Budget Accommodation Nightmares

We’re great believers in checking and double-checking the photos, descriptions and reviews of hotels and guesthouses before making a booking. What we’ve learned though is that you can’t always rely on the integrity of your research. Reviews can be faked, photos and descriptions can be misleading or out-of-date, and your budget accommodation nightmares become a reality.

Inevitably, if you kiss enough princes you’re going to find some toads…   Check out some of the toads from our collection…  and whatever else you do – don’t book them!

Budget Accommodation Nightmares

Hotel Samudra Jepara Port

The principal destination of our trip to Indonesia was the offshore island of Karimunjawa. To get there on a budget involves a roundabout trip from ...
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I’m a Celebrity – Get me out of Fort Kochi!

Our 3-week west-coast India travel plan started in Trivandrum, continuing on to Kovalam and Varkala – using buses and trains. From Varkala, we took a ...
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Tenerife North – Puerto de la Cruz

Tenerife comprised the second leg of our 14-day Spain and Canary islands itinerary. After spending 3 days at Golf del Sur in the south of ...
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Miserable in Mersing Malaysia

Mersing Malaysia is the gateway to Tioman Island, a very popular destination for travelers. We had a pleasant coach ride down to Mersing from Cherating, ...
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Sleeping in a Shipping Container – Dash Box Hotel Cyberjaya

As an addition to the wide and wonderful variations of ‘Glamping’ accommodation, sleeping in a shipping container shouldn't raise any eyebrows. At 20 feet (6.1 m) ...
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Fox & Firefly Cottages Loboc

Our 3-week trip through the Philippines included a short break at a small guesthouse resort in Loboc in the province of Bohol. However, don't expect ...
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Pangangan Island, Bohol

After spending 3 nights in the small T-Breeze Beach coastal resort near Moalboal, we headed back to Cebu City, and onward via ferry to Bohol. Our next destination ...
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Ushuaia Guesthouse Bastimentos – Panama

Our first impressions of Isla Bastimentos were not promising. We were just hoping that the guesthouse we had booked 3 months earlier - the Ushuaia Guesthouse ...
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Hotel Central Boquete Panama

“Hotel Central” is quite a misnomer for a hotel name, since the Hotel Central Boquete Panama is anything but central. You'll have to walk a good ...
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Jungla Experience Boquete Panama

Our journey west along the Panama highway had taken us through the foothills of the Cordillera de Talamanca mountain range to the city of David ...
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Samsara Guesthouse Karimunjawa

Since we arrived 2 days late on the island, we spent only one night in the first of our selected guesthouses - the Waru Guesthouse. For ...
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Paradise Inn Sigiriya

We set out in the morning from our guesthouse in Negombo. Our next destination was the Paradise Inn Sigiriya. We took a tuk-tuk for the ...
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Where to stay and eat in Galle Fort

From Unawatuna, we moved a few kilometers along the coast to Galle. Here, we planned to stay for 2 nights at a guesthouse located inside ...
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