You know when you see photos of all these bloggers globetrotting around the world and living in hotels it looks amazing. Well, I was so excited when I had the opportunity to start living in hotels with our move to Doha.
Yes, finally, I can complete my dream of hotel living.
Since I was a child I wanted to live in hotels. I used to love checking in to the hotel my parents managed and just walk around the rooms. To a 6-year-old this is ‘magical kingdom’ and until today I still remember this feeling.
And we did it, for the first six months of our existence in Doha we spent it in hotels, but like with any dream, expectations don’t match the reality.
Don’t get me wrong I loved our hotel living but I also realised I love having a base and that our life in Doha is different than globetrotting around the world and hotel hoping. This was home, well at least for the next couple of years.
I had decided that we would move every few months to keep things interesting and to also earn some hotel statuses and points. We did this for a couple of months but then it became too much hassle. Packing and moving every few months wasn’t fun anymore especially after we had packed our lives from the UK to move here. It was just too much to handle with moving and familiarising yourself with your new country.
I really missed the comfort of home. The ability to sleep on your own bed not having been slept by hundreds of others. The fact that I can put a picture frame I like and just see and admire it. To just feel home every time I walk through the door. I never realised how much I love that home feeling until I missed it. But I guess that’s the beauty of life, you live and learn.
Another thing I also found difficult here in Doha is the fact that all the hotels I wanted to stay in were in areas, that although close to my husband’s work, were not convenient for a walk in the afternoon or just exploring on foot. The locations are perfect for a tourist living for a few days but as a “new-local” it just didn’t cut it for me. So taxis did become expensive.
Living in a room was fun for a while but after six months I really just wanted to read a book or browse the net from a different location other than the bed. Thank God I do like my husband and I do believe this was a great test for us. We didn’t argue, we didn’t get on each other’s nerves –well not too much :)- and we did enjoy the care free life.
Living in a hotel turned to be more expensive especially because the property prices in Doha fell a little yet the hotels usually maintain similar standard pricing across the board. When we came initially flat prices and hotel prices were similar. However, in the past couple of months, this changed and flat rentals have come down. So now, it did make more sense to rent a house rather than pay hotel stays and earn points.
That is the one thing I will miss most from not living in hotels, my points earning. I loved it when my point balance and status went up and I do believe in the long term the points and also the savings of holiday stays would have been similar. Just there is a difference of paying for one room and getting three times the size for the same price! So my husband as the finance director decided on the latter. 😉
You know I am not a very big cook, but having a kitchen is something I missed. Even just for frying an egg and enjoying some normality. Now I have a kitchen and I keep getting asked to make those eggs. 😉
Overall for me, it boils down to preferences and understanding yourself. I know what it feels like living in hotels and I accept I love having a base and a place to call home and keep messy. From there I can explore and travel but also have this as my home base. It just feels more normal.
I know I am not done with hotel living and I know I want to travel and explore more of the world but I think living in the same city and moving hotels every few months was just a little too much for us. It is very different from being a digital nomad and living in different cities /countries every few months and just moving within the same city.
Maybe in the future, we will give it a go again but for now, I decided to enjoy expat life and take full advantage of staycations. A new concept I came across that is super popular with expats.
So stay tuned 😉