We’re often asked for hotel recommendations or the name of the hotel where we stayed. The names are a jumble in my head. So I’m going to slowly list down all the places we’ve stayed at or especially recommended but didn’t get to experience ourselves. I hope this helps you plan your trip.
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EUROPE
Croatia
- Zagreb: Centre City Apartment: At a very good location in the heart of the city and very well done up. They have paid parking right outside as well.
- Zadar: Greta Residence: Everything is within walking distance from this really spacious apartment.
- Split: Apartment Anny: Excellent apartment in the downtown area.
- Hvar: Apartment Tomas 2, Hvar: Spacious apartment close to downtown Hvar. It is up a hill, so you will have to take your luggage all the way up, but you can totally expect such things in Hvar.
- Dubrovnik: Cosy Apartment with beautiful Garden/Terrace is an apartment close to the old city of Dubrovnik. The host is very kind and has really ensured that you have everything you need. Highly recommended.
France
Paris: Studio Saint Quentin Paris 10 is an apartment with a full kitchen. It is quite spacious and has a proper bed instead of the sofa bed that we saw in so many other listings. It is close to two train stations and several metro stations as well, but it is in an immigrant area, so it doesn’t feel very Parisian. However, if you’re Indian, you’ll find plenty of Indian restaurants and stores in the area. Here are some other Airbnbs I’d bookmarked for our Paris trip.
Iceland
In all the places we stayed in Iceland, the rooms were tiny. Keep that in mind while going through the list.
- Near Reykjavik: private room in Hafnarfjordur. We stayed here in a town near Reykjavik because we had a rental car, so we didn’t really need to stay in the city where accommodation is more expensive. They have two cats, so do not stay here if you’re allergic to cats.
- Near Selfoss: Simple, cosy double room is on a farm near Selfoss. There are 3–4 rooms, which are separated by paper thin walls. We thought that was one big downside of this property, along with there being only one bathroom to be shared between all the rooms, but otherwise it was all fine. The living area and kitchen are big and have everything you need. The bathroom also had a washing machine, which was also very helpful.
- Near Skogafoss: Room-4 Bus guesthouse by Eyjafjallajökull is a guest house with beautiful surroundings. Again, there is only one bathroom per floor, so getting to use it is a time-consuming task.
- Near Hofn: Brekka Loni Apartment was the best place we stayed in Iceland. It is on a farm with the most spectacular views of Vestrahorn. It had a private kitchen, toilet, and huge room—very luxurious for Iceland.
- Near Egilsstaðir: Eiðagisting Guesthouse has extremely small rooms in a farm house. It’s okay for a night. The host is friendly!
- Husavik: B&B Rooms Husavik 3 has a very friendly host. The room was very well done. There were two bathrooms to be shared between extremely few people, and one of them even has geothermal water. The kitchen was stocked with a variety of foods that were free to have, and breakfast was also nice. An excellent stay!
- Between Husvik and Snæfellsnes Peninsula: Twin room & a geothermal hot tub is a hostel setup with shared bathrooms and a geothermal hot tub which is nearly always occupied.
Italy
- Rome: CasaValentina – It is a bit away from the main sights and hence more afforable than hotels in the city centre. However, it has everything you will need and is very close to public transport of all kinds, including a train station.
- Naples: Luna Rossa Apartment—The place was okay. I would recommend looking for accommodations closer to a metro stop, though.
- Florence: Allogio Home7 is a bit old and up a few floors, plus it has a staircase inside the house. But the location is excellent, and the apartment has a view of the Duomo. We would stay again, despite the bad reviews.
- Saturnia, Tuscany: B&B 8380 Saturnia Terme – The room was a bit small, but the location is excellent (less than 500 metres from the hot spring). Plus, they served a huge breakfast, which was just what we needed.
- Near Siena, Tuscany: La Loggia Villa Gloria– It’s a nice property in the Tuscan countryside, very close to Siena. It has nice views, a pool, and a restaurant.
- Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre: Banchi is up a very steep staircase. But the location was quite close to the train station and had everything we needed.
- Milan: Big and bright room zona Navigli is an Airbnb. We stayed in a room in an elderly couple’s house. The location is quite far from the main tourist sights but very well connected to public transport.
- Alta Badia, Dolomites: Chalet Planvart is a town in the middle of the east and west Dolomites. So if you’re not planning to change hotels in the Dolomites to stay on both sides, this is a superb option.
