Staying at Airbnb vs Hotel. My European Trip

When planning a trip the first thing that you have to decide is where to stay. The most obvious choice is just book hotel accommodation in the city you plan to visit. I usually rely on time tested travel sites and book online using Orbitz coupons or Expedia coupon codes. However, you can often get more amenities and enjoy greater comfort for the same price or even less if you book a nice apartment at Airbnb. I have just come back from my European trip and I tried both. I stayed in Krakow, Prague, Berlin and Frankfurt and sometimes I stayed in a hotel, sometimes in an Airbnb apartment. Since I tried both I will describe my own experience and I hope you might find it helpful.

When I arrived in Krakow, Poland, I booked the hotel room at Orbitz first. It was not spacious, but nice and cozy, in a classical style featuring wooden furniture and dark green curtains. The interior was OK, but the hotel didn’t serve breakfast so we had to dine out.

It was a problem as the hotel was far from the city center and there weren’t nice restaurants in the vicinity. In addition, the telephone in the room was not working and I had to go down to the reception if I had any request. The TV had only Polish channels and there was a complicated system with two remote controls to get it working. Soon my kids gave up any hope of finding some entertaining programs and we didn’t watch TV at all.

Personally I don’t feel like being at home in any hotel. After staying there for three days I ran across some positive reviews about Airbnb and started looking for an apartment located close to the Old Town attractions so I could save time and cut down on taxi costs. When I saw this apartment I immediately fell in love with it. Three-bedroom apartment in contemporary design looked perfect for the family with two kids.

One of the bedrooms featured turquoise bed with a matching sofa and a cute hanging rattan chair.

I could imagine myself swinging there with a cup of coffee enjoying the moment. Plus there was a living room with a dining area and a fully equipped kitchen.

There was even an umbrella stand in the hall. Then I checked the dates available and decided to book the apartment for a week. I’m used to getting discounts if I have a chance. You can save 5% on your Airbnb booking if you pay via Cash App.  But this time I was lucky to get an Airbnb promo code so I could get the best price possible. It worked and in several clicks I booked this fancy apartment in Florianska Street. It featured all the amenities listed on the site. There was a nice bathroom, comfortable beds and plenty of room to relax. Speedy Wi-Fi allowed me to use my laptop and my younger kid could watch his favorite cartoons.

If I compare staying at a hotel versus Airbnb I can say I definitely enjoyed Airbnb the most. First of all, you enjoy the privacy and hotel staff will never bother you. You can buy any food you like and store it in the fridge or cook your favorite meal for dinner. When you travel with kids their clothes get dirty pretty quickly. Having a washing machine in the apartment solves this problem easily without extra costs. You can enjoy your coffee or tea any time, do whatever you want, plus you have more room and the atmosphere is homelike. Checking in and out is easy too. When we checked in the owner met us near the apartment, gave us the keys and showed the property. Checking out was even easier. Since we had to take an early train and were leaving at about 6.30 a.m. we just left the keys inside the apartment and shut the door. All the time we were in contact with the owner of the apartment and he contacted me to find out the time when it is convenient for us to check out.

So, if you are going to stay in the city for a day or two booking a hotel room is ok, but if you plan to stay longer I would recommend renting an apartment at Airbnb. The cost is not considerably higher, but you are more flexible and it is like staying at home away from home.