Hotel vs. Hostel is part of the Quest Around the Globe Trip Report.
I arrived in Ayia Napa, Cyprus with nowhere to stay. Spoiled by the perks of my Russian hotels (see Park Hyatt Moscow: Luxury Inside & Out, St. Regis Moscow: Setting the Standard, W St. Petersburg: Vivid Veuve Memories, Radisson Royal St. Petersburg, Russia: Where’s the Sauna?), I was not ready to abandon the luxury lifestyle alive.
Faros Hotel
With no name-brand hotels in the area, I decided to pay for a ‘3-star’ hotel. While it was not bad, I don’t believe it was worth the $150/night that they were charging. It certainly is not worth the advertised rate of $350 a night.
- Amenities
There’s no need for a giant pool when the draw of the island is the beaches. It’s worse when the pool lacks signs of life.
- Comfort
The room was decent and the shower was fine.
- Overall
I give this hotel a solid two stars. It would be a bargain at $75. At $150, it’s a bit much. At $350, it’s ridiculous.
Senator Hotel Apartments
I switched to Senator Hotel Apartments for my last night.
- Amenities
While the location was a bit further from Bedrock nightlife (see Guns & Butter: Ayia Napa Travel Guide), the pool was just as good. In addition, it was nice seeing young travelers at the pool instead of grandma and grandpa.
- Comfort
The trouble with any hostel-style hotel is comfort. Happiness in life, including hangovers, requires a good shower, a comfortable bed, a humming a/c, and good Wi-Fi. Here, the beds were horribly uncomfortable and the shower had no pressure and intermittent hot water.
Comparison
So which one is it? Hotel or hostel? Each of them had perks and each of them had drawbacks. For the hotel, the perk is the location. The drawback is the price. For the hostel, the perk is the price. The drawback is more of the location than the expected lack of comfort, especially for one night. If I had to choose, I would stay for free and be pampered at a brand-name hotel. Since there weren’t any, I was fine splitting my time between these two.
good article ! Helped me a lot
There is another option – guest rooms 🙂