Lifestyle Choices: Hotel, Hostel or Villa?

People often ask me where to stay or what the best option for them may be when travelling. This led me to write this post to help everyone out a little and weigh up the pros and cons of staying in a hotel, hostel or villa. Hope you enjoy it!

Hotel

Staying in a hotel is often the go to-choice for many holidaymakers and travellers around the world. Depending on the quality of hotel you choose to reside in, they often offer a comfortable experience where you get access to amenities such as TV, En-Suite Bathroom and Double Bed. The quality of hotels can vary vastly but most 3* to 5* hotels provide a good experience.

However, when choosing to stay in hotel you often miss out on enjoying the local culture. Many hotels often provide a more sheltered experience, with it being designed to protect their customers and cater to all needs. You will have to either eat out or eat at the hotel, where the cuisine is often one designed to make every traveller happy. This is great if you have no interest in experiencing the local culture of the country you have visited, but not so great if you have a thirst for new adventures and experiences. Furthermore, the best 3*-5* hotels are often very expensive, and costs can add quickly if you factor in room service and eating out every night.

3* Hotel in Bangkok

One of the real joys about going abroad is the opportunity to meet new people from all walks of life and to have a good time with your family or best friends. This is often limited when staying in hotel because they are not designed to be social settings. With everyone being confined to their own rooms, it’s hard to meet new people or share the holiday experience of a lifetime with those closest to you. In a day and age where people are glued to their phones, that only gives people more reason not to socialise!

Nonetheless, hotels are a good safe option if you want to go abroad and be guaranteed a comfortable experience. If you stay in a decent quality hotel, you will still be in good hands.

Hostel

Hostels are fantastic because they are often very cheap and provide a great social setting for travellers to mix and meet new people. Many hostels often organise events as icebreakers to give everyone a chance to make new friends. For younger travellers, hostels are very popular for these exact reasons. Staying in a hostel will give you the chance to experience the local culture, as many are often run by locals rather than huge international hotel chains but even more so because many of the activities organised by them involve local activities.

However, because hostels are so cheap by staying in one you are choosing to sacrifice staying in a comfortable and luxurious environment. In many hostels you will either have to co-habit a dorm room, which is great for meeting new people but not so great if you enjoy your own privacy. This is because many hostels are designed with back-packers in mind, who travel from place to place. This means they often are not designed for long-term stays, meaning that hostels often lack the sense of home you can find in either a hotel or villa – when staying in one you know you are staying in a hostel. For older travellers or couples, hostels may not be a desirable option due to the lack of privacy and sharing of facilities.

Example of a hostel in Bali...

Nonetheless, hostels provide an extremely cost-effective experience and provide a great opportunity to meet new people and enjoy the local culture if you don’t mind sharing facilities with other people and are happy to have a slightly less comfortable experience.

Villa

With many villas being designed by well renowned and respects architects across the globe, staying in a villa is an extremely luxurious and comfortable experience. With fantastic amenities and that extra edge of class, you get the opportunity to see and feel the high life. Unlike a hotel or hostel, because of the homelier feel and the fact you are in your own space a villa stay is like a home away from home.

You get the chance to soak in the local culture by venturing out or interacting with your villa manager who is there to guide you and ensure you have a fantastic experience. By booking a villa for your holiday you provide yourself with the opportunity to share the experience of a lifetime with those closest to you, rather than having separate experiences in separate hotel rooms for example. If you are booking a villa with your family and friends it’s great and very social experience because you will all be enjoying the luxury space together.

Many people are often put-off staying in villa because they consider it out of their price-range. However, many villas are often extremely cost effective when broken down into costs per person per night with most villas actually being cheaper than 4* or 5* hotels in Asia.

But what if you are a solo traveller? Or if your main reason for going abroad is to meet new people? If you are looking to meet new people and experience luxury use our ground-breaking Villa Pool feature to connect with groups and individuals from all around the world! No matter who you are, we want you to expand your horizons and Villa Pool is designed to do exactly that. We will do the hard-work for you and connect you with like-minded individuals with similar interests before the trip, who you can then have the time of your life with!

I hope this post was useful and makes your decision-making process a bit easier. Before I finish though, remember to:

Never stop travelling, share with others and always choose to Live, Life, Luxuriously.

Papi