How to Find Awesome Accommodation in Europe
Finding awesome accommodation in Europe takes time and patience, but the rewards are worth it. Your enjoyment of travel increases immeasurably when you stay in memorable hotels and apartments that don’t break your budget.
I’m not talking about student hostels and cheap hotels here, because for me, comfort is key. While I recommend keeping track of your euros when you travel, I also recommend that you not sacrifice comfort to save money.
Let’s be honest! I’m not a student anymore, and my back appreciates a comfortable mattress. In addition, I like my accommodation to include WIFI in my room, a well-appointed bathroom with nice towels, air conditioning if the weather is hot, and plenty of space to move around.
My Accommodation Philosophy
After decades of traveling in Europe, I’ve come to believe wholeheartedly in spending a little more to get awesome accommodations that I still rave about.
Sometimes, the difference between a mediocre 3-star property and an incredible 4-star property is negligible. The trick is to focus on value for money. I’d rather spend €200 on a fabulous hotel with a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean than €175 on a dumpy place with a broken ceiling fan overlooking an industrial park.
On Artsy Traveler, I recommend accommodations in Europe that are comfortable and in the three-star to four-star range. My preferred budget is between €150-250 per night, depending on location, for two people sharing. You’ll pay more in cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen and less in the countryside.
Methods for Finding Accommodations
Use a variety of methods to find properties in the European destinations you’re visiting. I favor booking.com because they keep track of all my bookings and because I can book and cancel easily. Several other agencies offer the same service, including Trivago, TripAdvisor, Hotels.com, and Expedia.
I also check the websites of individual hotels and refer to guidebooks. Fortunately, there’s no end of places to look for accommodations!
The challenge is how to get the biggest bang for your accommodation euro. And that’s the whole point of my six steps to accommodation awesomeness.
Step 1: Consider Location, Location, Location
Check maps to determine the location of the hotel you’re considering. If it’s on the outskirts, check the surroundings. Will you be staying in a dreary suburb or a park-like resort?
Thank goodness for Google Maps! Use it to check out ground views of the hotel. You’ll quickly figure out if the hotel looks run-down or if the neighborhood appears to be on the sketchy side.
If you’re driving, do not attempt to drive into the center of old historical towns and villages. The roads are very narrow, you may get ticketed, and finding parking can be horrifically difficult.
Either park your car in a nearby car park and walk with your stuff to the hotel or choose a place outside the city walls.
If you’re traveling by train, avoid hotels near the train station. They can be a bit scuzzy compared to hotels in the historic center that are typically several minutes’ walk or a taxi ride away from the station.
When I’m traveling by train, I always go for the coolest, quaintest hotel I can find in the historic center. I want to make up for the times we traveled by car and had to opt for modern, outside-the-walls convenience.
Step 2: Identify Room Size
Sites like booking.com always specify the size of the room in square meters. 15 square meters (about 160 square feet) or smaller is too small for two people and their luggage to fit comfortably.
In the middle of the night, I want to get to the bathroom without breaking my leg tripping over a suitcase.
I search for the largest room available within my budget and location options. Usually, rooms over 20 square meters are fine, but the bigger the better!
Step 3: Select the Accommodation Type
We favor hotels for one- or two-night stays and apartments for longer stays. Hotels are great in big cities when you wish to take advantage of in-house restaurants and bars and want access to the services of the front desk staff.
When we drive into a city, we choose hotels that either include parking garages or offer valet parking so we don’t need to search for a spot on the street.
Apartments work well when you want to settle in and live like a local. Buy food at local stores, cook a meal, and really stretch out.
Where to Find Apartments
You’ll find apartments on websites such as AirBnB and HomeAway. Lately, I’ve favored the apartments listed on booking.com because the booking and cancelation requirements are not as stringent as they are on other sites.
On sites like booking.com, the apartment rentals are more like hotels with staff and other amenities available.
On a recent trip to Porto in Portugal, we rented an apartment on the top floor of a lovely old house with a view overlooking the river.
I booked the hotel through booking.com and paid a few euros more to have a fabulous breakfast delivered to our door every morning.
Spectacular!
Step 4: Check Accommodation Amenities
At a minimum, I want wireless networking (WIFI, pronounced WEE FEE in Europe) available in my room. Read the fine print. Some hotels offer WIFI only in the lobby and public spaces.
I also prefer bathtubs to showers, although they’re becoming increasingly rare. When traveling in the summer, I choose rooms with air conditioning, even when I’m traveling in the north and definitely when I’m traveling in the south. Summers are, regrettably, getting hotter. If you choose to travel during the summer months, do yourself a favor and make sure your room is air conditioned.
A fridge is also a necessity to store breakfast and picnic food.
And I like rooms with a balcony or terrace overlooking a view or at least a garden.
TIP: Pack a soft-sided, collapsible insulated bag. You’ll find it invaluable for keeping food cool-ish during transit. We fill ours with yogurts, cheeses, vegetables, and fruits, and buy fresh buns at local bakeries to make picnic lunches.
Step 5: Identify Cancelation Options
Choose rooms with free cancelation options until or unless you’re 100% sure you’ll be staying there. You never know what can happen, and to me, the money saved by choosing the no-cancelation option is not worth the risk.
I’ve been burned before!
Step 6: Pay Attention to Accommodation Ratings and Reviews
I pay attention to the reviews and the rankings on websites like TripAdvisor and booking.com. A hotel that has an average rating of 6.8 out of 10 is a hard pass.
Occasionally I’ve chosen hotels in the high “7’s”, but 8.0 is typically my cut-off.
I also read a selection of the reviews. If a fair number of people grumble about cleanliness or unfriendly staff or funny smells, I move briskly on to the next listing.
Again, the key to making great accommodation choices is searching for value over price within your budget. If the difference between a hotel with a 9+ rating and one with a 7+ rating is not appreciable, always choose the hotel with the higher rating.
Make the Final Selection
Don’t wait too long to book your accommodation. I usually start at least six months in advance of my trip, and even then, I can have trouble finding exactly the properties I want.
If a property is not available on one website, try another website or go directly to the hotel’s website. Sometimes a property is listed as ‘sold out’ on a website like booking.com when rooms are available on other sites.
Stay flexible and be choosy.
Happy hunting!
Accommodation Recommendations
Here are links to my accommodation recommendations in several of the destinations featured on Artsy Traveler:
Do you have tips and suggestions for finding great places to stay in Europe? Do you have recommendations that you’d like to share? Please let me know in the Comments section below.