in search of darn good digs

Would you consider sleeping in a pod? The experience will save you money in notoriously expensive Singapore and get you modern digs in the heart of the city’s Chinatown. Plus, you might meet some fellow travelers in this friendly hostel.

What makes Wink Hostel so Darn Good? Wink has a perfect location in the heart of Chinatown, convenient by mass transit to just about anywhere you want to go in Singapore, but what makes the hostel so cool is its modern and high-tech take on the bed-pod concept. The staff is friendly and helpful, the atmosphere is peaceful and laid-back, and the rates for this level of quality in this part of town are fantastic.

Location: Wink is just a few minutes from the Chinatown Mass Rapid Transit station, but linger in the neighborhood and you can learn some history at the Chinatown Heritage Center, visit a Buddhist temple, or pick up some souvenirs at the vast Night Market. When you are finished shopping, take a short walk to Clarke Quay, a hotspot for Singapore nightlife.

Rooms: Located in a historic shop house gone modern, Wink departs from the ubiquitous hostel bunk bed with its sleek yet cozy bed pods. Pods have sound-resistant walls, and boast 260 thread-count sheets, orthopedic mattresses, and cushy backrests. Upon arrival you are equipped with a personal smart card which allows you to access your dormitory, your locker, and the entertainment lounge. Wink offers two mixed singles and one ladies-only dormitory, as well as a selection of queen-sized pods.

Food: A do-it-yourself breakfast of toast, peanut butter and jelly, cereal, and juice, is included, and the staff will happily point you in the right direction for some cheap and tasty eats. Of course, Chinatown has no shortage of options with the Chinatown Night Market just around the corner and a multitude of hawker stalls in the various food centres throughout the neighborhood.

Vibe: Wink has a relaxed atmosphere, doesn’t feel overcrowded, and is run by a group of wonderful, helpful people.

Keep in Mind: Wink only has shared bathrooms, but they are kept clean and have rain-shower showerheads.

Price Range: 50 SGD – 90 SGD (breakfast included)
# of Rooms: 5
Kid-Friendly: yes

If you are interested in making a booking, you can check availability and get prices at booking.com.

A big thank you to Ria Mandik from Jakarta, Indonesia for nominating this cool pod hostel. As always, if you’ve stayed at any extraordinary independently owned accommodations for budget-minded travelers, please let us know and nominate them today on Darn Good Digs!

We heard that Costa Rica was an amazing place to travel, but somehow it still surprised us with just how good it was as a family destination. In fact, we were so pleased, we couldn’t help but put together a list of out top ten reasons why traveling with kids in Costa Rica is an excellent idea!

1. Amazing Accommodations, Reasonably Priced: As a family we’re all about finding cool, independently owned hotels on a budget – that’s what we do as the founders of Darn Good Digs. We learned Costa Rica is hard to beat in terms of the quantity of small little amazing digs at prices we could afford. For between $50 and $120 we stayed at art-filled bed and breakfasts, garden-surrounded cabins, and ocean-view bungalows, and kids were welcome everywhere, unlike many bed and breakfasts in the States.

2. Swimming Pools: Somehow on our previous vacations, we had missed the boat on this one, but now we’re wiser. Swimming pools were the answer for how to entertain our kid when we came back exhausted from the day’s activities. Whether hiking, surfing, or sightseeing, we could return home mid-afternoon to swim and relax for a couple hours before dinner. Or, we’d go for a dip before breakfast. Or maybe after dinner. The possibilities were endless!

3. Plenty of Nature Packed in a Small Area: We were stunned by how quickly we could go from cloud forest to volcano to sandy beach to dry forest. Take hiking in Rincon de la Vieja National Park. Here you can literally hike from rainforest to dry desert within a few meters, with steaming volcanic vents along the way. Then get in a car and be at the beach in under an hour and a half!

