I tried the condo rental instead of hotel.. it was not feeling like a vacation doing dishes, cooking, laundry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We tend to rent condos at the beach or mountains and prefer centrally located hotels when visiting cities and hotels/resorts when visiting islands (ideally smaller boutique resorts).

When staying at a condo at the beach, we hit the grocery store but we don’t overdo it. We keep some staples on hand, but we still get our coffee (and baked goods) from a cafe and typically eat dinner at restaurants or bring in food. So, I don’t really cook at the beach.

We usually do laundry at the condo to stay on top of towels. But laundry isn’t hard, and everyone knows how to do laundry (including my husband and kids).

Everyone pitches in to keep the condo clean throughout the week. There’s a cleaning service, so I don’t scrub anything. It’s NBD.

If you haven’t cruised yet, you should try it. No cooking or cleaning. No laundry. They clean your cabin twice a day and provide turn down service. Room service is included. It’s the most relaxing vacations for moms. There’s really nothing else like it. You can send your DH off with the kids while you lay in the sun with a drink in your hand. Bliss!

Would rather cook every meal on vacation and do all the dishes every day by hand than go on a cruise. But hey to each their own.

+1

I think the only way I’d ever do a cruise is if a family member wheeled me onto a cruise ship….against my will.

I don’t understand how you all group “cruises” together. I’d never go on a carnival cruise but a high-end cruise to the Galapagos? Yes, please. It just makes you sound close minded.

Nah. I’ve done my research on cruises. Talked to friends and family, seen pics, videos, checked routes… not for me at all. I know me and it’s not how I ever want to vacation.

And you and I both know what was meant by “cruise”. Pools and drinks, not turtles. 😄

You’re telling me you can’t find a cruise route that’s appealing? That’s a you problem then.
I just don’t understand dismissing something that you’ve never tried. It’s like when my kids tell me they don’t like a food they haven’t eaten.
And I have no idea what your last sentence even means.

Much of the entire cruise experience is unappealing to me but the reason a route is unappealing is because of all the short stops with minimal times in areas. I would not like to disembark, tour a spot for only a few hours and then get back on boat to sleep. The way I prefer to travel is to spend time in areas and actually get out and experience them. I’ve been to places cruise ships go, Alaska, carribean, north east US, Canada, pacific northwest, Mediterranean and the areas are beautiful. I love spending time in the areas and experiencing them for longer visits. Thats how I like to travel and vacation. If you like cruise ships, good for you. 😉

Fwiw some itineraries actually stay overnight or multiple nights in ports (e.g., there are cruises to Bermuda where it’s docked there for 4 nights and then you sail back home). There are certain lines (smaller boats) that do itineraries where you just island hop in Greece or Croatia, docking overnight so you can enjoy the nightlife. And most Med and River cruises stay in port late as well (so you can eat dinner on land if you prefer).

But this thread is about relaxing, and the bottom line is cruising is more relaxing than being in a condo at the beach or an Airbnb in Europe. Hands down.

PS - every thread that references cruising quickly devolves to open criticism of cruising as if every cruise is a trashy experience preferred by dim witted people unequipped to travel. And that’s just not the case.

Someone always comments that you only have a few hours on land and don’t see anything, and that’s just not true.

Hands down to you doesn't mean hands down to everyone else. I would rather just fly to Bermuda and stay for 4 days in a nicer part of the island than spend all the time sailing there to stay on the ship in....Dockyard. Hands down! See how that works?

Sure.

But if you are in a condo cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. then a cruise is objectively more relaxing.

ICYMI: the op tried a condo and didn’t enjoy it precisely because of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.

Focus, people!

:0)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We tend to rent condos at the beach or mountains and prefer centrally located hotels when visiting cities and hotels/resorts when visiting islands (ideally smaller boutique resorts).

When staying at a condo at the beach, we hit the grocery store but we don’t overdo it. We keep some staples on hand, but we still get our coffee (and baked goods) from a cafe and typically eat dinner at restaurants or bring in food. So, I don’t really cook at the beach.

We usually do laundry at the condo to stay on top of towels. But laundry isn’t hard, and everyone knows how to do laundry (including my husband and kids).

Everyone pitches in to keep the condo clean throughout the week. There’s a cleaning service, so I don’t scrub anything. It’s NBD.

If you haven’t cruised yet, you should try it. No cooking or cleaning. No laundry. They clean your cabin twice a day and provide turn down service. Room service is included. It’s the most relaxing vacations for moms. There’s really nothing else like it. You can send your DH off with the kids while you lay in the sun with a drink in your hand. Bliss!

Would rather cook every meal on vacation and do all the dishes every day by hand than go on a cruise. But hey to each their own.

+1

I think the only way I’d ever do a cruise is if a family member wheeled me onto a cruise ship….against my will.

