After the past few weeks of almost constant travel, I have felt the need to do something different from my previous posts and write a quick review on our experiences with the website AirBnb.
For those who have not used Airbnb, it is kind of like Expedia or hotels.com, but for travelers who wish to rent from private owners and avoid hotels. Basically its a service that connects travelers all over the world to people renting out their extra living space. It is geared towards travelers who are on a budget, and it is possible to rent anything from a bed or single room to an entire apartment. Most places can be rented anywhere from a night to a week or longer, and is usually cheaper than staying in a hotel.
Now as with any online service, it is always good to proceed with a little caution. My boyfriend had experience using the site, and he recommended it to me. I then suggested it to my dad to look into for us, because we wanted to plan last minute weekend trips from Milan.
Our first experience was our recent trip to Nice for the weekend, which you can read about here.
Because we planned the vacation very last minute, and there was going to be 5 adults, it would have been very expensive to find a hotel. My dad found the apartment on AirBnb a couple nights before we left, and we set out to France!
The manager of the apartment was a really nice Russian girl who didn't speak much English. She brought her friend along because she was nervous about speaking to us in English. They showed us the free parking spot in the building's garage (a HUGE perk, considering the traffic and difficult parking in such a populous area.) The apartment building had great security and overall was very nice. The apartment featured one master BR, living room with pullout couch and a cot, and small kitchen and balcony. It was perfect for our three night stay, and much cheaper than paying for a hotel for five people and three nights.
It was also only a block away from the beach, so it was easy to walk around the town and find places to explore. It was nice to have more than just a crowded hotel room, with a kitchen to keep some extra snacks and drinks, and plenty of space for us to sleep. Also having wifi, AC, and a parking spot were excellent bonuses.
The experience overall was great. Since then, we have rented apartments in Rome and Sorrento, both with similar, positive experiences. It has worked out great for us and I would highly suggest it if you are looking for something last minute, and something a little bit off the beaten track or more private than a hotel room. I am also going to write a follow-up post with tips of a few things to remember when renting an apartment through Airbnb or another similar service when traveling.
Extra Sidenote: we also stayed in a few places from Booking.com - and had wonderful experiences in every one of those places as well! We have been truly lucky on this trip to have stayed in excellent accommodations with no negative experiences.