4. Didn’t Get Sick: Before we had our son we’d been to the South American Andes and South Asia and we know how to appreciate amazing places, even after being laid out with a stomach bug for 48 hours. This is an experience we would not wish on our worst enemy, let alone our little boy. So we were thrilled that no one got sick in Costa Rica. Maybe we would have been fine either way, but we did stick to bottled water and milk-based fruit shakes.

5. Felt Safe: We had heard about tire slashing robbers and mustard-squirting pickpockets, but we never experienced anything of the sort. Granted, we took the recommended precautions, such as never leaving anything in our car and holding tightly to our bags in San Jose. Those just seemed like common sense ideas for travel pretty much anywhere.

6. Kid-Friendly Adult Activities: We want everyone to be happy on vacation, not just our kid, and Costa Rica did not disappoint anyone. Beaches – we’re all good. Volcanoes, yep again. How about river safaris or ziplining? Perfect. On some of the longer rainforest hikes, we did have to get a little creative to keep Benjamin enthusiastic – making up scavenger hunts with us looking for coati, howler monkeys, and loads of colorful birds.  And, if anyone finds the elusive resplendent quetzal, ice cream sundaes for everyone!

7. Green Season: Our summer is Costa Rica’s “Green”, aka rainy, season. At first we figured, do we really want to spend our vacation waiting for the downpours to end?  As it turned out, it barely rained during our 19 days in Costa Rica. And when it did rain, it was usually in the evenings after we had settled in.  Some people told us it was El Niño; others said La Niña. We’re not sure what the deal was, and maybe it was an anomaly, but the weather was pretty much perfect. To top it off, we got to take advantage of appealing Green Season discounts all along the way.

8. Casado: How many times can someone eat the same dish? Allison took to Arroz con Pollo with a vengeance, and I couldn’t get enough of my daily casado de pollo – with plantains, rice, chicken, and green salad. Benjamin survived on breakfast (his favorite meal) plus fruit shakes, french fries, and pizza. He’s a picky eater, so it wasn’t all that different from back home! And, we splurged a few nights in places like Gingerbread, near Nuevo Arenal, where the food and service were phenomenal – rivaling many a New York City hip restaurant for half the price and no wait.

9. Non-Stop Flights, Two Airports: Granted we live in New York, so we have the benefit of flights to pretty much anywhere in the world right outside our doorstep. Still, we definitely appreciated the five hour, relatively affordable (under US$500) non-stop flight into San Jose airport and out of Liberia. Easy-peasy.

10. The Roads (w/ 4WD): For everything we read about how awful the roads were, maybe we just had low expectations. We drove around Costa Rica thinking the roads were no problemo. Where the roads were paved – main drags like the Pan American highway – we found the pavement in good shape . Where they were a dirt mess, like the roads around Monteverde or on the Nicoya Peninsula, our 4WD handled everything just fine (including fording a shallow river). Our main recommendation, though? Stick to driving during the day.

All in all, we had a fabulous vacation. And we’d do it again in heartbeat. Here’s our 19 day itinerary, including the Darn Good Digs where we stayed.  And below, let us know if you’ve ever traveled with kids to Costa Rica.

This past summer we spent almost three weeks traveling around Costa Rica with our seven year old son, and along the way we stayed in some fantastic places.  We’ll be publishing some of our hotel reviews here on the blog (or visit our Costa Rica hotels page to read them all in one place).

We’ll start with the first spot we stayed – Poas Volcano Lodge and Restaurant:

What makes Poas Lodge and Restaurant so Darn Good? Wow – the view! Feel the stress drain as you sip your wine in the candle-lit lounge staring out the wall of windows, mesmerized by the twinkling lights of San Jose below or a lightning storm in the distance.

Location: On the main road just two kilometers from Poas Volcano National Park, the lodge is the perfect place to stay for an early morning visit to the volcano before the infamous clouds roll in.  The lodge is forty-five minutes from the San Jose airport and even closer to the Doka Coffee Estate and La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

Rooms: Decked out in soothing neutral tones, the lodge’s five rooms have comfy beds with warm soft blankets, fresh-cut flowers, and views overlooking the Central Valley.  Hummingbirds dart around the feeders in the lodge’s hummingbird garden, and cows graze in the fields below.

