Where you choose to put your head down at night is a huge part of what will characterize your next trip. Will you be awoken in the morning by the sounds of room service tapping lightly at the door, or last night’s partiers coming back to the dorm room after a whopper of a night? Or will you be one of those partiers? The choice is yours. All you have to do is know yourself and what you want. Here is a quiz to help you make that choice.
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Hostel in the Forest, Georgia © Arjun Mehta
Choose one statement from each group below that best fits your style of travel. Check out the Score Key at the end of this post to find out what type of accommodations suit you!
#1:
a) I refuse to pay good money for an experience that I’ll only sleep through.
b) I don’t want to blow the budget, but at least want a clean safe place to stay at.
c) I’m on a budget, but I want a little luxury too. I am on vacation, after all!
d) I expect my accommodation to be nothing shy of perfect. Mints on my pillows and towels folded into origami swans are a given.
#2:
a) I like staying in dorm accommodations”¦more people to meet (and, ahem, sleep with).
b) I like the backpacker circuit, but I’d prefer to have my own space to lock my stuff up and relax in solitude.
c) I don’t mind sharing a bathroom with one other guest or room — but I’m sure as hell not going down a flight of stairs to get there in the middle of the night.
d) Where I stay and who I’m sleeping with is nobody’s business but mine. I’ll mingle in the lounge over cocktails, thank you very much.
#3:
a) Sleeping is for when you get home again. I’m on vacation to see stuff, not sleep.
b) I like to hang out with other people at the place I’m staying. Feels like home — but different.
c) Curling up and reading a book by the fireplace or on the porch is a great way to spend at least one day of my vacation.
d) My accommodation is the base of operations for my trip. I want to be comfortable here at any time of day or night.
e) Regardless of whether or not I spend a lot of time here, I expect it to be perfect. Period.
#4:
a) Give me a patch of floor to roll out my sleeping mat. I’m good!
b) I’d like a little library, maybe a nearby café to get a quick snack and morning coffee, and a full kitchen to prepare decent healthy meals.
c) I’m not fussed about bells and whistles, but I’d love access to a pool or hot tub, and be close to places to get food.
d) I expect a full spa, concierge, cleaning service, gym, and gourmet restaurant — for starters.
#5:
a) I’m sleeping. Don’t bother me.
b) The worst thing for a vacation is to lose sleep on a crappy bed. I don’t ask for the world — but I need more than a thin caved in lumpy mattress on a terrible frame, with airplane blankets to sleep with.
c) A decent bed should be a given. I’m looking for a nice place to relax and come down after a day of sightseeing. A separate sitting area in my room would be nice.
d) Double mattresses, feather pillows, down duvets, an en-suite hot tub, and adjoining sitting room with a fully stocked bar, please.
Hotel Call, Barcelona © Y0si
#6:
a) Cooking is for home. I’m on vacation — I’m eating out! Okay, maybe I’ll boil up a packet of ramen if I have to.
b) I’m on a budget, and I get tired of eating at restaurants or fast food joints all the time. I’d like relatively easy access to a grocery store, and full facilities to prepare my food.
c) There’s nothing like a home cooked meal — cooked by somebody else.
d) I plan to sample the finest of haute cuisine for every lunch and dinner. Breakfast? Room service, probably. And the coffee had better be spectacular.
#7:
a) I want to be close to all the action. On top of it would be best.
b) I like to walk everywhere, so although I’m on a budget, I don’t want to stay out in the boondocks to get a cheap room.
c) I want to be close to things, but not so close that I can hear the bars going all night long. I like to feel like I can relax and I’m at home.
d) Quiet, and secluded. The more out of the way it is, the more relaxed I’ll be.
e) Heck — I’ll just rent a car anyway. The place I’m staying at is more important than where exactly it is.
#8:
a) I’ll sleep on the front step until I can check in, and I’ll sleep on the sidewalk after I have to check out if necessary. I don’t really plan on sleeping anyway, so it makes no difference.
b) I’m not fussed about when I have to check in and check out. I’ll make it work either way.
c) I relax on vacation better knowing that my things are squared away in the room. I’d like as much time to enjoy sightseeing without my bags.
d) If I am expected to wait to check in and wake up early to check out, you’ve got another thing coming, buster.