I don’t understand how you all group “cruises” together. I’d never go on a carnival cruise but a high-end cruise to the Galapagos? Yes, please. It just makes you sound close minded.

Nah. I’ve done my research on cruises. Talked to friends and family, seen pics, videos, checked routes… not for me at all. I know me and it’s not how I ever want to vacation.

And you and I both know what was meant by “cruise”. Pools and drinks, not turtles. 😄

You’re telling me you can’t find a cruise route that’s appealing? That’s a you problem then.
I just don’t understand dismissing something that you’ve never tried. It’s like when my kids tell me they don’t like a food they haven’t eaten.
And I have no idea what your last sentence even means.

Much of the entire cruise experience is unappealing to me but the reason a route is unappealing is because of all the short stops with minimal times in areas. I would not like to disembark, tour a spot for only a few hours and then get back on boat to sleep. The way I prefer to travel is to spend time in areas and actually get out and experience them. I’ve been to places cruise ships go, Alaska, carribean, north east US, Canada, pacific northwest, Mediterranean and the areas are beautiful. I love spending time in the areas and experiencing them for longer visits. Thats how I like to travel and vacation. If you like cruise ships, good for you. 😉

Fwiw some itineraries actually stay overnight or multiple nights in ports (e.g., there are cruises to Bermuda where it’s docked there for 4 nights and then you sail back home). There are certain lines (smaller boats) that do itineraries where you just island hop in Greece or Croatia, docking overnight so you can enjoy the nightlife. And most Med and River cruises stay in port late as well (so you can eat dinner on land if you prefer).

But this thread is about relaxing, and the bottom line is cruising is more relaxing than being in a condo at the beach or an Airbnb in Europe. Hands down.

PS - every thread that references cruising quickly devolves to open criticism of cruising as if every cruise is a trashy experience preferred by dim witted people unequipped to travel. And that’s just not the case.

Someone always comments that you only have a few hours on land and don’t see anything, and that’s just not true.

Hands down to you doesn't mean hands down to everyone else. I would rather just fly to Bermuda and stay for 4 days in a nicer part of the island than spend all the time sailing there to stay on the ship in....Dockyard. Hands down! See how that works?

Sure.

But if you are in a condo cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. then a cruise is objectively more relaxing.

ICYMI: the op tried a condo and didn’t enjoy it precisely because of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.

Focus, people!

:0)

Being in a tiny cruiseship cabin with my entire family is not relaxing, but YMMV. Plenty of us find a way to be relaxed in condos- it's really up to you how much cooking/cleaning/laundry you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We always do hotels. Don't want to cook and clean on vacation. We have only one kid so space is less of an issue.

This is us, too. Hotels only. And I take the PPs' point that just because you have a kitchen/laundry doesn't mean you have to use it, but in my experience, an airbnb (with the amenities we want, ex. oceanfront) isn't a cost savings if you aren't cooking and eating in.

[Anonymous]

I don't mind vacationing in a condo with other people, I just won't do it with my DH because I already sort of hate cohabitating with him and I want vacation to be a break from that dynamic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We always do hotels. Don't want to cook and clean on vacation. We have only one kid so space is less of an issue.

This is us, too. Hotels only. And I take the PPs' point that just because you have a kitchen/laundry doesn't mean you have to use it, but in my experience, an airbnb (with the amenities we want, ex. oceanfront) isn't a cost savings if you aren't cooking and eating in.

For us it's not as much the cost savings but space. But we have two kids who cannot share a bed without fighting and and still generally go to bed earlier than us. So for vacations longer than a weekend, I much prefer having a seperate bedroom from them and a space to hang out. Sometimes family rooms or residence inn type places work too though, it really just depends. Also, I highly value lounging with a good cup of coffee in my pajamas and hotel room coffee is generally awful. But I'm wierd, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We always do hotels. Don't want to cook and clean on vacation. We have only one kid so space is less of an issue.

This is us, too. Hotels only. And I take the PPs' point that just because you have a kitchen/laundry doesn't mean you have to use it, but in my experience, an airbnb (with the amenities we want, ex. oceanfront) isn't a cost savings if you aren't cooking and eating in.

For us, it’s not about savings but about having more bedrooms. Some locations don’t have hotels readily available either and the selection of air bnbs is better (I can think of at least two beach locations where this has been the case for us).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind vacationing in a condo with other people, I just won't do it with my DH because I already sort of hate cohabitating with him and I want vacation to be a break from that dynamic.

So do you vacation without him? Just trying to figure out the relevance here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We tend to rent condos at the beach or mountains and prefer centrally located hotels when visiting cities and hotels/resorts when visiting islands (ideally smaller boutique resorts).

When staying at a condo at the beach, we hit the grocery store but we don’t overdo it. We keep some staples on hand, but we still get our coffee (and baked goods) from a cafe and typically eat dinner at restaurants or bring in food. So, I don’t really cook at the beach.

