How to Find Cool Accommodations

How where you stay affects your experience:

We have a very specific preference about where we like to stay when we put a lot of time, money, and energy toward traveling to a new place (unless we can stay for free with friends or family, then we always do that). If we’re going to be investing so much in this adventure, we want to get the most out of it. We aren’t crazy vacation rewards program people (yet anyway), so we are bound to nothing other than our own desires. That desire is to experience each place to the absolute fullest from the moment we arrive until the moment we leave. If we want to do that, then my accommodation better allow us to do it.

Let me explain a little clearer with a non-example: I am failing if I could be experiencing the exact same thing back home in my own region. If I am staying in a chain hotel on the other side of the world that I have down the road, I feel like I have wasted an opportunity.

I try to make sure I am experiencing what makes this place different from my everyday life, whether it be people and culture, nature, or urban exploration. I want all of that outside my door, not some stock rug pattern and wallpaper I could see down the street at the local Holiday Inn (nothing against the Holiday Inn – we actually lived in one for a week when we relocated to Arkansas with no housing lined up). I’m going to share some examples of cool accommodations we have found around the world, then share some tips on how to find unique places no matter where you’re traveling to next!

Example: Costa Rica

Our purpose for traveling to Costa Rica for our honeymoon was to experience the unparalleled natural beauty, hit the beach, and see some unique wildlife (sloths are Sarah’s favorite, along with manatees). After I finally stopped listening to everyone’s advice about the amazing all-inclusive resorts they visited in Costa Rica, I hit my stride looking for reasonably priced unique places to stay that put all the incredible things right outside my bedroom door. I mean literally out my bedroom door. I eventually found a spot that had about 10 rooms, put the sand two steps from my door, a hammock even closer, and a private beach 150 feet away, separated from my room by a little grove of trees where sloths liked to (literally) hang out.

Aside from when I was walking from my bed to the bathroom, it was impossible to not feel like I was in a different place. From this spot we could walk a mile to Cahuita National Park, a tiny rainforest on the beach, but honestly I felt like I was inside the rainforest for a whole week. I also find that I relax way more when I experience a place like this. I never have that nagging feeling that I’m missing out on something, even when I sit down to just chill and never make it further than 200 feet from my room. Check out Hotel La Diosa to see for yourself what I mean.

Other unique experiences we loved:

• Laying in a hammock on a rooftop porch that used to be the private bedroom of the  Cashew Hill Jungle Lodge owner. Back story: when we accidentally booked the wrong arrival date there, and everywhere in town was at capacity because it was New Year’s Eve, the owner let us stay in a rooftop bedroom that isn’t meant for guests. This place, also in Costa Rica, is a beauty tucked into the edge of the forest but still just a 10 minute walk to the beaches of Puerto Viejo. They host yoga retreats on site at Cashew Hill now and also have a small pool.
  
• Waking up in Zion National Park with mountains in every direction at South Campground. This campground is perfectly situated at the entrance to the park, with a shuttle stop just a short walk away to catch rides into the canyon for hiking or into town for a good meal. The views are stunning and the facilities are sufficiently clean. Pro Tip: sites only cost $20/night but reservations only open up 14 days ahead of time, so there’s a race to book them during busy seasons. This makes it hard to plan ahead, but the risk is worth the potential reward.
  
• Stepping out of our cramped 4-bedroom apartment (with 12 people staying in it) in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood and being within walking distance of 3 awesome city parks. When vacationing in a city, the location of your housing is of utmost importance. It’s always more expensive to be in the heart of a city, but the ease of adventuring really allows you to make the most of your time.
  
• Listening to the frogs of Puerto Rico serenade me to sleep in the middle of our rainforest bed & breakfast. The Rainforest Inn looks like those quaint inns you see on the bright pages of travel books. The owners serve breakfast each morning, with a rotating menu that features a different meal each day of the week, prepared just for you. With a max capacity on-site of about 11 people, everyone dines together and has the time to swap adventure tips before starting their day. They also have their own private hike on the property that leads you to a waterfall and swimming hole with views of the rain forest. Hanging out at this swimming hole with just Sarah and one of our best friends for a few hours is actually one of my all-time favorite travel memories (feature photo at the beginning of this post is from The Rainforest Inn).
  
• Being woken in the middle of the night by an elephant nibbling on the tree over my tent in Botswana at Elephant Sands. With on-site dining, a pool that occasionally attracts thirsty elephants to come right up to the patio, and a natural watering hole where packs of wild dogs gather, this place is perfect for camping on your way to or from the Okavango Delta.
  
• Laying in bed and watching a thunderstorm out the front of my open eco-dome on Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda. Byoona Amagara is hard to put into words. It is on an island in the middle of the lake, and the design of the domes on the slope of the hill allows for the front to be completely open overlooking the water, while never compromising your privacy. We happened to be there during some overcast weather, so our photos don’t do it justice, but their website is worth checking out! Great menu of food on-site as well.

How to find incredible accommodations:

• Go to Trip Advisor.
• Put in the information about where and when I am going (sometimes a specific city, but in my preliminary stages I will put just the country or region to get ideas or find something really cool and better understand a realistic price for that area).
• Scroll through the filters until I get to Property Type, unclick “Hotels,” and choose “Specialty Lodging.” This narrows things to hostels, backpackers, and specialty/boutique hotels, but also campsites and condo rentals, so be patient.
• Play around with random filters (usually setting the maximum price at $95 unless I’m in a city) and I scroll through the list until my interest is sparked, then dive in to the ones that look appealing (while opening 1000 tabs in my browser, but feel free to do it in a less chaotic way).
• Finally, check the travelers’ pictures to see if it is actually as nice as the website says, and I make sure the pictures match what I am trying to experience. Be weary of any place that only has pictures of the outside and lacks photos of the rooms inside.

Other great resources:

• Airbnb – This option is especially great in cities (but you know that) and when you’re traveling with large groups.
• Travel guide books –  I love them, but they’re overwhelming and usually I need to already know a place a bit to be able to decipher all the information and details provided. Bradt is my favorite, even though it isn’t as aesthetically pleasing as Lonely Planet.
• Ex-pat’s living there – Hard to have access to them until you have already arrived (unless you find trustworthy blogs), but these people have had more time to explore, gather tips, and experience things for themselves. You can certainly trust them more than just pictures on the internet. But keep in mind that other people may have different tastes and price ranges.

I hope these tips will help you create incredible travel moments like they have for us! If you’ve stayed in some unique accommodations, feel free to share in the comments below to inspire other readers!