Top ten alternative lodging options

by Katie Hammel on
When it comes to lodging, most people automatically look for a hotel. And if you want room service, a business center, gym, and all the other perks that come with a hotel, that may be your best bet. But if you’re looking for a more unique place to stay, if you want to save money, or if you want to experience a destination in an entirely new way, you have a whole range of options outside the sphere of Marriotts, Hiltons, and Four Seasons. Here are the top ten alternative lodging options.
Bed and Breakfasts/Guesthouses
A bed and breakfast (which in some countries, goes by the name guesthouse) is always my first choice for accommodation. Do I have a deep-seeded fetish for doilies, furniture that looks like it belongs in my grandma’s house, and forced interaction over tea and scones? Definitely not. Luckily, not all B&Bs fit that stereotype. Many offer chic, modern décor and accommodations that are just as luxurious and stylish as their hotel counterparts.

The reason I choose these types of bed and breakfasts is this: generally, as it’s a small business, the owners are very hands on and present. You don’t feel so much like another anonymous customer as a welcomed guest. At bed and breakfasts I’ve stayed at, the hosts have been more than happy to sit down and give me personalized recommendations for the city I was visiting, to offer champagne toasts on New Year’s Eve, and even to provide me with a ride to the airport when my cab didn’t show up on time.

Bed and breakfasts tend to be located in more residential areas of a city, which means that you can better imagine what life is like for those who live here, you see a different side of the city, and best of all, rates are often much lower than the average hotel. Plus, the included breakfast means you save even more.

Boutique Hotel/Inn
Boutique hotels and inns are often very similar to a bed and breakfast. They may not go by the name because they don’t want to be associated with the stuffy Victorian image of other B&Bs or perhaps they aren’t truly a B&B if they don’t serve breakfast. Many are more of a hybrid between B&B and hotel. Thanks to their small size, they may offer the personalized service of a bed and breakfast, but with some of the amenities that you’d find in a hotel. Every boutique hotel I have ever stayed in has offered free wi-fi and many have had small lounges for afternoon drinks or snacks.

Hostel
Maybe your days of sleeping in bunk accommodations with young, unwashed travelers are long gone. You’d never even think about staying in a hostel again. But if you are a budget traveler, you may want to reconsider that position. Many hostels offer private double rooms (with shared or private baths) in addition to dorm style accommodations. Actually, several that I have stayed at in the last year have only had private rooms and the shared bathrooms, while located next door to the room, were only shared between 2-3 rooms and were single-stall locking bathrooms. Sure, you still have to go down the hall to use the loo, but for a traveler on a budget, saving $10-$20 per night in exchange for doing so may be worth it.

At every hostel I have stayed at, I never had to wait for the bathroom, the other travelers were older budget travelers like myself, internet was free, and every few rooms shared a small kitchenette, which meant I could save even more money by cooking lunch or dinner in the hostel a few times. And again, the hostel prices were significantly cheaper than comparable hotels.

Apartments/Cabins
If you’re planning an extended stay in one location, or are traveling with kids or a few friends, an apartment or cabin rental can really make financial sense. It may cost a bit more than a hotel, but the money you’ll save being able to cook your own meals, enjoy a few drinks in your living room, or wash your clothes in your own laundry machine, may offset any extra expensive. And if you have a few friends to split the cost with, you can save big.

Camping
When I think of camping, I think of packing a tent and a cooler and heading “up north” with friends. Or at least, that’s what I used to think of. Now I’ve learned that you can camp just about anywhere – in the US, Asia, Africa, and even just outside of Europe’s biggest cities.
Camping doesn’t have to mean roughing it either. Many European campsites, for example, are located 15-20 minutes by bus outside of the city center and offer dining halls, internet access, swimming pools, and modern bathrooms. In Africa, if you can’t quite afford a $500 per night luxury lodge, just buy a tent when you arrive, drive to the game park, and pick one of the many available camps where you can score a spot for about $20 per night, eating in the camp’s dining hall and relaxing in the communal swimming pool.

Agritourismos/Farm Stays
When visiting a city, I generally like to stay in the city. I want to be able to step outside of my lodging directly into the fray. I want to wander all day down cobble stones streets, and then be able to totter home after a few drinks to fall asleep to the sounds of the city. But in some areas, the way of life is more rural. In these places, I want to get the full experience. Here, I want to look out my window and see rolling fields. I want to see how the people live off the land, and I want to retire each night to watch the sunset from my deck while eating food produced just a few steps from where I’m standing. In these places, I want to stay at an agritourismo.

