when you go on holiday...
do you have any qualms over the type of accommodation you stay in?
for example are you happy to couch-surf/stay in hostels/1 star flea-pits?
now i'm a semi-functioning adult i generally won't book anything less than 4 stars, 3 stars if it's got across the board good reviews online but even then i'm a bit wary. hostels are definitely out as the thought of waking up to some be-dreadlocked kiwi wanking into a sock in the bed next to me just doesn't sound like my idea of a good time
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depends where I'm going
expand on this plz
so in certain places you'd stay in a shithole through choice?
yeah
if it's a pretty rich, well developed country then you're going to be pretty safe wherever you end up (more or less)
but if it's not, then I'd be more particular.
ah i get that in terms of safety
i just couldn't imagine ever properly "relaxing" in somewhere like a hostel, and by relaxing i mean walking around naked from the waist down
again it depends what you're going for
hostels and that = massive shabs but not very relaxing
soemtimes you don't have much choice
A friend of mine got married in the middle of nowhere and by the time we booked accommodatoin, there was not much left to choose from. Opted in the end for the spare rooms rented out in the local vicarage, which smelled of cat pish and were damp (was probably cat piss). Still had amazing fun though.
I am definitely getting fussier with age (income). I odn't think I could do a sharing situation with strangers, but I'm looking at some very VERY basic (like one star if anything) type rooms just now for a trip abroad, where I want to save my budget for doing stuff, rather than sleeping. So yeah, it depends.
having your hand forced by circumstances i can understand
and i guess if it's only somewhere to crash for one night i can see the thinking behind the one star stuff but any longer than that i'd be oot
yes I do have qualms
a bed,hot/cold water
anything else is a bonus
sounds like you're looking for the
hotel de la pentonville
I'm with you, fitz
Depends.
I look for value, but I generally try and keep it less than £50/night for a double room in Western countries. Yeah, I want an en suite, and yeah, I'd prefer if breakfast was included. I realise that in more expensive cities this ain't gonna be possible, and I'm happy to pay extra for swank if there's little choice of budget places.
In Malaysia I stayed in some 4/5 star hotels and they were all amazing, but I also stayed in some shitholes cos I didn't have a choice.
didn't realise you've been to Malaysia
as you've never mentioned it before
MALAYSIA
Actually, I'd never stayed in proper nice hotels before that. It's always been apartments or chains or slightly shit budget places. It was tops.
Also I generally take the view that
a hotel's just a roof over your head. I've never been on a holiday where I've spent a significant amount of time in a hotel so I don't wanna pay loads monies for something I'm just going to use for sleeping.
the converse is
if you want to relax completely for part of your holiday before/ after going exploring, then staying in an amazing hotel is great and can be part of the experience itself. If I ever do this (admittedly not often) i prefer boutique style hotels rather than chain style 'local culture seen through the fisheye lens of international hotel chain brand standards' places, whch can be very sterile.
"hostels are definitely out as the thought of waking up to some be-dreadlocked kiwi wanking into a sock in the bed next to me just doesn't sound like my idea of a good time"
You just described a hostel experience I had in Auckland late last year. The thing is though, when I'm on holiday, I'm not too bothered about where I sleep because I don't plan on spending too much time in my room anyway. Also the great thing about a backpackers is the meeting lots of interesting people thing. Some of my best holiday experiences have been getting up to shenanigans with other backpackers. SHABS AND BANTS INNIT.
Mind you, if you're looking after someone or with a SO, a hostel can be a bit of a problem
are you the kiwi in this scenario?
:D
The guy was high out of his mind. He almost climbed into my bed. It was unpleasant and had me worried for a bit. I'm not making a good case for recommending hostels am I.
no but keep talking i'm almost there...
this is where you want a backpackers bar
THe hotel I'm looking at staying at when i eventually get to the epicentre of my trip is quite staid and boring and I doubt I'll meet many interesting people. However, it is super safe (I'm travelling solo for this part, eeep) and it has good facilities, AND it's just across from the backpackers centre, so best of both worlds really. I do agree that if meeting people and broadening horizons is what you're after, then hostels can be great for that.
i think this is the difference, more so than age
i now predominantly go on holiday with my girlfriend, so backpackers or people who want to tell me all about their "travels" etc are my idea of hell, in short i'm an old crabbit bastard
Good point
Definitely depends on what you want to get out of your trip. If it's a wind-down experience then a hotel's gonna win everytime.
Don't disregard hostels. Dormitories can be a bit iffy, especially if you are sharing with lots of others
but many offer private rooms and quite often with ensuite, but if you don't mind sharing a bathroom these are often fine as well. As always it completely depends on where you are going. You can also find that the quality of hotels abroad can quite often be comparable to hostels but the price point may be different. That doesn't always hold true however. Having things like tripadvisor these days is a godsend, even if there are quite often spazzers on there harping on about how their sheets weren't pure 100% Egyptian cotton.
hostels are definitely out as the thought of waking up to some be-dreadlocked kiwi wanking into a sock in the bed next to me just doesn't sound like my idea of a good time
Thanks for that, I just burst out laughing in the office. With headphones on too, so it was probably twice as loud as normal.
:D
don't forget
in some european countries their star system is based on facilities rather than cleanliness etc. i stayed in a 1* hotel in belgium and it was pretty much like a 3* hotel in the UK - it was only 1* because it didn't serve breakfast or something
ah i wasn't aware of that cheers!
^this
So, for example, a dirty hotel with crap food but a shitty swimming pool might have a higher star rating than a clean, comfortable place with an awesome restaurant.
I was under the impression that facilities still governed the star rating in The UK?
As for your example^, a swimming pool and a restaurant would both count towards the star rating...
It does.
So having a restaurant, no matter what the quality, would get you one tick.
I'm not sure that's the case...
...I think the quality of the restaurant also affects the rating. Might depend on who is doing the rating (AA vs Forbes maybe)?
i was having a conversation recently that revealed i know nothing about the star system
i stayed in a 4 star hotel for a few nights recently. it was just like a premier inn. like, totally fine and clean and stuff but nowt to shout about.
I'm a little fussy
But mainly over cleanliness rather than decor. I can't ever see a situation where I'd stay in a hostel. The thought of sharing a room/showering facilities doesn't appeal to me.
i've stayed in some perfectly clean hostels (which, on occasion, have been double rooms with en suite)
and I've stayed in some shitty filthy hotels which have allegedly been three star, or whatever.
seems like there are loads of people who think that hostel automatically means skanky shared dorm.