Food: The Lodge’s restaurant/lounge serves up delicious food in a supremely atmospheric setting. The breakfast spread includes home-made cakes, a choice of cereals, fresh fruit salad, and a hot entree, such as the traditional pico de gallo. For dinner, the menu offers both typical Costa Rican fare and International dishes – either way you go the food is wholesome and fresh. For lunch we went right next door to a little restaurant, which served up the best arroz con pollo I ate on the whole trip (and I ate a lot!).

Vibe: Super-chill, especially at night when the candles are lit. The managers, Mark and Oliver, are a couple of friendly guys from South Africa who know how to run a killer lodge and restaurant.

Keep in Mind: Bring warm clothing as it is cool up at Poas, though in the lodge you’ll find heaters in the rooms and cozy blankets in the lounge to keep your warm.

Price Range: US$55-$90
# of Rooms: 5
Kid-Friendly: yes

If you are interested in making a booking, you can check availability and get prices at booking.com.

* photo credit for the 2nd and 3rd photos: Arizona Jake

Costa Rica is a Darn Good Digs paradise. Virtually every inn or lodge we stayed at during our recent three week trip was spectacular. Granted, we spent a long time putting together this itinerary, as we always do – scouring guidebooks and the web for the best places to stay. We also tried to build in enough relaxation into our vacation, so even though we had nineteen nights to explore the country we tried to keep a relatively compact itinerary: the Central Valley, Monteverde and Lake Arenal, the Nicoya Peninsula, and the Rincon de la Vieja region. Here’s how we did it:

We flew into San Jose international airport, rented our 4WD, and drove an hour up to Poas Volcano:
• Poas Lodge and Restaurant (2 nights – Darn Good Digs!)

Then we headed back down into the Central Valley to the San Jose region:
• Casa Bella Rita (3 nights – Darn Good Digs!)

We were surprised the drive was only three hours using the new highway for half the journey up to the cloud forests of Monteverde:
• Arco Iris Lodge (3 nights – Darn Good Digs!)

After we spotted the resplendent quetzal, a family of coati, and the impressively loud “Bonk Bird”, we worked our way to Lake Arenal:
• Lucky Bug Bed and Breakfast (2 nights – Darn Good Digs!)

A relaxing day in the thermal hot springs at The Springs Resort and a delicious dinner at Gingerbread gave us the energy to coast to the Nicoya Peninsula and Samara Beach – though not without stopping for a wildlife extravaganza in our rafting safari on the Tenorio River:
• Samara Palm Lodge (3 nights – Darn Good Digs!)

Surfing, swimming, and building castles in the sand. Other than a little sunburn, beach life suited us well before moving up the coast to Ostional:
• Hotel Luna Azul (3 nights – Darn Good Digs!)

We weren’t lucky enough to see the Arribada, when thousands of turtles land on the beach to lay their eggs simultaneously, but we did get to see a few stragglers during our guided night tour – and that was mighty cool too. Time to spend the night in a small city of Liberia:
• El Punto Bed and Breakfast (1 night)

The town had just celebrated Guanacaste Day so we enjoyed a free concert with the National Orchestra of Costa Rica, before heading out early the next morning to hike at Rincon de la Vieja National Park:
• Blue River Resort (3 nights)

We spent a day swimming in the thermal springs and lathering up with mud, before we got antsy – and left to explore Santa Rosa National Park along the coast.

After nineteen days and nights of Pura Vida, we flew out of Liberia International Airport and headed back to NYC. We loved our trip to Costa Rica, and we can’t wait to go back.

Summer is just about here which means it is time to get your vacation on! We at Darn Good Digs are doing our part by slowly but surely adding extraordinary, and only extraordinary, digs to our website.  As a fan recently commented online at the New York Times, Darn Good Digs is “how I find great places to stay when I travel far from home. The recommendations are solid.”  Cheers! Let’s toast to that.