Like a bed and breakfast, and agritourismo is family run and generally offers breakfast included in the accommodation. But an agritourismo or farm stay also offers much more. Guest will get an education in farming while immersing themselves in nature – horseback riding, wandering through fields, and learning about (or even helping with) the operations of the property.
Servas
Servas is an “international, nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for personal contact between people of diverse backgrounds. Members need to apply and pay a membership fee so there is a bit more investment required that with CouchSurfing, and the emphasis on cultural connection is even higher. Both hosts and travelers need to be interviews by a local coordinator in order to be accepted, and have a certain degree of responsibility once they become members.
Hosts welcome guests for one or two nights, and offer some kind of cultural exchange during the process. They are expected to spend time with guests and invite them to share an evening meal. Guests are expected to view the host site as more than just a place to stay. Then interview process and application fees for joining may help set some hesitant members’ minds at ease and people who aren’t quite comfortable with CouchSurfing may be more inclined to try Servas.
AirBNB
A cross between CouchSurfing and a guesthouse, AirBNB is a service that connects hosts – those with a space room or sometimes just a spare couch – with a guest in need of a place to stay. The catch is that unlike CouchSurfing, guests have to pay for rooms booked through AirBNB. Where CouchSurfing is more about community and cultural exchange, AirBNB is more about commerce.

But, many of the AirBNB listings are more than just offers for a couch. Dozens are listings for entire apartments, often at rates much lower than what you would pay for a hotel. The site has more comprehensive offering for big cities than small towns, especially in the US, so while you might score a pretty great deal for someone’s pied a terre in NYC or Chicago, you may have a harder time finding an apartment rental in Tuscany or Bavaria.
Homeswaps
Homeswapping requires a degree of flexibility, but the rewards can be great. Here’s how it works. You sign up on a homeswapping website like Home Exchange, pay your annual fee (usually under $50) and then list your house or apartment. You can wait for the requests to come in and respond according to your schedule, or you can approach others for a swap based on your travel plans.

Say you’re looking to plan a trip to Paris this summer. You check out the available houses in the city and begin sending inquiries to the owners asking about your preferred week. One couple may have a house available, and have an interest in coming to visit the city where you live, but they might not be able to travel on that exact week, so you work together and come up with dates that are convenient for both of you.

Most successful homeswappers live in a city that is more popular. For example, it might be harder to find someone from Paris who is interested in traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio, than New York City.
CouchSurfing
The most famous of all free accommodation, CouchSurfing is a million-member strong community of travelers. Some are offering places to stay, others are looking for a host to take them in on their travels. You post a profile and it’s up to you to decide who to host (or if you want to host at all) and who you feel comfortable staying with. Members span all walks of life, but they all seem to have one thing in common – a desire to see the world and travel cheaply, and to connect with other like-minded people while they do so.

Many hosts and surfers make a point to get together during the hosting period. When I stayed with a couple in Austin, Texas, last year, we all went out for dinner one night. We had a great time and they ended dup showing me a side of the city I never would have discovered on my own. Some people are uncomfortable with the idea of staying in a stranger’s house. And if you’re looking just to relax and escape this might not be the ideal situation. But if you want to connect with another culture and see a place from an insider’s point of view, give CouchSurfing a try.

Big up Kingston – The Spanish Court Hotel

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Hotels provoke strong reactions among travelers. Stay at a really terrible, cookie-cutter property, and it’s likely to color an entire trip. Just the opposite is also true – when a traveler finds himself at truly unique hotel, aligned with the rhythms and particularities of a destination, tempered by friendly hospitality, it can vastly improve any travel experience.

With these two extremes in mind, Gadling recently had a chance to visit Kingston, Jamaica’s new Spanish Court Hotel. We found ourselves immediately taken by the latter of these two extremes. In a city of hotels characterized by their bland, unassuming accommodations, the Spanish Court is truly a breath of fresh air, bringing much needed style, sophistication and casual Jamaican hospitality to a city very much on an upward swing. This 107 room “boutique” hotel also represents something of a Caribbean coup: having been built entirely using local Jamaican artisans and materials it is an entity that is distinctly Jamaican in its identity, from the locally influenced food menu to the black and white photos of Jamaica in the hotel’s lobby.

