Booking holiday with friend

[princesspeach21]

I am currently trying to organise a city break with a good friend of mine. It's something we've been talking about for ages and are now finally trying to plan something.

However, we seem to have very different ideas when it comes to booking accommodation. She has just sent me some screenshots of hostels (dorm rooms) which quite frankly I wouldn't feel comfortable staying in. They are also a good way out from the centre.

On other hand I would normally opt for luxury/5* hotels and would much rather stay centrally as we are only going for a few days. The only thing I can think of is to ask her the maximum she would be prepared to spend and then for me to pay the extra. I am happy to do this especially if it saves us time getting to the attractions. Does this sound unreasonable? I really cannot see how we could find a compromise and I really want to go.

@DancesWithOtters I will do, genuinely don't think she would mind though, haha! I have looked but they are still a LOT more than what she had in mind. I found a central 5 star** on offer for honestly not much more than an Ibis (and I'd happily cover the difference) but because it says 5 star I think she assumes it's way overpriced.

You're not being a snob, you're wanting to arrange a great holiday for you both.
If your friend's genuinely taken the hump about it, though, it sounds like the holiday may not happen.

As someone who was short of money for a long time, I'd have accepted an offer like yours if I was sure that my friend could afford it and that it would be instantly forgotten who'd paid for what.
Not everyone would want to do that, though.

She called you a snob? That isn;t very nice :-(

I think I woudl say something like "mate, it isn't snobby wanting a private hotel room or apartment for the weekend break. As I said i'm happy to pay the difference and stay someone like [this] [this] or [this]. Let me know if you're happy with that? I just want to have a nice relaxing weekend with you and I won't find sharing a hostel relaxing."

also agree with what @Mxyzptlk says. One of our mates has a MASSIVE budget compared to us and he often 'upgrades' the accommodation from the nice airbnb we have picked to an expensive hotel and picks up the difference.

Just FYI, I've stayed in a few Airbnbs where the home owner was there and was just letting a room. It was fine, I hardly saw them! They went and got on with their lives and gave me a key and I could come and go as I pleased, so maybe don't dismiss the option of an airbnb room in someone's house just yet

@slothface my main worry is that we were planning to go out drinking a couple of nights and I hate the thought of drunkenly bursting into someone's home at 2am. Also I know it could happen anywhere but I'd worry about my stuff going missing, I always travel with my laptop and would die if anything happened to it. Sharing accommodation would put me on edge too much to enjoy myself if I'm honest.

@ComingUpTrumps just had a look and it does look amazing indeed, but it's £180 a night which is way off what she had in mind

OP - she is being unreasonable to insist on shared accommodation with strangers, but equally I find your insistence on 5 star accommodation equally offputting. Look for something between the two

@princesspeach21

OK in all fairness you are starting to sound really precious now. What are you doing taking your laptop on a mini break?

Agree to separate accommodation both in the city centre. Use WhatsApp to text each other when youre up and ready for breakfast etc. If youre both in city centre there will be no organisational difference between staying in different establishments and staying in different rooms.

If you can, definitely stay centrally as their night bus system is weird. Teams stop before midnight. My best friend and I went in the summer and got caught out by this and then ended up with a €25 taxi!! :(

@Fizzyknickers oh crap...I'd just found a nice hotel a bit out of town as well and it was a LOT cheaper than the other one. But it would be an hours walk :(

Your logic is so weird! You would rather stay in a naice hotel an hours walk away than somewhere a bit divier in the centre? I dont get this.

@sunshineinabag I have an online business so can't really go anywhere without it. She is aware of this and knows I will need to use it a bit. I keep work to an absolute minimum when I travel though.

It's not even that, it is cheaper than even the basic hotels in the centre. I thought it would be a good compromise as some posters have said the public transport is good.

We stayed in the central student hotel on a recent ish trip. Don’t be put off by the name - it was really nice and funky. Not studenty in terms of the rooms as it is a proper hotel, although did have a young vibe (we are mid 30s and it suited us). Lovely big comfy bed, large room, nespresso machine. Great bike hire too, which we did to get around town. Didn’t have breakfast but ate in a lovely cafe just down the road. It was very reasonable.

Why not go for a three star hotel? Meet somewhere in the middle. Three star is fine for a city break. You aren´t going to be sitting inside your room all day anyway.

I wouldn´t offer to pay for her. If I were her, I wouldn´t take that particularly well. Find something for both your budgets and go from there. If you can´t, then don´t go.

Can anyone suggest somewhere else we can go instead? Amsterdam doesn't seem particularly good value for money and a lot of the hotels are already full for the dates we had in mind which is limiting our options.

Marrakech!

Bratislava

Brussels, you can get the Eurostar its much more fun and artier than people assume, plus I know a fantastic stylish and gorgeous central hotel at great prices that do an amazing breakfast including fry up, pancakes and continental

Copenhagen- I loved it, we got a cheap apartment through owners direct ( no one else there) bought the Copenhagen pass which covered all our sightseeing and ate at street vendors or pubs which had excellent but cheap food. The only thing that was pricey is drinking out.

Vilnius. So so cheap and I loved it. Or Lisbon.

cauliflower I am looking at Bratislava for next year. What's it like there?

Berlin!