Since our last newsletter we’ve added twenty-six traveler reviews. Some of our favorites include:

Bueng Pai Farm, Pai, Mae Hong Son, Thailand: Surrounded by rice paddies in a gorgeous mountain valley, the farm has private bungalows overlooking a quiet fishing pond where guests can fish right from their hammocks.

The Motor Lodge, Prescott, Arizona: Just three blocks from Prescott’s town square, the Motor Lodge has been lovingly rebuilt, restored, and funkified by its new owners.

The Shady Dell, Bisbee, Arizona: Stay in your own vintage trailer decked out in a retro theme, complete with authentic interiors, period tableware, and mid-century appliances.

Juniper Lane Guest House, Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington: Beautifully restored house with gorgeous rooms and a perfect location within strolling distance to Friday Harbor.

Skapo Apartments, Vilnius, Lithuania:  Three apartments clustered around a lovely cobblestone courtyard smack dab in the middle of Old Town Vilnius.

But the good times don’t stop there. We’ve also added reviews for digs in St. Lucia, Joshua Tree, Hawaii’s Big Island, Mexico City, Normandy, Lisbon, Phnom Penh, Singapore, South Africa, Belize, Southeast Florida, and many other fabulous locations throughout the world.

As always, please nominate your favorite digs (with rooms under US$150) and spread the word about Darn Good Digs to your traveling friends and family. We need you to make our website as awesome as it can be!

All the best,

Allison and Michael

P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, and follow our tweets.

We are on a mission to find the world’s best independently owned hotels for budget-minded travelers, and so far we have put together a pretty solid hotel list for Mexico – from the Yucatan to the Pacific coast, Mexico City to the Lake Chapala region.  We always seek out owners with unique visions as well as a sense of style and an eye for comfort.  These digs are places where you feel welcome, you feel happy, and you sure don’t want to leave. What’s more? Prices start at US$39 for a double room. Here is a taste of some of our Darn Good Digs in Mexico:

Hotel Cielo Rojo is a simple, yet stylish hotel decorated in mellow Mexican colors and folk art lovingly collected by the owners on their world journeys. The hotel’s restaurant surely must rank among the best restaurants in the state of Nayarit. The chef uses organic, locally-sourced ingredients including fish caught that morning by village fisherman in small boats. What’s more, this eco-friendly hotel uses biodegradable detergents, makes their own natural hand soaps, and has an active recycling program. Rooms start at US$85.

Just a short walk from Tulum’s bus station and lively Avenida Tulum, the Secret Garden Hotel consists of nine cabanas surrounding a beautiful and peaceful garden decked out with hammocks and sofas. The hotel’s owner, Joshua, is wonderful, kind, and uber-generous with his heaping knowledge of all things Tulum.  Rooms start at US$40.

Villa La Bella is a colorful six room bed and breakfast on the small island of Isla Mujeres, a short ferry ride and a world away from Cancun. The Villa offers a peaceful adults-only getaway with a low-key vibe away from the tourist crowds. Ashley and Curtis, the on-site owners, are gracious hosts, not too intrusive, but available for any questions about the island or your stay.  Rooms start at US$110.

Balamku Inn on the Beach, an eco-friendly hotel on Mexico’s beautiful Costa Maya, has been nominated by the World Travel Awards as a Leading Green Hotel in Mexico and Central America two years in a row. Balamku is powered by solar and wind energy and its ten beachfront rooms are situated to maximize natural ventilation. The airy rooms are tastefully turned out with tile floors and colorful Mexican art.  Rooms start at US$75.

Painstakingly restored by its new American owners, and only three blocks from Ajijic’s main plaza, Adobe Walls Inn is an atmospheric Spanish-style hacienda furnished throughout with Mexican antiques.  Rooms starting at US$55.

We have many more amazing small hotels, bed and breakfasts, and inns included in our Mexico Guide.  If you have any places to recommend from your travels in Mexico, please use our Nomination Form to let us know – we’re adding new hotels all the time based on your suggestions.

