S1 E5: Save on Travel with Monastery and Convent Stays
Discover the unique and affordable experience of staying in monasteries, abbeys, and convents during your travels. In this episode of *Second Act Travels*, host Elizabeth shares her personal insights into why these accommodations are a perfect fit for those looking to save money while immersing themselves in the local culture. Learn about the pros and cons, including minimalistic yet comfortable rooms, peaceful environments, and the importance of booking well in advance. Elizabeth also shares her top websites for finding monastery stays and tips to ensure a smooth and enjoyable visit. Tune in to explore how these stays can provide a meaningful and economical option for your next adventure!
Monastery Stays S1 E5
I love to travel, but the reality is that traveling costs money. I have a secret to share…
- To save on travel costs, I always want to try to save money on accommodations.
- This leaves me free to spend money on food, experiences, etc.
- For me, Accommodation doesn’t have to be fancy. I am there to visit a destination, not a hotel bar (although having one helps)
- The place you sleep in is just that– your bedroom. It isn’t your living room or kitchen– that is outside – in the neighborhood, restaurants, etc.
- Minimum requirements: good value, clean, safe, well located. Other than that I don’t care.
- What doesn’t matter to me: size of room, elevators, breakfast, and small shampoo bottles.
- I always research to see if there are monasteries or convents at which I can stay: Monastery and convent stays include abbeys, religious owned or managed properties.
- Urge you to research and consider staying in a monastery or convent. Don’t laugh or judge.
Monasteries and convents:
- Offer lodging to people of all faiths, open to everyone. You do not have to be Catholic or any other religion to stay there.
- To me, it’s the ultimate in shopping local. Let’s face it, these places are available bc of a decline in people entering the religious communities. These places have had to turn to offering accommodations to visitors just to make ends meet. Many rooms have been upgraded, refurbished and made ensuite, so you have a private bathroom.
- Without doing this, many would close, and likely be bought up by hotel chains, turned into luxury accommodations and charge a ton of money.
- Primarily in Europe but also other places across the world.
What are monasteries and convents offering accommodations like?
- Many if not most have been upgraded and refurbished
- Can be working places or specifically for visitors
- Primarily in Europe but are also in the US, and around the world.
- Although I seem to notice Asia offers more retreats rather than general overnight lodging
- Monasteries generally in rural communities. Abbeys and convents more centrally located
That said,
- These places are not hotels per se. Not usually offering a lot of luxuries.
- If you want chocolates on your pillow or your bed turned down at night, then this is not the place for you.
- If you are ok with spartan furnishings, then this might be the place for you
- What it does offer are modestly appointed rooms that are clean, safe, and economical
Pros:
- Very economical room prices. Far lower rates than staying at a hotel
- Often centrally located and are considered an oasis in the middle of busy cities. You might have a garden, chapel, or walled courtyard on the property
- Unique way of visiting or even staying longer than you normally would since you can save money this way.
Cons:
- Rooms book well in advance. You should make reservations as soon as you commit to your trip
- Cancellation policies are not always visitor friendly. Many times I would find rooms that were completely non-refundable no matter what. Forcing you to rely on travel insurance for canceling.
May be a curfew- for Over50 travelers, may not be a big deal. For younger travelers who go clubbing, then remember this. Usually 10-Midnight
- Might also be a minimum stay
Three websites I use:
- Monasterystays.com- focuses mainly on Italy, with a few listings in Austria and Slovenia
- Must submit a travel plan to the website requesting lodging. The website operator will then contact the properties on your behalf and let you know if they have room
- There are online reviews of places
- Monasteries.com – around the world, but primarily Europe. See listings for Egypt,
- Site includes tips for staying in a monastery
- Online reviews
- Italy most prevalent place for these stays. Fewer in other European countries
- Again, have you go through this platform to make a reservation request
- Goodnightandgodbless.com (my favorite)
- Reviews and photos, same as other ones
If you decide to try this option: REMEMBER!
- Be super careful about their cancellation policy
- Always double check reviews on sites– you can cross check with tripadvisor.com, other monastery stay sites mentioned above, and even booking.com may have a listing.
- Book well in advance, you aren’t going to be able to find openings on the spot
- Double check the location– is it in an area near to things you want to see, or close to public transportation links? Always do a bit of background research about the neighborhood or general area.
Will put all the links in my show notes.
