Choosing Hotels and B&Bs

(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I’m sitting in my living room, listening to one of my recent vinyl acquisitions,  After staying in so many different hotels and B&Bs this year, I am definitely appreciating the comforts of home more.  However, I have learned quite a bit along the way about European accommodation; today’s post gathers a little bit of that acquired knowledge.

When travelling alone, I generally prefer B&Bs to hotels.  There is more of a personal touch in a B&B and that can be helpful when you don’t know anybody…especially if the local language is an unfamiliar one.  Most B&B owners will speak at least one other major European language in addition to their own.  Hostels are another good option when travelling solo, although one needs to do a bit more research on these.  Some hostels heavily favour a partying demographic, while others are much more inclusive.

Beach restaurant on Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)
Beach restaurant on Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)

Often, however, it is necessary to stay in a hotel when travelling alone.  One of the fun things about solo European travel is the occasional great hotel deal you can find.  While North American hotels charge a solo traveller almost as much as two people sharing a room, a number of European hotels charge solo travellers little more than one-half the two person rate.  Some business-oriented hotels drop their rates even more on weekends.  Admittedly, the rooms can be on the small side and the bed is generally only a single bed, but otherwise you get all of the amenities of the hotel…including breakfast!  As a result, my bargain single room at the 4-star Hotel City Central in Vienna came with a huge and luxurious all-you can-eat buffet breakfast (including some very posh warm food) that I could only begin to sample.  It was a perfect way to begin a very long day of travel back to Kingston.

The village of Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)
The village of Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)

As the year progresses, I am paying a lot more attention to formerly inconsequential details when choosing a place to stay.  I am always trying to stay within my budget, of course, and I do check to see if a place has attracted a lot of bad reviews.  However, there are some things that warrant an extra Euro or two.   Here are the three main things I’ve been looking for:

1.  Reliable WiFi.  The blog obviously requires it, but for me it is even more important to stay in touch with my wife when I am on the road.  Skype (or FaceTime, in our case) is a godsend for solo travel.

A quiet moment at low tide on Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)
A quiet moment at low tide on Schiermonnikoog (Friesland, the Netherlands)

2.  Easily accessible from major rail stations.  Taxis are a budget killer and hauling luggage gets very old towards the end of a trip.  Local public transit can also play tricks on you when you’ve just arrived in a new city.  If the train station isn’t right downtown, I’d rather stay near the station…commuting downtown is a lot easier without the backpack.

3.  Early check-in, especially on the day of arrival overseas.  Most flights from North America to Europe arrive between 5:00 and 8:00 a.m. local time.  I generally don’t get enough sleep on overnight flights and the last thing I want to do upon arrival is to carry my luggage around for 8-10 hours until it is time to check in.  Most places will at least let you drop off your luggage if you arrive early…but that is only a partial solution to the exhaustion I usually feel by late morning on the day of arrival.

Damp Dutch dogs drinking by the desolate dunes (Schiermonnikoog, Friesland, the Netherlands)
Damp Dutch dogs drinking by the desolate dunes (Schiermonnikoog, Friesland, the Netherlands)

All of today’s photos are from the Frisian island of Schiermonnikoog.  Stay tuned – on Saturday I will be arriving in a brand new country that has very little in common with the Netherlands!

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