Refining what I want from travel accommodation

Distance from the things I’d like to see

I’ve learnt the error of my ways here - in the past, I have booked accommodation that may be a little further out but its a bit cheaper……and I’ve essentially always regretted it. Now, I would say this is the leading factor in my decision-making - I want my base to be within about 1-2 miles of the majority of the things I want to see. I also look at it from the other angle too, and do not bother staying anywhere that doesn’t have a good amount of things in the vicinity I am interested in, no matter how incredible the accommodation is. I rarely go on holiday to spend the whole trip in the accommodation itself and I don’t want to spend my holiday in the car constantly making daily road trips, so figuring out what I would like to do while I’m there has to come first.

Style of the property

I like to try, where possible, to pick somewhere ‘of its place’ - a style of building that is quite specific to the town or country I’m staying in. This means a really wide variety of things like villas in Tuscany, converted Oast houses in Kent, skinny little townhouses in the Netherlands, converted industrial spaces in Turin, a flat with a sauna in Estonia or Finland, converted mining engine houses in Cornwall, ultra-modern high-rise apartments in Warsaw, clapboard houses with a porch in the Southern USA, mountain cabins in Switzerland - anywhere that speaks for the history, traditions or even present-day milieu. I feel like this gives me a unique experience that is hard to repeat. Of course, some places don’t necessarily have especially unique buildings like these, but where they do, I will prioritise staying in one over other (generically) lovely accommodations

Decor and interior styling

I do prefer a tastefully modern interior, with some style and warmth through unique touches. I’m less keen on very fussy, romantic, country or traditional style, though don’t mind it if its inkeeping with the property and area. I have also noticed I don’t like it to feel too starkly sparse or minimalist, nor cluttered and mismatched. Hard to put my finger on this one.

Views

Didn’t used to care about this, until we stayed in an apartment in the Costa Brava with an uninterrupted view of the Balearic Sea. It brought such joy to step out onto the balcony with a morning coffee absorbing the view; or eating dinner with a gorgeous sunset in the background, right there in our own accommodation. Since then, I get why properties with a view - even just a view of a nice garden - command a premium; I don’t always want to pay the premium, but I do understand it. Holidays which I am designing around relaxation make me prioritise a view, whereas I will tend to forego it for a busy or active holiday.

Outdoor space

I would say I now book accommodation with some outdoor space, 8 times out of 10. It actually irritates the life out of me that there are no filters for this on AirBnB. The nature of the outdoor space might just be as simple as a small balcony from an apartment, but I have learned that being able to relax ‘outdoors’ while we are at our accommodation - reading, sipping a drink, sunbathing, chatting, eating - really adds to the enjoyment of say, an easygoing bit of downtime. A friend and I went to San Sebastian once and really missed a bit of outdoor space for the few hours we would hang out in our accom between activities. If I’m planning to go somewhere with warm weather, it quickly moves up the priority list.

Cost

This is rarely a main feature I use to determine where I want to stay. I of course have a budget, but that budget can be quite fluid depending on how many trips I plan to take that year, what the holiday is designed to give me, which country I am planning to stay in, how long I’ll be staying for, what ‘extra’ amenities I’d like to have and think will be important for the trip (such as a pool, parking space, garden etc.). I try first to assess what is available on that area’s specific market, and pick out the places that float my boat, before then considering if I think it is good value for money considering all the above.