#9:
a) I am my own person on the road, answering to nobody and nothing, thank you very much. Now please excuse me, while I kiss the sky.
b) Although I travel solo, I love to make new friends and travel in groups when I can.
c) Regardless of whether I am traveling with a friend or partner, I want to meet the locals and enjoy some home hospitality.
d) I’m just meeting up with friends who are at my destination anyway. I don’t worry about tables for one.
e) Excuse me? It’s none of your business.
#10:
a) Apparently you eat over one hundred insects during your lifetime while you sleep. No big deal.
b) I don’t need marble-polished floors every day, but a certain degree of sanitary cleanliness is required.
c) I’d like where I’m staying to be cleaner than my home. That might not say much, but it says enough.
d) The sheets and towels should be changed every day, along with a full overhaul of the place. Fresh bathrobes too, please.
Score Key
Scoring:
a: 1 point
b: 2 points
c: 3 points
d: 4 points
e: 5 points
Accomodation Types:
10-18 points: Anywhere, Anytime
You couldn’t care less where you sleep. In fact, a night on the beach after a full moon party is right up your alley. The cheaper, the better. The closer to the action, the better. If you are in an urban area, sleeping in a dorm room in a hostel suits you fine. Couch surfing (or equivalent) is also very cool. Traveling around for a while? Buy a really cheap used car and sleep in that. A camper van would be downright luxurious.
19-27 points: Social Budgeteer
Budget is a concern, as is the ability to meet other travelers and socialize. But you also like to retreat to some degree of privacy or a quiet place when you feel like it. Staying in a semi-private room at a hostel works well for you. You also like to have the ability to cook your own meals both to save money and to enjoy a healthy repast. If you’d prefer to integrate right into a family environment, try a home stay, farm stay, or hospitality exchange (like couch surfing) on for size. For a treat, you could stay at an inexpensive Bed & Breakfast for some local hospitality and a home-cooked breakfast to start your sightseeing day off right. Traveling longer term? Try house sitting. You may be out in the burbs, but the price is right and the amenities are great. You also don’t mind walking the dogs and feeding the cats — it reminds you of your own puppy at home.
28-35 points: Nice, but Realistic
You don’t want to be making sacrifices of quality or comfort on your vacation, but you don’t need the Ritz either. A nice, clean, private, quiet place will do. Standard hotel chains are safe, easy to book, and you know what you’re going to get regardless of where you are. The cost is middle of the road, and the amenities are pretty standard. The pool is nice. If you’d prefer to be a little further out of the way, then a self-contained cottage is a nice option. You’ll get everything you need, and the beauty of nature all around you. Looking for a chance to relax on a beach for a week straight? An all-inclusive resort in less expensive places like Mexico or the Dominican Republic may be your speed. If you crave a home cooked meal and some interaction with the locals, a nice Bed & Breakfast will suit you just fine. And if you are on a longer vacation, try house sitting or doing a house exchange. You’ll get all the comforts of home, and a much less expensive accommodation bill!
36-43 points: Only The Best
You’re on vacation, and you deserve it. No expense should be spared — you’re doing it up right! You think nothing of shelling out for the full spa body-wrap package, and expect the concierge to recommend the finest eateries in town — and reserve the perfect table in the corner by the window for you, using the hotel’s name as clout. You are prepared to tip anybody and everybody you come in contact with, since you are getting great service. Go with top level hotels; generally the more expensive, the better the place will be. For sun-worshippers in need of serious R&R, tropical all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean or Pacific will cater to your every whim with varying degrees of luxury depending on the location and price tag. If you are traveling somewhere out of the way, a high-end fully equipped cottage with coffee-table-book-views will do. But the pillows had better be fluffed and duvet filled to the gills with feathers, or else.
What type of accommodation fits your style of travel? Let us know in the comments section below!