One thing that I realized quite late as a traveller is how your lodging choice makes a difference. Early in my travel days, I would only look for a lodging option that fitted in my ‘budget’. In those days, my travels were largely ‘tourism’ centric, and I used accommodation only to sleep the night! However, as I travelled more and more, and experienced various kinds of lodging options (by chance), I realized that ‘lodging’ is more than ‘a bed’. Your lodging choice can itself be an ‘experience’.
Yes, we all agree with Jane Austen, right? But then while travelling, one can’t carry their homes in their bags! So, one looks for the next best option. What is your next best option? Mine is a cute little homestay near a river or in the woods (see in the picture below). These days travellers have plethora of options- from luxury hotels to happening hostels to peaceful homestays. It’s what one chooses for lodging can make a lot of difference to their travel experience.
A lodging story
Almost a lost cause
It was August, but was not raining in Delhi. So, I left Delhi for Manali with a 4-day budget road-trip plan for Spiti valley (Manali-Kaza-Manali). But when the bus reached Mandi early next morning, it was pouring there. And as expected, then we got the news that roads were closed ahead due to landslides. Hence, we had to spend the whole day in the bus waiting for roads to clear. I reached Manali only in the evening, and checked in at a hostel (Zostel) in old Manali. One day was lost!
To make things worse, the bus to Kaza from Manali next morning also got cancelled as there was flooding near Atal tunnel. Thus, day-2 was almost gone! I was a bit disappointed about what to do the next 2-3 days in Manali as I had been there before, and had planned for better things. While going to bed that night I thought to myself: ‘it’s a lost cause’!
A hostel saves the trip!
It was then I met a fellow traveller, Sagar (in fact, an Instagram friend- @travel_o_saga) at the hostel on the breakfast table. Instantly, we exchanged notes and plans. More importantly, we agreed to travel together. Next morning, we were off to a 3-day road trip by a taxi to the Zanskar valley (Ladakh)! Needless to say that we had a great time in Ladakh (story for another day). This was possible only because I was staying in a hostel. Otherwise perhaps, I would have roamed around Manali, and come back!
Hostels are indeed great lodging choices for frequent travellers. However, every type of lodging has its own pros and cons, and needs some careful consideration before choosing one.
The lodging options today
A number of my friends and fellow travellers have asked me many a times about my lodging choices. They ask me about my preferences and the factors that I consider while choosing an accommodation.
I would divide the major lodging options into five broad categories: Star hotels, Resorts, Budget hotels, Homestays/ Guesthouses, and Hostels. Here in this article, I am addressing the question of choice of lodging for frequent travellers, and not for tourists or vacationers.
I assume that tourists/ vacationers would generally go for a short trip once/ twice in a year and thus, would like to stay in a comfortable hotel near the city center. But on the other hand, frequent/ seasoned travellers would be budget conscious, and always mindful of the ‘experience’.
So, basically, here we are dealing with 3 categories of lodging- Budget hotels, Homestays/ Guesthouses and Hostels.
Budget Hotels vs. Homestays Vs. Hostels
The choice of lodging largely depends on ten different factors, viz. duration of stay, budget, location, safety, comfort, facilities, cleanliness, food, socialization and cultural experience. And often it’s a complex set of permutations and combinations to assess.
So, let’s see what are the pros and cons of each of these categories of lodging options; I’m putting them together for your convenience.
Budget Hotels
In my early days as a traveller, I would aspire to stay in good/ luxury hotels. Though it was not always affordable, whenever I made that choice, or got a chance, I used to love it. But slowly I realized that it made a huge dent in the pocket, and really didn’t make my travel experience any better!
In any case, I am a restless traveller; means, I don’t like to sit in the room all day relaxing. I would typically move out early in the day, and move around exploring the place till late in the evening. If I come back to the room only to sleep for a few hours, it looked even more unnecessary to book expensive rooms. So, consciously, I started liking budget hotels.
