Do you just want the staff to be helpful and friendly, and the guest house to be clean or do you look for more than that? I've stayed in quite a few 10-20 dollar a night guest houses, in south east Asia especially, and sometimes find what's on offer varies greatly. Just wondered what other peoples experiences were.
Basic needs: i expect it clean, not too noisy to sleep at night (especially if it dorm) and shower (better with hot water).
the 2nd level - "I wish it will be": a good location (depends of my aims and transport), helpful staff, kitchen/breakfast/refrigerator/coffee, internet.
extras: communication - love to meet new ppl, helpful staff again (various info and recomendations).
My travel expirience is vary: from great to pretty bad. Couple of times it was awful. Sometimes it "just ok". There were few that I loved especially. Just like about anything else.
1. free internet is a blessing.
2. Hot water is a luxury
3. a nice cozy lounge area
4. preferably no permanent residents who should be in some nursing home.
I like a nice room with window (I actually prefer the smaller ones), friendly staff, convenient location and a good vibe. I was in this place not long ago (Vietnam) where they took a very long time to find and return my passport - I was not pleased!
The perfect guesthouse - near perfect would be the Baan Dinso Boutique Hostel in Bangkok. Not your normal hostel at all - more like a guesthouse, all private room, but some rooms shared bath facilities. Such a friendly place - they came by every afternoon with free fresh baked cookies or snack, and on checkout they gave a small gift - I was flabbergasted! I was not crazy about Bangkok, but that place makes me want to return. Every time I passed the main desk, they addressed me by my first name!
[ 02-Mar-2010, at 12:19 by Daawgon ]
...preferably no permanent residents who should be in some nursing home.
How did they spoil your visit? Did you have a problem with one of them?
I've stayed in quite a few 10-20 dollar a night guest houses, in south east Asia especially
What you get for $20 varies widely from country to country, in Vietnam you'll find western-like hotel rooms for $10, in the Philippines instead you can sometimes expect dodgy rooms for $10...
But basically, when I take a $20 room, I won't call it a budget room, that's almost splurging to me...
Yeah $20 is kind of up there. I was paying that for some hostels in Australia! And I have also payed 50 cents for a room while trekking in Nepal.
I would say the location makes a big difference. I dont want to walk for miles just to get to the center of the action or public transport. This can also determine your nights sleep. Are you located next to a factory or the train tracks? So location is important. I expect it to be clean but not hospital clean. Depending where you are in the world there will be bugs, so that doesn't bother me. Clean sheets if they provide them. And yes a little lounge area would be nice.
And I have also payed 50 cents for a room while trekking in Nepal.
50 cents while trekking in Nepal? That was a rip off! I stayed there for free, as long as I took dinner in the lodge... And I surely had to walk for miles to catch a bus, but at least it was quiet!
Ok, now I'm laughing with it, but it only shows how desperate some owners are in less visited mountain areas...
Wahoo my 1,000th post!!
i agree it varies from country to country. I likes some of the guest houses on Baeng Kak lake in Phnom Penh, most of them had good lounges over looking the lake where you could see some nice sunsets - i've since read the lake is in the process of being filled in - shame!! Places like Cambodia and Vietnam definitely offer good value for your dollar though as there are some real gems on a low budget.
Because i've had mostly good experiences under 20 dollars, i still find myself addicted to the cheap guest house even though i could probably afford to go a bit posher!!!!!!!!!!
...preferably no permanent residents who should be in some nursing home.
How did they spoil your visit? Did you have a problem with one of them?
I said preferably, coz I didn't want to discuss it on this thread.
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