- Venice: CA’ MARTINA **** S.Margherita is an Airbnb at a reasonable price compared to others you’ll find in Venice. The only downside is that it is a bit of a walk from the main sights, but close enough to the bus station.
Netherlands
- Amsterdam: Sir Albert is a luxury hotel in an old diamond factory. We booked this through Mariott Bonvoy Points.
Slovenia
- Ljubljana: Aparthotel Cross Street 4 has nice rooms, with everything just a short walk away.
- Bled: Apartmaji Pri Kokolu is a bit of a walk from the lake itself, but it has parking, spacious rooms, and the sweetest hosts I’ve met.
Spain
- Barcelona: Great location Plaza España is a room in the host’s house but in a separate section that has two rooms. The two rooms have a shared bathroom, which is very tiny. However, the room is quite big and has a separate kitchenette and dining area, as well as a balcony.
- Granada: Casa Vestali was the perfect stay in Granada. Very close to everything and very good value.
- Seville: Hostal Hom Museo is a bit of a walk from the main sights of the city, but it had everything we needed. However, our initial choice was Room00 Salvador Hostel which we had to cancel due to change of dates and couldn’t rebook due to unavailability.
- Ronda: Apartamento Venus is a beautiful apartment. Unfortunately, we did not end up staying here, as we had to cancel our plans to spend the night at Ronda.
AFRICA
Morocco
- Tangier: Bel Appart Cosy plein coeur de Tanger vue mer– We found this beautiful apartment to stay in Tangier, but we didn’t end up staying in Tangier eventually.
- Fes: Dar Borj– an excellent riad in the medina of Fes. We loved it!
- Merzouga: Zahra Luxury Desert Camp is a camp right by the dunes. The staff was friendly, and the facilities were great!
Sunrise Palace Merzouga is an excellent, Instagram-famous luxury hotel that we would have loved to experience. However, if this is above your budget, check out Kasbah Du Berger & Piscine. Our camp was very close to the hotel, so we spent an entire afternoon here chilling in the pool with a view of the dunes. It was perfect!
- Aït Ben Haddou, Oarzazate: The Riad paradise of Silence is very close to the picturesque Ait Ben Haddou. It is a very traditional style riad, a bit away from the actual town. So make sure you reach here during the day.
- Marrakech: The Bohemian Jungle is the riad where we stayed in the Marrakech medina. It is small, but the decor is quite grand, and it has plants all over. Very aesthetic. Other excellent options in Marrakech are Riad Helen, BE Marrakech
SOUTH AMERICA
Peru
Lima: Ayenda La Luna Inn—a basic but excellent and very affordable hotel in Miraflores (where most tourists stay). The staff was extremely friendly (we loved chatting with them) and the breakfast was excellent. We stayed here four nights and eagerly waited to have breakfast each morning.
For one night, we needed a really basic, afforable, and safe hotel near the bus stop. We booked the Serenzza Hotel for this purpose. Everything turned out perfectly!
Huacachina: Banana Adventure Hostel– We stayed in a private room at Banana Adventure Hostel. Everything was perfect here. The room was clean and aesthetic and the food and drinks at the hostel were excellent. We wish we’d stayed one more night. Just beware that there will be loud music until 10 pm. It didn’t bother us at all!
Nasca: Nasca Travel One Hostel– It’s a very basic hotel but the staff is friendly and helpful. I location is not the best but it really wasn’t a big worry.
Arequipa: We stayed at this Airbnb. It wasn’t the cleanest or the most comfortable, but we had a good time here as they had a garden, a cute dog, and they were very sweet themselves. However, I would recommend staying at a hotel closer to the centre, like Hotel Tierrasur. We had actually booked this initially but it wasn’t available when we had to change our dates of stay.
Cusco: We stayed in a very dingy hostel, which we would not recommend. This is the place we initially booked but it wasn’t available on our new dates.
Puno: We had initially booked the Hotel Titicaca Dora because the room was stunning and located in the middle of Lake Titicaca on a reed island. However, they were very unresponsive when we tried to contact them two weeks in advance and then they went on to cancel 24 hours prior. We then booked Titicaca-Uros-summa-Puno at the last minute and we loved our experience here. Very friendly hosts and a stunning room!