Budget hotels (lets define: below INR 2500) are pocket friendly; so, one can save more to plan for more trips! Saving (difference between luxury and budget hotels) from just 4 nights’ hotel cost can add up to book a return flight ticket to a domestic destination. Moreover, with increasing tourism these days, rooms in budget hotels are getting more hygienic and comfortable. Besides, sometimes, they are beautifully designed and offer best views as well, like Mayura Sudarshan in Ooty, in pictures above. Or, for that matter, a very modest hotel in Jibhi in the Great Himalayan National Park (in pictures below).
Pros:
- Located near city centers; easily traceable addresses. Easy commuting.
- Comfortable beds, and blankets, etc
- Food and beverage: in-room service; usually have variety of options
- Facilities and amenities (taxi, provision of soaps and towels, etc)
Cons:
- Cleanliness/ hygiene standards can be an issue, especially in small towns
- Expensive rooms/ food (compared with homestays/ hostels)
- Not-so-social environment; hardly any chance of meeting fellow travellers
- Feels similar everywhere; can be quite boring
Evolution of hotels comes full circle
In ancient times, hotels were meant for political and business travellers. These facilities were offered by households who had a spare room (an outhouse) to the travellers who needed them for a night’s sleep (and maybe a meal too), in exchange for currency or goods. This was in ancient Greek and Roman times.
From a room in somebody’s house to fancy luxurious seven star hotels, the hotel industry grew by leaps and bounds with the increase in trade and commerce over the centuries. However, the concept of ‘hotel’, it seems, has come full circle.
As cultural tourism has gained momentum in recent times, people have started liking the concept of ‘homestays‘. Homestays are basically the same ancient outhouses, though they come with a little more than just accommodation and food. Click here to read an interesting article on the history of hotels.
Homestays | Guesthouses
Frequent travellers are liking the guesthouse option more and more these days. These are typically extension of private residences as commercial lodging. Some of them offer food, especially local traditional food. It can be a Bed & Breakfast (B&B) arrangement as well where only breakfast is offered. Some of them have fully functional kitchens. This is a great way of living with local people the way they live. I am finding this option quite interesting now a days, and whenever possible, choosing to stay with them.
Pros:
- Budget friendly, especially for families and large groups.
- Peaceful environment, away from the busy markets
- Good for long trips, especially when one wants to relax mentally
- Mostly comfortable stay; almost like staying at home away from home
- Authentic local/ traditional food; one can even learn to cook new recipes as well
- Local cultural experience; possibility of interaction with host family
Cons:
- Commuting to/from the city center can be difficult, inconvenient and costly
- Less facilities/ amenities than hotels (except for super hosts)
- Can be difficult locating the address; often in residential areas, not many would know. Sometimes, even google-maps find difficult to trace!
- Safety maybe an issue at times as they may not have sufficient safety measures in place
- Maybe difficult in times of health emergency
- May have time limits at night (for entry)
Hostels
Once I started travelling abroad, I got used to staying in hostels. Initially, I used to think it’s just a budget accommodation option for frequent travellers and backpackers. However, slowly I realized that while they are indeed budget friendly, they also give an opportunity to meet fellow travellers and share experiences. I have learnt a lot and gained immensely by interacting with the fellow travellers.
There are some really amazing hostels in Europe. The ones I remember fondly are the St. Christopher’s Paris (see the Paris blog), Wow Amsterdam and Geneva hostel. Most of the hostels offer free breakfast, and that’s a big positive in Europe, especially if you are a vegetarian. I used to have a heavy breakfast so that I could do without a proper lunch. The hygiene standards are really great. Some hostels are especially amazing for party seekers, like the St. Christopher’s.
Hostels in India:
However, the concept of hostel is still new to India, and only a handful are that great. The good ones that come to my mind are Zostel, goStops, Moustache, and the Hosteller. There are a few more stand-alone hostels as well. The one I loved the most was HosteLaVie in Jodhpur. Located in old town of Jodhpur, this hostel offers a breathtaking view of the Mehrangarh fort from its terrace (see below). The rooms are beautifully done, rooms/ beds are comfortable and they have a nice cafe.