This past summer we spent three weeks traveling around the Baltics with our six year old boy.  We look for non-stop flights whenever possible, so we naturally appreciated Finn Air’s non-stop NYC-Helsinki flight – not to mention that it happened to be one of the cheapest flights to Europe at the time. After three nights in Helsinki, we took the ferry to Tallinn where we rented a car.

We loved our trip, but we’ll add that it was pretty fast-paced.  If we were to do it again, we might slow down a little bit.  Here’s what our three weeks in the Baltics look like.

Helsinki, Finland: Best Western Premier Hotel Katajanokka (3 nights)
Tallinn, Estonia: Classic Apartments Sugise Studio Apartment (2 nights)
Lehemaa National Park, Estonia: Palmse Manor (1 night)
Tartu, Estonia: Looming Hostel (1 night)
Cesis, Latvia: Hotel Katrina (1 night)
Sigulda, Latvia: Hotel Pils (1 night)
Riga, Latvia: Homestay Riga (3 nights)
Ventspils, Latvia: Hotel Juras Brizas (2 nights)
Palanga, Lithuania: ?? (1 night)
Juodkrante, Lithuania: Hotel Kurenas (2 nights)
Kaunas, Lithuania: Daugirdas Old City Hotel (1 night)
Druskininkai, Lithuania: Hotel Credo (1 night)
Vilnius, Lithuania: Skapo Apartments (3 nights)

We’ve added reviews for two hotels from our trip, Homestay in Riga, and Skapo Apartments in Vilnius, on Darn Good Digs.  If our six old had his say, he would’ve added the converted prison Hotel Katajanokka in Helsinki and the Hotel Pils in Sigulda with its suited knight in the stairwell.  The reason why we left Palanga blank is because we don’t remember where we stayed; the Info Hotel overbooked us and sent us to a pension further out from town center.

Stay tuned for more posts about our Baltics adventure.

In his blog post earlier this year, Arthur Frommer challenged us to find and review 500 Darn Good Digs around the world, and we think we’re well on our way.  In a few months, we’ll have published over 200 reviews, and we’ve added even more colorful photos than ever before. You can help by nominating your all time favorite digs!

If you haven’t visited Darn Good Digs recently, please stop by and check out our new logo!  We sponsored a web design contest, and Alvin Rasay from the Philippines won hands down.

In the past few months, we have researched many more nominations and selected new digs from all over the world – including right here in Brooklyn, NY to Bisbee, AZ; from Niagara Falls to the Normandy coast.  Here are some of the highlights:

Clarksdale, Mississippi: Shack Up Inn – “You can find Mississippi’s heart at the Shack Up Inn. I’ve slept in hotel lobbies in Havana, pontoons on the Mississippi River and a bordello in the Dominican Republic, but I’ve never stayed at a place as cool as the Shack Up Inn.” – Dave Hoekstra, Chicago

Tanzania: Selous River Camp – “I’ll never forget the excitement of being awakened at night by a stampeding elephant or a whooping hyena while staying in a mud hut overlooking a river full of hippos! Not only this, but the entire camp is run so efficiently. Meals were punctual (and delicious) and the safaris were well organized, with good vehicles and extremely knowledgeable guides and drivers.” – John Strain, Chippenham, UK

Riga, Latvia: Homestay – “Diga and Ric’s fabulous all-timber home in Riga’s Mezaparks neighborhood was a true highlight of our three week trip to the Baltics. When normally we would be rushing out to see the sites, here we lingered, enjoying Ric’s huge, delicious breakfasts and the good company of hosts and guests alike.” – Allison and Michael, Brooklyn, NY

Puerto Rico: Maravilla – “My husband and I stayed in the ‘luxury’ cabin for six nights and chose the luxury all-inclusive option, which includes an unbelievably amazing breakfast, lunch, and multi-course dinner each day. The view of the lush rainforest during breakfast is spectacular, and our dinners by candle-light were very romantic. Maravilla’s owners, Margo and Mark, along with their staff, are so welcoming – we can’t wait to go back some day!” – Stacy, Hamilton, New Jersey

As always, please help us spread the word about Darn Good Digs to your traveling friends and family, and if you stay at any of our digs, make sure to let the owners know how you heard about them.

