I booked my first AirBnB today

[debthaven]

DH's uncle died and we are going to London for his funeral. I was hoping to stay with DS1 and his wife but because they do not have a convertible couch, they offered to take DS3 instead.

Hotel prices there are insane there, so we booked an AirBnB. It's TINY, I'm not even sure it has a double bed (the bed looks like it's halfway between a single and a double). But we'll only be sleeping there, and it's very close to DH's aunt's flat.

As you guys know money is very tight now. We usually stay with the aunt and uncle when we're in London but of course their kids and grandkids will be there for the funeral.

Since money is tight, I really looked for the cheapest option. There were indeed two slightly cheaper places: two garden sheds!!! With no toilets!!! Yes, I'm absolutely serious! One shed offered "bathroom facilities" through the back door of the "main house", the other didn't offer any.

ETA: The AirBnB owner / studio has great reviews, I checked. And yes it has a bathroom.

[wvugurl26]

Holy crap on the shed with no bathrooms. Who would rent that? I've looked at them before it was in a particular rural ski area and I didn't have much luck.

[Gardening Grandma]

I used air b&b for the first time last June.
A room in DC for 3 nights and a room in NY (Manhatten) for three nights.

Personally it was a mixed experience.
In DC, the room was tiny, but immacutely clean with a private bath, in a GREAT location.
It was a little wierd because the owner asked me not to use the front entrance as it might make the doorman aware that they were renting out a room (against the rules).  Also, although the apartment had air conditioning, I got the message he'd prefer I did not use it. At night, it was stifiling hot. I opened the window which helped, but then had traffic noise.

In NY, the room was on the 3rd floor, (walk up)  with a orivate bath also in a convenient location.
But it turns out it was on a street with half a dozen gay bars and it was Gay Pride weekend. The partying was loud and went on til the wee hours. The building was old and poorly insulated.

But both places were a fraction of the cost of a hotel.  Also I was alone and just used the rooms to sleep in. 

[debthaven]

I agree! Who on earth would rent that?! Maybe a couple of guys LOL?!

We had looked at AirBnB before for Tel Aviv when we went to Jordan / Israel a few years ago, for the same reason, hotels in Tel Aviv are insanely expensive. The very affordable people we tried to book with only rented occasionally, and they opted not to rent for those days, so I never looked again, till today.

[debthaven]

the room was tiny, but immacutely clean with a private bath, in a GREAT location.

GG, that sounds EXACTLY like what I booked in London. All the reviews say, "it's very small, but immaculately clean, tastefully decorated, and extremely well situated." Which in our case means, a long walk / 1 metro stop from DH's aunt's place.

Ouch on the noise though!

[Gardening Grandma]

Ear plugs help a lot. I never travel without them.

[debthaven]

I don't own any. Maybe I should get some?

[Gardening Grandma]

Nov 20, 2016 17:06:23 GMT -5 debthaven said:

I don't own any. Maybe I should get some?

They are cheap. I travel with several pairs.  Once asleep, I sleep soundly, but sometimes it's hard to get to sleep in a noisy environment.

In 2012 we rented an apartment in Italy. Beautiful view overlooking a picturesque bay. Spacious clean with a balcony. Great pictures which were accurate.

Not mentioned was a church next door. (a few feet away).  Our 3rd floor apartment was at the same height as the belfry.   The first time the bells rang, I thought " How charming"
The bells rand every quarter hour from 5 am til 11pm.  For a week. 
Earplugs saved my sanity.

[Tennesseer]

Nov 20, 2016 16:15:44 GMT -5 debthaven said:

DH's uncle died and we are going to London for his funeral. I was hoping to stay with DS1 and his wife but because they do not have a convertible couch, they offered to take DS3 instead.

Hotel prices there are insane there, so we booked an AirBnB. It's TINY, I'm not even sure it has a double bed (the bed looks like it's halfway between a single and a double). But we'll only be sleeping there, and it's very close to DH's aunt's flat.

As you guys know money is very tight now. We usually stay with the aunt and uncle when we're in London but of course their kids and grandkids will be there for the funeral.

Since money is tight, I really looked for the cheapest option. There were indeed two slightly cheaper places: two garden sheds!!! With no toilets!!! Yes, I'm absolutely serious! One shed offered "bathroom facilities" through the back door of the "main house", the other didn't offer any.

ETA: The AirBnB owner / studio has great reviews, I checked. And yes it has a bathroom.

Petit pied-a-terre/no-pissour?

[dee27]

or a chamber pot


Pissour-when we were in Paris, many restaurants near Notre Dame did not let you use the lavatory unless you were a paying customer. When I had to use the facility, the waiter handed me a coin for the pay toilet in the basement.

[debthaven]

Yes many cafes / restaurants insist on only being available to paying customers. The same thing happened to my sister and I in Chartres. Welcome to France.

 

[busymom]

You just reminded me of Washington DC! When DD's internship was done, we spent a couple of days touring the city before the long drive back home. At one restaurant, we actually had to key in a code to use their bathroom (the code was given to us by our waitress). Apparently, it was to keep non-paying customers from using it.

[NastyWoman]

Nov 20, 2016 18:20:21 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Yes many cafes / restaurants insist on only being available to paying customers. The same thing happened to my sister and I in Chartres. Welcome to France.

 

I remember, just a year ago, having to get a key from a restaurant in Seattle, to be able to use the bathroom. So not just France - unless someone moved Seattle and forgot to tell me.

[resolution]

We stayed at an Airbnb for a week in Hawaii when we went down there for DH's job interview. The place was clean and neat, and the price was phenomenal. The owner had bought a large house and broken it up into four apartments that he rented out, but every apartment had its own bathroom and kitchen.

I ran into the same situation that I do occasionally with bed and breakfasts, where the owner wanted to spend a lot of time socializing with us, which always feels slightly awkward. However he was very helpful and gave us some tourist information while we were there. He also didn't care for the employer that DH was interviewing with and was trying to get DH to interview with other employers.

When DH came back to try out the job for a couple of months we had tried to get that apartment again, but it was already rented for the duration of his trip. He ended up staying in someone's basement apartment that was arranged through his employer.

[Bonny]

debthaven ,

Your post about bathroom facilities in the main house reminded me of an AirBnB listing that made the news here about a year ago.

It was a tent in someone's backyard in Palo Alto.

[Bob Ross]

Since you used AirBnB, this begs the question as to your true intentions.

So...meth lab, or gay orgy?