Hi all! Well, recently I did a post listing the best places I stayed whilst going around the world from April to August last year. I did not include the Air BnB apartments I stayed in when considering what I put on that list.

Those who follow the blog probably know that faced with a choice between Air BnB and a hotel, I will invariably go with a hotel. I enjoy the convenience of hotels, the friendliness, rooms cleaned each day, problems can be remedied easily.

But  – there are still some occasions where Air BnB apartment rentals seem to be the order of the day, sometimes they are far better value for money, sometimes I am staying for a longer period of time, say a week, and sometimes the hotel options just don’t inspire.

I stayed in five this year, all apartments all to my/our selves. Kingston Jamaica, Budapest Hungary, Cluj-Napoca and Suceava in Romania and Harare in Zimbabwe. And I’m happy to say they were all positive experiences.

In Kingston I really couldn’t find a hotel that looked worth the money, and so I found a wonderful little Air BnB a little out of the centre. The owner was a wonderful gentleman named Garnet and he was very helpful. It was an addition to the house and it was in the suburbs, it wasn’t super easy to get anywhere by public transport because it’s just buses and small buses.

The space was good but a little cluttered if I had to look for a fault. There was an air conditioner in the bedroom but I was asked to only use it if really necessary and to be honest, it wasn’t, the fans did the job despite the humidity. The temperature was pretty warm but generally maximums no more than 30-31 degrees. I was able to cook there and prepare meals for several days, there was a supermarket and shops (and places to eat) close by, I was super happy and I had my host to chat to as well.

The outstanding place was in Budapest, my wife was with me. It was a little more than $100AUD a night but it was the biggest Air BnB I have ever stayed in, and it was a beautiful apartment with what seemed like antique furniture. I only messaged the host, but the location was really good not long to get into the very centre of town by bus, many rooms, a decent kitchen and the bathroom had a bath. We were super happy there.

I ended up in two Air BnBs in Romania trying to keep costs down and from memory both were less than $AUD50 a night. The one in Cluj was pretty much in the centre of town, an easy walk to everything (although it’s not a big place). It was a little dark but it had recently been refurbished and was clean, super fast wifi and a helpful host (who I never met).

In Suceava I had a slightly bigger place, not quite as central and had to rely again on buses. I nice bath tub there! I was sick through all three of these places but especially in Suceava where I ended up in hospital the day after checking out of the Air BnB and moving to a hotel (I had a bus journey booked that day but I wasn’t well enough to take it, the place was booked so had to move). Again, just contacted the host via what’s app but he was helpful and empathetic too.

The final one was in Harare, I really couldn’t find a hotel that suited my needs and was decently priced, so I found a very small apartment walkable from the city centre (about 20 minutes) in a building that reminded me of some older apartment buildings in Melbourne with its red brick exterior. The host was very friendly and gave me a ride to my bus when I was leaving, lovely lady. It was very compact and good for one person, I think two people (even your partner) you’d feel a little squashed. Good WiFi. Freezing at night – unseasonably cold in Harare when I was there! But I survived and kept under the blanket! Next door a supermarket and other shops was very handy too.

Here are the links –

Kingston, Jamaica

Budapest, Hungary

Cluj – Napoca, Romania

Suceava, Romania

Harare, Zimbabwe

So there you go, five positive Air BnB experiences. I think I have gotten better in working out what places are like before booking which helped me. I still prefer hotels, but generally if you know what you’re looking for and how to recognise it, you can still do well in an Air Bnb! Thanks for reading today. Take care wherever you are and – May the Journey Never End!