I have booked with them, it is no different to booking a self catering holidaylet through the likes of ownersdirect etc. You are booking direct with the property owner, the main difference is it can be just for a night or two and also a lot of places are more unusual like peoples spare bedrooms

Ah thanks, so you can actually be lodging in a families spare room in some cases? that must feel a bit odd.

Yeah that is right, they have everything on there, but also you could be in some else house, its all very clear and you can specify if you mind being with someone or if you want private etc.

colinandrew71 wrote:

Ah thanks, so you can actually be lodging in a families spare room in some cases? that must feel a bit odd.

But it can be a great way to get under the skin of a place. I first did somethiing like this in the 1980s when on a walking holiday in Slovenia and Croatia. We were offered the option of staying in budget hotels or 'local style' with families which meant that we stayed B & B with a family but had dinner at a local hotel. As we were on a tight budget we opted for the latter option because it was cheaperut were glad that we did. We really enjoyed it, and got learn so much more about Slovenia especially. In particular it gave us real insights into how life was for local residents. The families we stayed with were experienced hosts, really friendly, full of tips of the best places to go for a drink, how to get about on public transport etc. We had our own rooms plus a separate bathroom to the rest of the family (but not en-suite).

Nowadays, it is the way I nearly always stay when in Cuba. I've got to know some of the families I stay with really well, it is a great way to practise my Spanish and once they get to know you they will talk quote openly about life in modern Cuba and their hopes for the future. Again we get our own rooms plus personal bThroom and it is now often en-suite but not always. It is a very different experience to staying a hotel but one that I would recemmend. It does of course depend on what you look for from a holiday but after staying with families in Havana and Santiago, doing tour staying in hotels made me realise just what an insulated experience most visitors to Cuba have and I now wouldn't swap staying in a Casa Particulares for a hotel.

To get the best out of the experience it is worth checking whether the host speaks English or not if you don't speak the language if the country but it is amazing just how far you can get with a decent phrasebook and sign language That first time in the old Jugoslavia we found that the host spoke very good German, a language I could get by in. This is how we also discovered that he had learnt it as a teenager during the war when he had been taken as slave labour at the age of 16/7 to work in Frankfurt and that he managed to escape, made it home and then fought with Tito's partisans! In Croatia the host spoke Italian whoch my Dad can get by in. In Cuba, the children now learn English at school (in the past it would more likely be Russian) and they are usually more than happy to practise it by acting as interpreter for guests staying with the family.

To sum up, I would describe lodging with a family in their spare room as different but not odd in the sense of being an uncomfortable experience. On the other hand if you just want the typical hotel experience then it is probably not for you but you won't really know until you give it a try.

SM

Thanks for that Sma, i spend a lot of time travelling to spain as ive been learning the language for a while now and am fairly competent, i also prefer to get away from the tourist type areas and find the real spain, mix with the locals and embrace their way of life. This sounds ideal for me, im also looking at areas of south america so this could be the best option, last time i was in the usa i found the hotels were highly priced looking on the airbnb site theres some good b&b accomodations at much less cost, im always a bit dubious booking through a company ive never used before but some reviews ive found sounds favourable.