Pros:
- Generally located in city centers or, places with tourist interests
- Great for long trips
- Budget friendly, especially for backpackers and frequent travellers
- Great place for socialization with fellow travellers
- Source of interesting travel information; new ideas for exploring the place
- Can find travel partners which reduces costs
Cons:
- Comfort can be an issue as rooms are shared spaces; mostly bunk beds
- May have hygiene issues because of common wash rooms
- Hardly any facilities/ amenities (like soaps and towels, etc)
- Can be noisy at times as fellow travellers maybe partying till late nights
- Basic food choices in the canteen
How lodging makes difference : The lodging decision
Lodging choices for various types of travellers:
The type of lodging that gives one the best experience also depends on the type of traveller one is, and it can vary for the same person from time to time as well. As per type of traveller (at any point of time), I would suggest the following lodging choices for best experience:
- For backpackers (short stay): 1. Hostel | 2. Budget hotel (below 3 star)
- For backpackers (long stay): 1. Hostel | 2. Homestay/ guesthouse
- For family (long stay): Homestay
- For comfort seekers, vacationers: 1. Hotel (above 3 star) | 2. Resort
Why I love lodging in hostels and homestays
I first stayed in a homestay in Florence in 2018, booked through Airbnb. I had a good experience there. Coming back to India, the same year, we booked a homestay in Kasol, a lovely house in the woods near the Parvati river. I was so enamoured with that experience that I started looking for homestays whenever possible. I have lived in quite a few homestays since then, and have loved each of them. At the same time, I started choosing hostels more often as well, especially because of the opportunity of meeting a lot of travellers.
My favorite hostel:
Perhaps the best hostel (a Zostel Home) for me till now was in a remote village named Rashil in Lahaul in Himachal Pradesh. It’s actually quite far from any urban settlement. Situated on the foothills of the Himalayas, and on an elevated river bank, the village looks beautiful from a distance from across the river (picture above). With only tens of houses, it’s actually more of an hamlet than a village.
‘Zostel Home’ concept:
It’s an innovative hybrid concept. It brings together the camaraderie/ energy of a hostel and the warmth of a homestay. It’s a hostel placed within a home environment, i.e. bunk beds to sleep in, plus warm hospitality of the host family. Besides, they are choosing the location carefully as well.
Apart from its location, farmland and flower gardens surrounding the homestay, and apple orchards just beside it make it look like a luxurious resort. The hosts were absolutely wonderful people. They took care of us like their own family. I just loved everything about that stay- Lahaul-style welcome, comfortable bed, delicious traditional food, clean house, warm hospitality and warmer hearts to connect with.
An arty affair:
In Jaipur, I had experienced another beautiful property- that of Mr. Vipin Sharma, a serial social-entrepreneur and a super host on Airbnb. He has a great sense of art and creativity; this reflects in good measure in the way each room in his property is curated. Each room has a different colour theme and a different art scheme, named as the Rose, Iris, Olive and Burgundy! I just loved each one of them. The caretaker of the property Maya is a sweet lady from Nepal. She makes simple, traditional and delicious breakfast every morning.
One would be lucky to meet Mr. Sharma, a connoisseur in art and craft. It’s always a pleasure to have a discussion with him around topics like Indian history, culture, society and polity, life in Jaipur, community development, etc. (To book the property, click here)
The famed Punjabi hospitality:
On a recent trip to Amritsar, we stayed at a homestay run by a retired Army officer Captain Amarjeet Kaur. After a successful Army career, he has been engaged in charity and religious activities these days. It was such a pleasure having interactions with him (and his caring wife) regarding Sikh philosophy and the history of Amritsar. He also shared his days and experience as an Army officer, and some stories from the battlefield.
He took great care that we had traditional Amritsari breakfast in the morning. His guidance on visiting some important places in and around Amritsar helped us a lot. I wish we had stayed one more day!
