All's well that ends well, and in praise of hotels

Update on my ill-fated Athens vacay rental. As per last post I really thought I was being scammed. And who wouldn’t? After booking the rental and then not hearing back from owners after sending numerous emails, texts and making phone calls – to a number that didn’t work – what was I to think? It did cross my mind that something more serious had occurred, as in the owner (s) died, perhaps in a car crash. Perish the thought. But after several back and forth's with Booking.com – and even they not able to contact them, I finally got an answer. In fact, the owner had died! And sure enough, true to their word (I was doubtful), less than two weeks later Booking.com sent me a refund for the first half I'd paid of the two-week rental - $2532.35. After all, their credibility was on the line too. The Athens trip was supposed to have taken place over the past month. Now it will happen next August, and at the same vacation rental I stayed in last November and December (it wasn’t available this Fall). And a better location can hardly be found – one and a half blocks south of the Acropolis looking out on to the edifice by day (photo) and lit up by night  – in the sprawling fifth floor three-bedroom domicile with wide front and back balconies. August is super hot in Athens but I’m eager to try the beaches on the Attica Riviera peninsula just south of the city, and easily reachable by tram. 

But my penchant for Airbnb type rentals is wearing thin after a stay last month in London.  Upon arriving in the city I checked my email for check in instructions. Nothing! It wasn’t until midafternoon that the owner sent me the info on the street address, lock box code and specific room in the shared building. I’d been attending the London Film Festival and it wasn’t until a movie ended just before 4 pm that I got the instructions. This "delay" (though it seemed normal for the owner) produced quite a bit of anxiety on my first day in London, wondering if I'd have to scramble to find alternative accommodation. I’m heading back to London in two weeks (third time this Autumn and the city seems to be my new default) and booked a hotel close to where I stayed in Central Finchley, in the city's northwest. Guess what? No need for a private owner’s last-minute instructions, no hard-to-find address tucked away on a nondescript street, and no uncertainty as to exactly the kind of accommodation I would find. Maybe a tried-and-true hotel (including breakfast) is the way to go at least for short-term trips. 

I just booked a one-week trip to St. Lucia. It will be my first time in the Caribbean and after an ill-fated plan to go to the island fell through last January due to health issues. Yesterday I read the Wikipedia entry on St. Lucia, a member of the Brit Commonwealth, and love the place already – a democracy of almost 200,000 with languages of English and Creole French, with its unique Piton mountains, volcanic ridges – you can even enter one from the side - and dense rain forests (it’s close to South America).  Did you know it’s the only sovereign state in the world named after a woman?  

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller