Throughout our travels we’ve stayed in our fair share of hostels, hotels & Airbnbs. A question we get a lot: which is the best?
In our opinion, Airbnb is the reigning champ since we’ve had many pleasant experiences with them. A lot of this can depend on your personal preferences but check out our reasons for loving Airbnb below:
More Space
The biggest difference I’ve noticed between staying in an Airbnb and a hotel is the space. In a hotel you’re limited to a bedroom and bathroom, with occasionally a desk or small chair. With Airbnb, you can customize your filters to search for entire homes, private rooms or shared rooms. If you’re traveling with a family or another couple, having an entire apartment or home is especially nice since you can have more space to spread out and relax.
Variety of Utilities
While we all know hotels can offer buffet breakfast and concierge services, those might not always make the most sense for you and your budget. With Airbnb, you can customize your search filters to ensure you are getting exactly what you want. Need a kitchen to make breakfast in each morning? Search for entire homes. Want to have a private space to relax? Search for places with pools or hot tubs. Traveling with a car? Search for spots that have parking. Don’t want to board your dog? Search for homes that allow pets. The possibilities are seriously endless when it comes to Airbnb. There are more than 30+ options to filter for, including price range! Hotels come with the same things – but they may not be the things you and your family need.
Local Experience
Staying in Airbnb is a great way to connect with the local community and culture. Since you’re staying in someones home or apartment it allows you to see how locals live! Hosts will often leave notes with personal recommendations for things to do or places to eat at, so you know you’re getting authentic spots.
Better Pricing
We have also found that you can get a better location with more space for a lower price through Airbnb than a nice hotel in the same city. Hotels can run anywhere from $100-$300 per night, and often only sleep 2 people in the room. For the same price, or often times less, you can get housing for your entire group or family – with far more space. For example, in Dubrovnik we stayed in a private room with ensuite bathroom and rooftop deck right outside the city walls for half the cost of a downtown hotel.
Overall, Airbnbs offer more space, a variety in utilities and the local experience – all for better pricing than most hotels! Like anything, we always recommend reading the reviews to verify the stay will meet your needs and that the host is experienced.
Cheers,
Amanda
P.S. Here are the links to some of our favorite Airbnbs we have personally stayed in:
- Dubrovnik, Croatia: Private room with bathroom, sleeps 2
- Cork, Ireland: Entire apartment, sleeps 4
- Budapest, Hungary: Entire apartment, sleeps 2
- Amsterdam, Netherlands: Private room with bathroom, sleeps 2
- Niagara-on-the-lake, Canada: Entire house, sleeps 4
- Munich, Germany: Entire apartment, sleeps 4-5
- Nashville, Tennessee: Entire apartment, sleeps 2
- Lima, Peru: Entire apartment, sleeps 2
- Dublin, Ireland: Entire apartment, sleeps 4
- Brussels, Belgium: Private room with shared bathroom, sleeps 2