Finally, we send out a big “Thank You!” to all of our readers and contributors for helping us build a one-of-a-kind guide to the world’s best independently owned accomodationsfor budget-minded travelers.

All the best,

Michael and Allison

 

 

One of the reasons we originally launched Darn Good Digs back in 2008 was because we found it hard to find cool places to stay in the Caribbean on a budget. There are so many large impersonal hotels and all-inclusive resorts, but the small spots full of character are hidden away and can take some serious time trying to “discover” them. We started DGD with a few reviews of our favorite hotels where we stayed over the years, like Mary Lee’s by the Sea on Puerto Rico’s southern coast and Jake’s Resort on Jamaica’s Treasure Beach. Now we have Caribbean reviews for sweet spots on eight islands – and we’re adding more all the time. So if you’re looking for colorful cottages or a quiet b&b by the beach, jungle cabins or a little guest house in the mountains – make sure to visit Darn Good Digs first. We feature the best independently owned Caribbean hotels for budget-minded travelers.

And as always, if you know of any amazing places we should add to our guide, please nominate them today!

One of the first traveler nominations we received back at Darn Good Digs’ launch in 2008 was for Gecko Villa – a beautiful rural villa way out there in northeast Thailand, as far from Bangkok as you could imagine. We were excited then to learn about such a cool vacation spot, and we’re even more excited now after rave reviews keep being published online. Here is our Darn Good Digs review of Gecko Villa:

What makes Gecko Villa so Darn Good? Located bang in the middle of rice paddy fields and sugar cane plantations, Gecko Villa is a green oasis far from Thailand’s tourist trails. The two things that truly made our stay were the superb food, and the kindness and welcoming nature of the local host family and villagers. Having our own pool was a definite plus!

Location: Gecko Villa is located in Northeast Thailand’s Isaan region, fifty minutes by plane or nine hours by train from Bangkok, and not far from the Laos border. The province, Udon Thani, is home to the UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site, Ban Chiang, and its national museum which displays locally excavated artifacts and pottery dating as far back as 7,500 years. If that doesn’t float your boat, guests at Gecko Villa can take a boat ride among lotus flowers in the nearby lake, and all around are opportunities for exploring the villages, temples, and farms of bucolic Thailand.

Rooms: Gecko Villa is a northern Thai-style country house with a pool that you rent all for yourself! The Villa’s three bedrooms, large living and dining rooms, and fully equipped Western and Thai kitchens are in separate buildings and are connected by covered wooden verandas surrounding a garden. Traditional wooden furniture and artwork adorn the rooms and outdoor areas.

Food: Excellent and very zingy Thai food is cooked for you three times daily by Ten and Euang, the Villa’s caretakers and chefs, who live in a small village a couple of kilometers away. Ask to try local Isaan dishes such as spicy beef salad with mint or their wicked barbecue chicken with papaya salad. Make sure to say upfront what your chili factor is! Thai cooking lessons are also included in the price.

Vibe: Guests could just chill by the pool and eat well, but definitely take the plunge and ask to get integrated: the locals are very friendly and definitely enjoy a good time! Gecko Villa is owned and run by local villagers, and all revenues stay in the community.

Things to Keep in Mind: Take any personal necessities with you because the nearest banks and major shopping areas are 45 minutes away!

Price Range: 6,800 Baht – 8,900 Baht (three meals included, entire villa)
# of Rooms: 3
Kid-Friendly: yes

Make an Inquiry/Book a Room at:

A big thank you to James for nominating this very cool getaway. As always, if you’ve stayed at any extraordinary independently owned accommodations for budget-minded travelers, please let us know and nominate them today on Darn Good Digs!