rooms that overlook a road or centre courtyard where people may be partying until the early hours. You unfortunately however, have no idea your room is next to a mosque, nightclub or  temple until it’s too late.

Leave the Key: Leave it at reception. If you want to take it have a hook inside you bag where it is safe

Shared bathrooms: Wear your thongs and don’t leave anything outside the shower when you are in there. Go in a sarong or minimum clothing. Take minimum toiletries- do what you can in your room. Take your own toilet paper and don’t sit on toilets.

Fire Exits: Check out where they are as you arrive- better safe than sorry