How did I come up with my top 5 priorities when it comes to booking travel accommodation? The place in Bucerius was the first time I had really booked something that I was truly unhappy with.
Travel History
When I started travelling solo about 10 years ago, I was staying in hotels almost exclusively. The longer my trips lasted, the less hotels became feasible, purely because of cost.
I started looking on Airbnb and was able to find better accommodation, bigger places, and units with kitchens, for much less than I was paying for hotel rooms.
Airbnb works really well for any vacation that is more than a few days long. As I travelled further afield and for weeks now instead of days, I had to make my budget stretch. So I started looking for cheaper and cheaper places.
One such place was in Bucerius.
Location
When I originally booked the unit, I had high hopes. It was only 2 blocks to the beach and one block to a small grocery, so location was perfect. That’s where it ended.
Outdoor space
It does have a table right outside the door, but the patio is shared with the unit beside it. The owner and host lives in the unit above and is ever present on her deck looking down into the space. There is no privacy to be had.
This patio area, separated from the sidewalk by a metal fence might as well be open to the public. When people line up on the same sidewalk every morning to visit a business next door, they are quite literally feet away from the door. No bueno.
Ground level
Because it is ground level and next to an unpaved road, the dust and dirt that is constantly in the air covers everything with a thick blanket of grime. Ew. And what makes up that dust? Chicken and dog poop, garbage, sand and dirt.
The noise from vehicles, dogs, people, chickens and carts is ever present and loud.
Natural Light
Yay, it at least has one window, right? Well, the window faces the street and just above the kitchen on the inside. So having the window open for fresh air, means all of that dust and dirt coming in and landing on everything in the kitchen. Every dish, food item, everything. Ew.
It was so dark in the rest of the unit it felt like a dungeon. The window and door were the only source of fresh air or natural light but they had to remain closed.
Cleanliness
Because of the dust and dirt, you can imagine the state of cleanliness and trying to keep such a space clean. The fan above the dining table had so much dust on it, it would rain down in large chunks.
Bugs
And the bugs, the ants were incessant. Now I know its Mexico, every single place I have ever stayed at in Mexico has bugs. Five star hotel, bugs. Fourth story condo, bugs. But being on the ground and it being an old building, it didn’t stand a chance.
A Learning Experience
Now none of this is apparent from the photo’s or reviews of the listing. The pictures are bright and colourful. The inside is painted a bright yellow. There are cheery Mexican linens on the bed and tables. The built in furniture and kitchen are white. Its obvious to me now that the pictures were edited. But in reality, it was so dark and cave like.
The host was very friendly, the place was cheap, and ultimately you get what you pay for. This was my first big travel accommodation learning experience for sure.