Exceptions to the rule
Not that I dislike staying in hotels or resorts, but the experience in homestays and hostels are so much wholesome from a traveller’s perspective, that I give them the first priority while choosing my lodging option. But yes, there are exceptions to every rule! Sometimes, I love staying in heritage hotels and forest resorts.
Heritage hotels:
Heritage hotels are definitely exceptions. Most of them are really expensive, but totally worth the money. The feeling of living in a beautiful grand property built hundreds of years ago, and that too for the royalty, is definitely something close to my heart. More than the feeling of royalty, I love the ‘heritage’ aspect.
Rajasthan has hundreds of these heritage hotels across all the tourist locations. Some are former palaces, and some are called Havelis those belonged to the upper class landlords. One of the best Heritage hotels I have experienced is the Neemarana heritage hotel in Alwar. Built on a hill slope, this 15th century palace still looks in its prime!
Luxurious heritage hotels like Umaid bhawan palace (Jodhpur), Rambagh palace (Jaipur), Oberoi Udaivilas (Udaipur) are more expensive than I can ever afford. But some more affordable heritage hotels are: Heritage Mandawa, Tijara fort palace, Alsisar Haveli (Jaipur), Bhanwar Niwas palace (Bikaner), Nirbana palace (Jaipur).
Forest Resorts:
Similarly, forest resorts are great places to relax. We do choose one every once in a while when we feel more like chilling out in their natural environment rather than exploring things out there. But these are only few and far between. I remember one such stays in the Jim Corbett National Park area- at the First Halt resort, nestled in the serene green surroundings of the forest. Among the great variety of flora in the campus, I still remember the fruit laden huge Fino lemons and the Fig trees.
How lodging makes difference : Concluding note
Money matters, and comfort matters. But they are not really important from a traveller’s point of view. It’s the experience and the learning that counts more than anything else. No measure of luxury can equal the satisfaction gained from living with a local family for a few days, or meeting a traveller who can become a friend for life.
One day, I met this girl (Nadiaa) from Mexico in a hostel in Paris. She told me that she had been travelling for 3 years continuously only by working at small restaurants all over Europe! All for the love of travelling. Another girl (Rina) from Russia, whom I met in a hostel in Vienna, shared that she conducted personal guided tours frequently for groups of tourists to European destinations. Again all for the love of travelling!
Retrospectively, when I think about meeting people like these who keep travelling with meager resources, I realize that they have been my inspirations for travelling more and more. And I met them all in hostels.
Homestays and hostels are not just about budget travel, they are immense value add for the travel experience.
Tell me about your preferences. Where do you love to stay and why? Share some experiences.
Soumen Chatterjee
I must say it’s truely inspiring to read the difference between different types of lodging while traveling, whether to choose luxury hotels, budget hotels, home stays or may be hostels. Very rightly said the choice of lodging largely depends on ten different factors, viz. duration of stay, budget, location, safety, comfort, facilities, cleanliness, food, socialization and cultural experience. And often it’s a complex set of permutations and combinations to assess. All have pros and cons on their own. So may be while traveling with family or small kids it’s better to choose a budget hotels which provide good clean rooms and atleast hygienic food. I might be right or wrong. Really loved the zostel concept and must try this. Homestays are really fantastic and will try for sure. I had very bad experience of staying in lodges in haridwar so I would avoid that. But overall I am very enthusiastic to know about the difference. Loved it
stampedmoments
Hey Soumen! Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Always thankful for being connected.
Sarita Rout
Very well articulated article. Never thought of these subtle differences among the accommodation choices!
stampedmoments
Thanks! Where do you enjoy staying at?
Surachita Pratap
Really well analysed article. The comparisons are helpful. Saving this for future reference.
stampedmoments
Thanks.
I hope it will be useful for you sometime.
Jennie
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Jennie Pink
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stampedmoments
Hi Jennie!
Thanks for the appreciation, and the information.
Keep connected.