Over two quick nights earlier this month, we jumped around on the Spanish Court’s mattresses and scrutinized the thread count on the towels, sampled the breakfast buffet and took a swim in the pool. On the whole, we liked what we found. Ready to take a closer look? Check below for our gallery and observations.

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Public Spaces
Upon arriving at the hotel, guests enter the property’s thoroughly modern main lobby. The most immediate impression is of the space’s modern feel and distinctly Jamaican touches. The dark hardwood floors, black and white photos of Jamaican plant life and open-slat room dividers lend the area a distinctly Caribbean feel.

Complementing this are the room’s more modern touches, including futuristic cloth-covered chandeliers and electric blue furniture. You feel as though you’re sitting in a kind of futuristic living room, comfortable yet defiant in its quirkiness and aura. To up the comfort level, the room is scattered with daily Kingston newspapers and coffee table books to encourage relaxation.

On the other side of the main lobby is a small dining area, which plays host to a small breakfast buffet each morning featuring a relatively basic setup of toast, fruit and cereal. Also within the dining area is a small bar where guests can gather for a nightcap or socialize with friends.

On the second floor is the Spanish Court Hotel’s pool area and Sky Bar. The pool is notable for its style, a freestanding above-ground rectangle that forms a single unbroken solid shape. The water laps right to the form’s edges. From the pool deck, visitors can also “drink in” a bird’s eye view of New Kingston’s nearby office towers while enjoying a cocktail at the pool deck bar.

Guest Rooms
Inside the hotel’s 107 rooms, guests are greeted by a similarly upscale experience to the property’s public spaces. Though a little small, all rooms are appointed with a nice mix of style and amenities to maximize comfort. The room we stayed in was outfitted in a color scheme of beige and dark red. On the wall behind our bed was a series of black and white photos similar to what was found in the main lobby. Next to the double bed was an iHome iPod clock radio, ensuring we were able to cue our favorite Reggae soundtrack throughout weekend – always a nice touch.

The bathroom was comparable to the main room, filled with the usual arrangement of towels and decked out in marble flooring. We particularly liked the “rain shower style” shower head, a simple feature many upscale hotels still frequently overlook.

The room was flanked one one side by a series of floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on the hotel’s courtyard. Since we happened to be on the ground floor, this resulted in a less-than-desirable level of outside noise (part of it was probably the grand opening ceremony). Thankfully the shades and curtains helped to lessen this Make sure when you get a room you ask for something on the second/third level or off the main courtyard.

Gadling was recently invited by the Spanish Court Hotel to visit Kingston, Jamaica’s unexplored capital of music, food and culture. All this week we’re bringing you our observations on all this up-and-coming city has to offer. Though the trip was paid, all opinions remain our own. You can read our previous “Big up Kingston” posts HERE.

Orlando’s Art Hotels

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Okay, talk of Orlando triggers images of Mickey Mouse. Trappings of the Disney empire are unavoidable in the town that Walt built, but if you look hard, you’ll find a city that can stand on its own. For a touch of style, dash off to downtown Orlando and check out the city’s art-themed hotels. You’ll find dramatic expression without having to contend with Donald Duck’s refusals to be ignored.

The Grand Bohemian Hotel sits on Orange Ave, right in the heart of downtown Orlando, a short walk from the City Arts Factory. From the moment you step inside, you’re consumed by creative expression. “Aggressive design” is the only way to describe the lobby, and clear signs point you to an on-property art gallery that features Florida artists (who don’t suck).

The guestrooms continue the theme. Sleek design does not come at the expense of comfort, and any New Yorker would describe the rooms as palatial. The logical split between the sleeping and living area (with the bed) and the work area (with the desk) will appeal to business travelers who often crave a dividing line between the two while on the road – I know I always did.

But, it’s the art on the walls, even in the guestrooms, that grabs you.

Forget shitty sailboats and “happy little trees.” The Grand Bohemian offers variety within each room and still manages to make the entire aesthetic experience cohesive. Whether you’ve just finished cranking out work (as I had) or just want to unwind after hitting the town, it’s a nice diversion to sit back and soak in the creative efforts that line the walls.

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Most art-savvy hotels perform well in the lobby and the rooms, but they screw up the space in between. The hallways are easily forgotten, mere passageways from one destination to the next. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped from the elevator in the Grand Bohemian and wound my way to my home-for-a-night. Instead of blank walls – or, worse, careless choices – I was treated to a delightful jaunt through varied styles.