We usually do laundry at the condo to stay on top of towels. But laundry isn’t hard, and everyone knows how to do laundry (including my husband and kids).

Everyone pitches in to keep the condo clean throughout the week. There’s a cleaning service, so I don’t scrub anything. It’s NBD.

If you haven’t cruised yet, you should try it. No cooking or cleaning. No laundry. They clean your cabin twice a day and provide turn down service. Room service is included. It’s the most relaxing vacations for moms. There’s really nothing else like it. You can send your DH off with the kids while you lay in the sun with a drink in your hand. Bliss!

Would rather cook every meal on vacation and do all the dishes every day by hand than go on a cruise. But hey to each their own.

+1

I think the only way I’d ever do a cruise is if a family member wheeled me onto a cruise ship….against my will.

I don’t understand how you all group “cruises” together. I’d never go on a carnival cruise but a high-end cruise to the Galapagos? Yes, please. It just makes you sound close minded.

Nah. I’ve done my research on cruises. Talked to friends and family, seen pics, videos, checked routes… not for me at all. I know me and it’s not how I ever want to vacation.

And you and I both know what was meant by “cruise”. Pools and drinks, not turtles. 😄

You’re telling me you can’t find a cruise route that’s appealing? That’s a you problem then.
I just don’t understand dismissing something that you’ve never tried. It’s like when my kids tell me they don’t like a food they haven’t eaten.
And I have no idea what your last sentence even means.

Much of the entire cruise experience is unappealing to me but the reason a route is unappealing is because of all the short stops with minimal times in areas. I would not like to disembark, tour a spot for only a few hours and then get back on boat to sleep. The way I prefer to travel is to spend time in areas and actually get out and experience them. I’ve been to places cruise ships go, Alaska, carribean, north east US, Canada, pacific northwest, Mediterranean and the areas are beautiful. I love spending time in the areas and experiencing them for longer visits. Thats how I like to travel and vacation. If you like cruise ships, good for you. 😉

Fwiw some itineraries actually stay overnight or multiple nights in ports (e.g., there are cruises to Bermuda where it’s docked there for 4 nights and then you sail back home). There are certain lines (smaller boats) that do itineraries where you just island hop in Greece or Croatia, docking overnight so you can enjoy the nightlife. And most Med and River cruises stay in port late as well (so you can eat dinner on land if you prefer).

But this thread is about relaxing, and the bottom line is cruising is more relaxing than being in a condo at the beach or an Airbnb in Europe. Hands down.

PS - every thread that references cruising quickly devolves to open criticism of cruising as if every cruise is a trashy experience preferred by dim witted people unequipped to travel. And that’s just not the case.

Someone always comments that you only have a few hours on land and don’t see anything, and that’s just not true.

Hands down to you doesn't mean hands down to everyone else. I would rather just fly to Bermuda and stay for 4 days in a nicer part of the island than spend all the time sailing there to stay on the ship in....Dockyard. Hands down! See how that works?

Sure.

But if you are in a condo cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. then a cruise is objectively more relaxing.

ICYMI: the op tried a condo and didn’t enjoy it precisely because of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.

Focus, people!

:0)

Being in a tiny cruiseship cabin with my entire family is not relaxing, but YMMV. Plenty of us find a way to be relaxed in condos- it's really up to you how much cooking/cleaning/laundry you do.

So get a suite. I mean it’s obvious you’ve never been on a cruise and no one is going to convince you, which is fine but all you seem to think of as an option is a tiny room on a carnival ship with norovirus and that’s just not the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind vacationing in a condo with other people, I just won't do it with my DH because I already sort of hate cohabitating with him and I want vacation to be a break from that dynamic.

So do you vacation without him? Just trying to figure out the relevance here.

No, we stay in hotels so I don't have to clean up after him or cook for him. I like spending time with him, he's just a terrible roommate.

I'm just saying on a girls trip or something I'm happy to be in a condo or an air bnb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I prefer air bnbs because I want to do laundry. I hate packing huge amounts of clothes so I tend to do laundry frequently on vacation. I also love going to farmers markets on vacations and buying cool things to eat, so I want to have a kitchen to try things out.

Are these super long trips? I don't understand why you would need to pack huge amounts of clothes if there's no laundry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind vacationing in a condo with other people, I just won't do it with my DH because I already sort of hate cohabitating with him and I want vacation to be a break from that dynamic.

So do you vacation without him? Just trying to figure out the relevance here.

No, we stay in hotels so I don't have to clean up after him or cook for him. I like spending time with him, he's just a terrible roommate.

I'm just saying on a girls trip or something I'm happy to be in a condo or an air bnb.

