The longer I am travelling and booking accommodation, the clearer it becomes, just what kind of space works for me. I have had experience with two places now that were set up with the living area being shared by everyone, and only the bedroom and bathroom were private. While this does have its benefits, here is the downside of shared common space.
Puerto Vallarta
The first time I was in this situation was in beautiful Puerto Vallarta. I had booked accommodation through AirBnb in the 5th of December neighbourhood, an area of the city I really love. After entering through the ground level door, upstairs there were 6 bedrooms along one wall. Each had its own bathroom and a small fridge.
The living, sitting and dining areas formed a large common space that included the kitchen at one end. I was drawn to this place for three reasons. It was within my budget, it was in a safe neighbourhood, and it looked great in the pictures. Amazing style and vibes in the photoโs, good reviews, what was the problem?
Well, these common areaโs it turns out, are only as good as the other guests in the place, especially when it comes to sharing a kitchen.
Gross
My very first morning, I went out to the kitchen to make toast. No one was in the kitchen nor the sitting areas. After popping my bread in the toaster, I went back to my room to get my butter and avocado. When I returned to the kitchen, an older male was there. He had laid out his dishes right next to my plate. My toast had popped and he actually picked it out of the toaster, looked at it, turned to me and said it needed another go around. OMG!!! Gross. Donโt touch other peoples food dude!!
Who does that? I told him to put it in the garbage and returned to my room. Dude. After he had left the kitchen and was sitting down, I went back out and made a new piece of toast, this time, not leaving the area until mission was complete.
When I returned to the kitchen the next morning to make eggs, I started noticing the state of the dishes. Plates had been put back with dried food stuck to them. The fry pan was abysmal. You get the drift. What I ended up doing was washing 2 sets of cutlery, two plates, two cups and keeping them in my room, so I didnโt have to rely on the common dishes being clean again.
This is what I mean by the space is only as good as the other guests. Also, creeper was in that common area every single day. I would return from my morning walk and he would already be sitting out there, with his things spread all over the table. Even though the rooms were full, I rarely saw anyone else enjoying that lovely space.
I made it work for me for the two weeks I was there, but it sure made me aware of other guests, especially when you are relying on them to be somewhat civilized and clean.
Sayulita
Just this past spring, I was in Sayulita for three weeks. Again, I had a common shared living space, but this time I at least had my own tiny kitchen inside my unit. Perfect I thought! Umm, no. I didnโt really think all possibilities through when I booked the space. I was drawn in again for the same reasons. It fit my budget, it was outside of the main part of town, perfect, and the pictures were super cute.
The room itself was just fine. It was incredibly tiny but it was clean. What I didnโt realize is that the room was quite literally 2 feet away from the common living space. Not only that, the door to my unit was a re-purposed sliding glass patio door. It did not seal at any side. So, all of the noise and smells that were happening in the party area, were entering my room all night long.
The listing made the place sound like I would be renting a guest room at an ownerโs house. It sounded quaint and lovely, they even had pets to love. When in fact, the house was three stories high, a fourth story was being added while I was there. In total, there were 12 rental suites! It was basically a small hotel.
Some of the rooms were long term renters and one specifically was the worst. Because this was basically their home, they used the common area everyday, and brought all of their friends into the space as well.
The owner had their entire family using the common space and the pool too. There were two massage businesses being run from the property as well. Meaning what was advertised as a safe space with locked gate, was in fact a high traffic space with construction workers and public coming in and out for massage.
Lessons Learned
A few important lessons I learned from these rentals. I need my own space. Period. Iโm not good at sharing. ๐ While Iโm not a prima donna in any way shape or form, if something around me is nasty, I cant have it in my personal space. My prior job experience has inundated me with the nastiest human experiences anyone should have to endure, I have seen it all. My tolerance is high, but not when it comes to my personal space.
Also, pictures lie. I know the importance of good AirBnb pictures, I was a Superhost myself. Good pictures will sell your accommodation even without any reviews. But look past the pictureโs folks. Look at the space for what it is. I am a complete head over heals sucker for pretty packaging and labels, so I know why I get drawn in by the photos. I just have to remember, to look deeper.