The Grand Bohemian is an antidote to the traditional chain hotel experiences in which you push through a consistent blandness to occupy a bed that isn’t your own. Your senses are rewarded with a care that is a rarity in any hotel … and is downright shocking in Orlando.

And, this isn’t your only option in Orlando.

Smaller and tucked away about a mile from the middle of downtown, you’ll find the EO Inn. Once a youth hostel, it is now a boutique hotel with 17 rooms and two cozy balconies. Then entrance is hidden from sight. The front of the hotel is occupied by a Panera, and you have to go around back to reach the front desk, a situation that is actually more charming than inconvenient. The artwork begins in the lobby and stretches up the stairs and into the elevator. When you arrive at your floor, the hallways are dotted with adventurous creations.

I’ve always viewed the slog from the elevator to guestroom, however short, has as an annoyance (as you’ve probably figured out by now). It just seems like the painful passing of time for no good purpose. Careful design solves this problem, and EO excels. I found myself stopping periodically to enjoy what was showcased, and I purposefully passed my door on several occasions to see what was on display farther down the hall.

The rooms are a tad small – which is fine with me, given that I live in small – but are designed for enjoyment. The bed was soft without sacrificing firmness, and the bathroom was clean and serviceable (what else do you really want?). The absence of a desk drove me out onto the balcony, which turned out to be the perfect place to write, smoke and relax (and eat the cupcakes thoughtfully provided to me by ladies from the nearby bachelorette party – alas, the UPS guy did not make a “delivery”). Since the balconies are on the same side of the building as the hotel’s front door, you are spared the noise of passing traffic and can relax unmolested while not being isolated from civilization.

This is the Orlando that few realize exists. The Grand Bohemian and the EO hotel underscore a commitment to the arts that may be hidden by theme parks and conventions, but it is quite real. Forsake the 1,000-room cookie-cutter properties for an art-themed boutique, and get to know the Orlando that will make you want to return … without any nagging from your kids.

10 things I hate about staying at a hotel

by Scott Carmichael on

What can cost upwards of $250 per night, has poor climate control and a bad bed? Of course, I’m talking about the hotel. This home away from home has been my residence on the road for quite a decent chunk of my traveling life, but I honestly can’t remember ever having spent a night in a hotel that beat the comfort of my own home.

It isn’t all doom and gloom though, I really appreciate the hard work most of the hotel staff put into keeping me happy, and there is nothing like the sight of a familiar hotel chain name when you are far away from home in a country you have never been to.

No amount of pampering or luxury can seemingly replace the luxury of your own bedroom. So, here are the 10 things I hate the most about staying at a hotel:

The bed

They say there is no place like home. And nowhere is that more the case than in a hotel bed. I’ve slept in hundreds of hotels, and not once did I ever find a bed that made me feel at home. Sure, I’ve stumbled into my room drunk, and passed out in the bed, but that doesn’t count.

I’m not sure whether it is because the mattress has been used by too many people, or just the subconscious thought of sleeping on poorly washed sheets.

The minibar

The minibar itself is a fine amenity. In the past I’ve been suckered into spending $6 for a diet coke, and did not care one bit. But the newfangled automated minibar with sensors really annoys me. Sometimes I just want to open the minibar to check out the assortment of beverages, and would love to do so without an evil computer instantly thinking I robbed the place of all their overpriced liquor.

I’d also like to ask hotels to stop stocking the minibar with too many obscure products. Sometimes a guest just wants a damn Snickers bar, and is not in the mood for a $12 organic dried peach and carrot whey protein energy bar.

Internet connectivity

There is something strange going on in the world of hotel Internet connections. I can stay at a cheap and smelly Holiday Inn, and get free Internet access, but the $200/night Hilton still thinks it’s cool to charge me $19.95 for 24 hours of online access. Apparently the minds in marketing have concluded that anyone who can afford an expensive hotel will be willing to spend even more.

Thankfully many hotels are allowing me to get online using my Boingo account, but Internet access is clearly still a major money maker for some places.

The worst offenders can be found in Europe, where it is perfectly normal to run into a hotel demanding $35 a night for access to the web. Not only is the price a major issue, I still run into hotels where the speed can only be described as “molasses crawling uphill in the winter”.

The Bathroom

Note to hotel cleaning crews: clean my bathroom. I mean really, how hard is it to make sure all the mold and pubic hair is washed out of the shower before you declare my room “spotless”?

I can often tell how good a hotel is by taking a 5 second glance at their bathrooms. More often than not, a hotel will consider a bathroom “upgraded” by merely replacing the shower nozzle with a new model.

And while I am on the topic of the shower; water pressure is another of my pet peeves. Hotels seem incapable of providing the right water pressure. I either find a shower that can shoot the tiles off the wall, or one that barely has enough pressure to rinse me clean.

The TV

The hotel TV is supposed to entertain you. But when you are faced with nothing but a selection of local channels and the occasional 24 hour news source, it is hard to get in bed with the remote and relax.

Thankfully more and more hotels are upgrading to flat panel TV’s and a wider assortment of channels, but many hotels still have a fugly wood grain TV with 9 channels of nothing, and a sticky remote.

There are still hotels out there where they offer Nintendo 64 games for a mere $19.95 a day. Even the most bored of kids won’t be able to entertain themselves for long with one of those 11 year old consoles.

The alarm clock

There are 2 things I hate about the hotel alarm clock; it is often impossible to program and there is always someone who sets the alarm for 4:30 am in the hope that I forget to turn it off before going to bed.

Thankfully I’m finding more and more hotels that upgraded their alarm clock to a more pleasant unit, and some have even started adding those nice iPod friendly alarm clock (just don’t forget to bring your iPod home when you leave!).

The hotel restaurant

If I arrive at my hotel after a long flight, I’ll often end up having to eat at the hotel restaurant at least once. Hotel restaurants are part of a global conspiracy to spread horrible food. Most of them have the same menu, with the same boring dishes.

It takes a lot of effort to make a burger taste bad, but the hotel restaurants have it down to an art. Of course, the only thing worse than a bad hotel restaurant, is having that same bad food delivered to your room for twice the price.

The thermostat

The hotel thermostat is evil. Inside the innocent looking device is a mind that is out to get you. You will never, ever manage to get the temperature in your room set to what you want. When you arrive, it’ll be in the 80’s. When you turn it down a little and leave, you’ll get back to a room in the mid 40’s. Just once, I wish a hotel would put a thermostat on the wall that does not force me to wake up every 4 hours to change its setting.

Sneaky hotel fees

Resort fee, energy recovery fee, towel fee, charitable contribution fee.

The list goes on and on, and each year hotels find new ways to add a couple of bucks to my bill. Of course, some of these fee’s and taxes are imposed upon the hotel by the local government, but the hotels are not without blame here either. The worst offender I ran into, was an airport hotel in Europe where the additional fee’s and taxes were more than the room rate.

The boutique hotel phenomenon

In the past, a hotel with tiny cramped rooms would be called a bad hotel. Nowadays it is called “a boutique hotel”.

The smaller the room, the more bohemian it apparently is. I’ve stayed in a $240/night hotel where there was not enough room to squeeze past the dresser and the bed. But these hotels justify their existence by adding mood lighting, dark wallpaper and filling the bar area with hip people.

Needless to say I am not a fan of the boutique hotel, but I’m man enough to admit that I might just not be hip enough to fit in.

Click the images below to learn about some of the weirdest hotels anywhere:


Hip, Cheap Boutique Hotels Challenge the Mainstream in Asia

by Josh Lew on

Cities like Hong Kong are known for their 5-star hotels. They are so known for these monuments to luxury that visitors might think that there are no 4,3,2, or 1 star options in the city. They’d almost be right. Not only does Hong Kong have highest population density in the world, it probably has the highest density of 5-star inns. Of course there are cheaper places to lay your head. But a new trend in the hotel game means you won’t have to put up with the shifty characters of Tsim Sha Tsui’s Chungking Mansions if you want a cheap room. Plenty of boutique hotels and mid-range chains are offering rooms for between $50-$100 per night.

Holiday Inn Express and Courtyard by Marriott are getting in on the mid-range hotel boom in Honkers, aiming their service at businesspeople not on an expense account who don’t want to pay 5-star prices. Boutique hotels like Hotel Jen (HK Island), Panorama (Kowloon) and Cosmo (Wan Chai) are part of the new trend as well. These places are all clean, well-furnished and tech friendly. They are centrally located. Most have a pool, exercises facilities and a hip vibe. Sure, they are not equipped to handle any outlandish request like luxury hotels are, but you don’t really need to smoke your hand rolled cigar while sitting in a bath filled with rose petals. Do you?