You must stay in fancy hotels if they constantly clean up after him. We barely get a quick clean of the hotel room anymore!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We tend to rent condos at the beach or mountains and prefer centrally located hotels when visiting cities and hotels/resorts when visiting islands (ideally smaller boutique resorts).

When staying at a condo at the beach, we hit the grocery store but we don’t overdo it. We keep some staples on hand, but we still get our coffee (and baked goods) from a cafe and typically eat dinner at restaurants or bring in food. So, I don’t really cook at the beach.

We usually do laundry at the condo to stay on top of towels. But laundry isn’t hard, and everyone knows how to do laundry (including my husband and kids).

Everyone pitches in to keep the condo clean throughout the week. There’s a cleaning service, so I don’t scrub anything. It’s NBD.

If you haven’t cruised yet, you should try it. No cooking or cleaning. No laundry. They clean your cabin twice a day and provide turn down service. Room service is included. It’s the most relaxing vacations for moms. There’s really nothing else like it. You can send your DH off with the kids while you lay in the sun with a drink in your hand. Bliss!

Would rather cook every meal on vacation and do all the dishes every day by hand than go on a cruise. But hey to each their own.

+1

I think the only way I’d ever do a cruise is if a family member wheeled me onto a cruise ship….against my will.

I don’t understand how you all group “cruises” together. I’d never go on a carnival cruise but a high-end cruise to the Galapagos? Yes, please. It just makes you sound close minded.

Nah. I’ve done my research on cruises. Talked to friends and family, seen pics, videos, checked routes… not for me at all. I know me and it’s not how I ever want to vacation.

And you and I both know what was meant by “cruise”. Pools and drinks, not turtles. 😄

You’re telling me you can’t find a cruise route that’s appealing? That’s a you problem then.
I just don’t understand dismissing something that you’ve never tried. It’s like when my kids tell me they don’t like a food they haven’t eaten.
And I have no idea what your last sentence even means.

Much of the entire cruise experience is unappealing to me but the reason a route is unappealing is because of all the short stops with minimal times in areas. I would not like to disembark, tour a spot for only a few hours and then get back on boat to sleep. The way I prefer to travel is to spend time in areas and actually get out and experience them. I’ve been to places cruise ships go, Alaska, carribean, north east US, Canada, pacific northwest, Mediterranean and the areas are beautiful. I love spending time in the areas and experiencing them for longer visits. Thats how I like to travel and vacation. If you like cruise ships, good for you. 😉

Fwiw some itineraries actually stay overnight or multiple nights in ports (e.g., there are cruises to Bermuda where it’s docked there for 4 nights and then you sail back home). There are certain lines (smaller boats) that do itineraries where you just island hop in Greece or Croatia, docking overnight so you can enjoy the nightlife. And most Med and River cruises stay in port late as well (so you can eat dinner on land if you prefer).

But this thread is about relaxing, and the bottom line is cruising is more relaxing than being in a condo at the beach or an Airbnb in Europe. Hands down.

PS - every thread that references cruising quickly devolves to open criticism of cruising as if every cruise is a trashy experience preferred by dim witted people unequipped to travel. And that’s just not the case.

Someone always comments that you only have a few hours on land and don’t see anything, and that’s just not true.

Hands down to you doesn't mean hands down to everyone else. I would rather just fly to Bermuda and stay for 4 days in a nicer part of the island than spend all the time sailing there to stay on the ship in....Dockyard. Hands down! See how that works?

Sure.

But if you are in a condo cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, etc. then a cruise is objectively more relaxing.

ICYMI: the op tried a condo and didn’t enjoy it precisely because of the cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.

Focus, people!

:0)

Hmm. I've been on cruises and don't think they are more relaxing at all. Would take cooking and cleaning anyday.

[Anonymous]

This really only makes sense to me in spots with limited / crappy hotels where the house gives you room to spread out. Mainly at the beach is where we use it. Especially if traveling with others since a shared house is more room and cheaper than a hotel. Plus you then have people to split cooking with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This really only makes sense to me in spots with limited / crappy hotels where the house gives you room to spread out. Mainly at the beach is where we use it. Especially if traveling with others since a shared house is more room and cheaper than a hotel. Plus you then have people to split cooking with.

To each her own, but multi-family vacations are when I DEFINITELY want my own hotel room and to not have to deal with others' idiosyncratic food habits and schedules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I prefer air bnbs because I want to do laundry. I hate packing huge amounts of clothes so I tend to do laundry frequently on vacation. I also love going to farmers markets on vacations and buying cool things to eat, so I want to have a kitchen to try things out.

Are these super long trips? I don't understand why you would need to pack huge amounts of clothes if there's no laundry.

I can’t speak for PP, but I have young kids, and having in room laundry makes packing a lot easier. Even for a week long trip because I’m not packing a bunch of backup outfits. I’m not a fan of AirBNB, but I do book apartment style/extended stay/obviously intended to be a time share units from hotels when they have them.