Hotel, hostel or apartment?

Let's discuss something that can make anyone goes wild. Every time you are going on a trip to another city, you are facing serious housing issues. What you should choose: hotel, hostel or you have to rent an apartment? We tried to take this dilemma as seriously as possible, and now we understand the advantages and disadvantages of each of the options.

How to understand what the soul wants?

So, you have your train/bus/airplane tickets in your pocket. The dates are determined, the travel plan is somehow drawn up. But the most important thing is still not clear: where to sleep and how much it will cost. Of course, it all depends on the length of stay in a particular city and budget possibilities. Yes, and personal preferences play an important role. As for us, we'd prefer our own mansion for several nights somewhere in Normandy. But what’s the point?

It can be a hotel room or private villa, but still it is just a place to sleep at night. This does not mean that you definitely need to save on comfort. We advise you to choose an option to your liking and your possibilities. But, again, everyone has different desires and opportunities.

Well, something is clear now. Let’s go on.

Where to look for an accommodation?

There are 1000 and 1 resources to help, from everyone's favorite booking to budget couchsurfing. Any type you like. Just follow your heart, strike a balance and make your choice.

Booking.com is the base of all hotels, hostels, apartments, villas and even sanatoriums which are existing in the world. Each one is provided with images of interiors, a list of available services, price spread in a certain period (high or low season, for example), reviews from guests and their photos. By the way, there are also recommendations on excursions. Just write down your destination, dates of stay, number of people and that's all, you have a list of places with the exact cost per night. If there are no more places on the selected dates, this will also be shown.

Airbnb is good for those who already know if they prefer an apartment or, to say, a house. On the main page just enter the desired city, and the full list of possible options will fall out on you with a demonstration on the map. This will help you to understand how far from the airport the apartments are. There is a rating from guests, good photos and the average price for a daily stay in selected apartment.

How about living for free? Couchsurfing will provide you with such opportunity: even in July you will be able to live in Odessa for free, and not on a bench, but in an apartment! This is a conditional social network aimed to unite people from all over the world. People register there to provide their home for travelers and maybe to try to make friends. The scheme is simple: registrate, choose of city and dates, send a message to the owner and agree on the conditions. There is no guarantee that you will find a free night’s lodging, because there is a lot of people who want to spend the night for free, but there is not enough owners. The big disadvantage: most likely you will be very dependent on the schedule of the owner of the apartment.

And what to choose?

Now we know where to get acquainted with the detailed list. Now we have to understand what to look for. There are several options familiar to each traveler: a hotel, a hostel, and an apartment.

Hostel is one of the cheapest options. Sometimes the cost of the night varies from 10 to 30 dollars. It all depends on the conditions and the city: if the bed in the common room (this means that besides you, other people will spend the night there) is enough for you, it will be budget. Or maybe you want your own room than be prepared to spend more. Anyway, the hostel has several options for any budget. A good example of such places is the Friday Hostel. Among the disadvantages of hostels is a shared bathroom, kitchen and an area with games and movies. But, as for us, even this is an advantage: in common areas there are more chances to make friends with tourists from other countries.

Hotel is for those who want to relax in silence. Snow-white sheets and breakfast, private bathroom and safe. Like at home, but a little better :) The cost of one night in a hotel costs $ 50 or more, it all depends on the number of guests, the star rating and the list of services. The biggest disadvantage is settling and eviction strictly by the hour or for an additional fee. You'll be thinking about where to put things if the departure is late in the evening. But there are caring hotels where the staff carefully provides luggage storage service for several hours, for example, the Ribas hotel chain.

So

If you want comfort, then choose a hotel. Look for last minute deals on booking.com, they are highlighted first in the proposed options. If you pay for accommodation after eviction — do not forget to ask for a small discount. 3-5%, not much, but grateful. In case you want an inexpensive overnight stay — the hostel should be your choice. In the evenings all the guests are gathering together in the lobby and get to know each other, play games and treat overseas food. Why not to get friends from other countries?

But if you are traveling with friends, then rent an apartment. Large apartments are not much more expensive than 2-seater. And it will help to save money on food orders in the room or trips to the restaurant, because you can cook yourself.

Maybe you do not want to spend money on renting and you are sociable then Couchsurfing will help you! Do not forget to grab souvenirs and tasty treats for the owners: you will spend the night for free, and they will have a memory of you.