Stays for Days

When it comes to lodging I'm more of a minimalist. I want a bed, a shower, and wifi. Here's my guidelines: 

1. Stay small: I always prefer a locally owned lodge over a chain. The staff is usually more hospitable and they give more personal recommendations. 

2. Stay close: Stay close to the area you want to explore, but not too close. You don't want to be sleeping directly over a nightclub (or maybe you do, in which case we are not the same). 

3. Have a balcony:  I love a location that has a rooftop or a balcony of some sort. It's a great spot to relax and read a book or write. Even better if its a private balcony. 

4. Avoid all-inclusives: What's the point of traveling halfway around the world to sit inside a closed fence and eat the American buffet? 

Favorite Resources

Booking.com: This site is great for finding small lodges, bnbs, cabins and other more budget or rustic stays. A lot of times you can find decently priced room with a kitchenette and good wifi, which is really all a traveler needs. The Marriotts of the world always assume that you want to eat out for every meal, but in actuality being on vacation shouldn't mean blowing up the scale (more on that here). 

Airbnb.com: Everybody knows Airbnb. There was a period of time when I almost exclusively booked Airbnb, when it was still a great deal. Then it got very popular, the market got flooded with low quality inventory, and the gem lost its luster. While it used to be fairly priced, these days I find the quality to be suspect and the hidden cleaning fees offensive. On more than one occasion I've seen a lodge post their rooms on Airbnb at higher prices than the same room on booking.com. Especially during covid, I opted to stay at official lodges because if something happened, it would be easier to provide a location and figure out the quarantine. 

Hostelworld.com: Back in my whippersnapper younger days, I used to stay at hostels to maximize cost savings. These days my back is not what it what it used to be and climbing to the top bunk is an actual liability. However, if you're keen on socializing with strangers, hostels are a great place to find likeminded people. A number of hostels also have private or single rooms, for those of us who never learned how to share or are deeply afraid of other peoples shower hair. 

What are your favorite resources?