It’s a New Year and I thought I would reflect back at the Airbnbs I have stayed in – over 50 of them by now. Strange to think that I was an Airbnb newbie as recently as February 2019. I stayed in my first, in Heeley, Sheffield, UK when I was clearing my house for sale (after the bed had been taken out.)
Rather than look at the disasters (did I tell you about the one where I broke my toe – or the one where the Rayburn nearly broke me?) I thought I would write a positive post and look at the ones that have gladdened my heart. So here is a post about the 6 best Airbnb’s I have stayed in. They are in no particular order.
Best for views: Liège, Belgium.
This was definitely #1 for views for me – with a lovely panorama over the river Meuse and seeing the barges chugging away down below. If I remember rightly it was on the 6th floor but the lift never failed and it was extremely quiet despite there being a four lane highway directly out the front – the joys of triple glazing. There was no balcony at the front, but one at the back – overlooking part of the town. I can’t remember any negatives about the place and was sad when Liège was badly affected by the flooding of the river in the autumn of 2021. Hopefully things are repaired and back to normal now.
Best for quirkiness – with a special award for the nicest hosts: Dooey – Ireland.
This was my first Airbnb outside of the UK – way back in March 2019. It was a lovely little cottage in the back of beyond with a (sort of) view across to the beach – certainly to the largest sand dune I had ever seen. There was no central heating and the wifi was very patchy so it would have been no good for me once I started online teaching, but I did manage to get at least one blog post out from there – so kudos for that. The only downside was trying to manage the log burner and having to give up in the end and accept an electric heater, but that worked well enough and I had a great time there. I also wrote about the quirky bar in the nearby village; the hosts took me down there for a drink before I left – which to this day is the only time that an Airbnb host has socialised with me!
Best for feeling like home: Totley - Sheffield, UK
Not surprisingly, this one was in Sheffield – UK, where I lived for nearly 30 years – but the flat felt like a real home and could have been anywhere. One of my long stays under lockdown, I still am not sure if I did the right thing leaving it for Scotland! Totley, is on the outskirts of the city – near to the Peak District, so one of the drawbacks was being halfway up a steep hill and far from public transport (for Sheffield.) But I still had a car then, so it wasn’t a major problem. I even managed to get beer delivered to me from my favourite pub in Sheffield (if not in all the world!) The Kelham Island Tavern. More of an issue was the noisy tenant downstairs – but it turned out he was hard of hearing and didn’t realise how much of a racket he was making. Once I had pointed this out, he was fine. Sadly the place has been let out to a long-term tenant so is no longer on Airbnb … but I still have fond memories.
Best for being in the thick of things: Zamora - Spain.
One of my more recent outings and another that felt I could live in (although the bed and office chair left a lot to be desired.) There were some nice artistic touches in the place – a great view of the church and best of all, so close to all the small tapas bars – even though it was in a fairly quiet area. It was also close to a river walk and Zamora has an old and beautiful heart. I think I lost my heart to the town too! A lovely host who collected me from the railway station and took me back there at the end of my stay. Recommended.
Best value for money: Le Perreux Sur Marne, France.
To be within 30 minutes of Paris, on the banks of the River Marne for less than £40 per night (and 2 could have slept there) is an unbelievable bargain. I almost felt guilty for not being out all the time as I was so close to the city, but the apartment was that comfortable I often didn’t want to leave. This was a place (and there have been others) which was the host’s home but they had vacated it for the period of the let. Subsequently, all the drawers and wardrobes were full of stuff, which wasn’t a problem for me (I live out of the suitcase anyway) but did lead to a bad review from someone else. Sadly, I was perhaps the last person to stay there as the Covid outbreak happened at the end of my trip (I just got back to the UK in time) and I notice that the host has not let it out since. I will keep an eye on the listing though and if anything changes …
The one I NEED to mention: Limoges – France.
A special shout out to Americo, from Limoges for hosting above and beyond the call of duty – especially as the error was mine all along.
When I arrive at a place one of the first things I do is check the speed of the internet to ensure that it is good enough for my on-line teaching. So after arriving at Limoges and having the tour of the flat by Mrs Americo, I set up in the bedroom and … disaster. My readings showed that the speed was not even fast enough to operate the camera. So I contacted Americo and he came straight away. When he arrived, I could see – or rather smell why he had arranged for his wife to check me in. I had obviously interrupted a drinking session which made me warm to him. He had no English and my French isn’t great so between us and google translate we manage to arrange that he would try and get a ethernet cable for me to connect direct to the modem. The next day, he brought the cable … but still the test showed that there was a problem, so Americo said he would get in touch with the cable company to see what they suggested. Whilst he did that, I decided to take my laptop around Limoges (a city I have never been to before) and see if I could find a solution anywhere else. I started at “Orange” who kindly let me set up in their shop to test the internet there. The fact that I couldn’t get a fast enough speed there made me think that the problem might lie with the laptop and not the flat’s connection, but they were unable to help any further. I called in at various computer repair shops and even at a, ‘virtual games workshop’ but couldn’t find anyone to help. One place tried disabling my virus checker and various other programs – but drew a blank. He still charged me 10 Euros for his time though. When I got back to the flat I found a message from Americo that the cable company were coming to upgrade his modem (which was in the apartment upstairs – so thus disturbing that tenant) and he was really hopeful this would solve the issue. But I knew now that the fault probably was with me not the setup.
So I put a shout out on facebook and one person who had the same laptop mentioned that when he had had a similar problem he found that he had inadvertently switched off his camera and simply switching on again solved the problem. No – it couldn’t be something so easy, could it? Yep it could.
What to do? I only found this solution late in the evening and I knew Americano had things booked for before the time I would normally wake up. Then there was the language barrier to contend with. Okay, no excuses, I should have let him know. But in the end I let it happen. They came, upgraded his system and when the laptop connected, as I knew it would, I joined with him in celebrating whilst feeling really mean inside.
Of course, I left a really good review, praising the new fast internet connection and suggesting that it would be a really cool place for digital nomads (it would for people who just wanted to get on with their work, didn’t care about surroundings and just needed to be right next to the railway station.) But it will probably remain the stay I most feel guilty about.
So there you have it – the 6 best Airbnbs. To be honest, there have been far more good ones than bad and the only real disasters I have had were short-lived. My current one is fine – if a little noisy from the car repair shop opposite, and there are two more in the pipeline before I leave Portugal in March. I wonder if any of them will make the list next year?
This blog post is for information and entertainment and is not sponsored or endorsed by Airbnb in any way. However if you can, and would like to help the blog out – there is a way you can do this. If you are interested in hosting people in your property you can use the referral link here: www.airbnb.co.uk/r/stevea3726 Let me know if you decide to do this so that I can track the “reward!” As usual if you have any queries just drop me a message on the feedback or via steev@newlifesteev.com
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Comments
Hi Steev
I’m enjoying the blog posts. Maybe see you when you’re back in Sheffield – let me know if you’re up for it.
Anna x
I might see you at Wiston Lodge – I have pencilled it in, but it all depends on the sleeping arrangements.
Reading this felt like travelling from the comfort of my kitchen. I love the variety and personal touches of airbnbs, and over the last two years have indulged in planning several fantasy stays! Thanks for sharing.
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