Will be taking a break from recording for the next several weeks while I do some off season traveling and return with experiences to share with you.
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Transcript
Speaker A:
Foreign.
Speaker A:Welcome to Second Act Travels.
Speaker A:I'm your host Elizabeth and this is the
Speaker A:podcast providing travel information and inspiration for those in their second act of
Speaker A:life.
Speaker A:Thanks for joining us.
Speaker A:Well, welcome back.
Speaker A:Today's topic is monastery and abbey stays.
Speaker A:I thought that was very interesting and I hope you'll learn something from it.
Speaker A:One of the areas in which I try to save money is on accommodations.
Speaker A:For me, accommodation doesn't have to be fancy.
Speaker A:I'm there to visit a destination.
Speaker A:That's the way I look at it.
Speaker A:And I think about my hotel room, the place where I'm staying as my bedroom and outside of
Speaker A:the bedroom is the place I'm visiting.
Speaker A:So I don't need a whole lot beyond clean,
Speaker A:safe and well located.
Speaker A:Other than that, I really don't care.
Speaker A:I don't need a chocolate on my pillow every
Speaker A:night.
Speaker A:It doesn't matter if I have a really tiny room.
Speaker A:It doesn't matter if I have an elevator or if I have breakfast included.
Speaker A:All I want is a clean, safe and well located space to put my head at night.
Speaker A:Well, let's talk about why monasteries and convents are even options in the first place.
Speaker A:I mean, the fact is, is that monasteries and convents have lost members as fewer and fewer
Speaker A:people are going into religious vocations.
Speaker A:So these places need to be able to exist by earning some money because there aren't as
Speaker A:many people becoming nuns or becoming monks to help bring in income for the community.
Speaker A:They are open to everyone of all faiths, all backgrounds.
Speaker A:For me, it's the ultimate experience in shopping local.
Speaker A:Many rooms have been refurbished, they've been upgraded, they've been made en suite so there
Speaker A:is a bathroom with private bathroom within your room and they are ready to accept
Speaker A:visitors.
Speaker A:The other piece is that without doing these conversions, without monasteries and abbeys
Speaker A:opening up to the public and trying to generate some income, a lot of them would
Speaker A:close and who knows what would happen.
Speaker A:Maybe a hotel chain would buy them up, maybe the building would be demolished or turned
Speaker A:into condominiums or something like that.
Speaker A:So for me, stay in a monastery or an abbey is
Speaker A:absolutely about supporting a local community.
Speaker A:And whenever I tell someone that I'm staying in a convent, they look at me a little
Speaker A:strangely and then they say, well, what are they like?
Speaker A:So what are monastery and convent accommodations like?
Speaker A:First of all, do know that many places have been updated and refurbished.
Speaker A:Sometimes they are working monasteries or convents, but other times the whole building
Speaker A:might have just been turned over to accommodations for the public.
Speaker A:These places are not hotels per se, and they're usually not offering a lot of
Speaker A:luxuries.
Speaker A:So if you want chocolates on your pillow at
Speaker A:night,
Speaker A:probably a monastery or a convent is not the place for you.
Speaker A:And if you need the plush chairs and the really comfy couches or something in your
Speaker A:room,
Speaker A:this is not the place for you.
Speaker A:Generally the rooms are pretty minimally
Speaker A:furnished.
Speaker A:They're comfortable, but they're minimally
Speaker A:furnished.
Speaker A:These rooms are clean and safe and economical.
Speaker A:So far below hotel rates usually.
Speaker A:But now for the sake of convenience, I'm going to refer to monasteries as inclusive of
Speaker A:monasteries, convents and abbeys.
Speaker A:So I'm just going to use the one term,
Speaker A:monastery stays.
Speaker A:That includes convents and abbeys as well, and also religious colleges.
Speaker A:So I'm just going to use that one term.
Speaker A:So the pros, very economical room prices,
Speaker A:definitely far lower prices than staying in a hotel.
Speaker A:Often find within a convent in the city a garden or an enclosed area, maybe even a
Speaker A:chapel.
Speaker A:So they're almost like oases in the middle of
Speaker A:a busy city.
Speaker A:They can be really peaceful.
Speaker A:The last one I stayed in had, you know,
Speaker A:several areas where you could just sit and read a book or write in your travel journal or
Speaker A:something like that.
Speaker A:So those are some.
Speaker A:Now, of course, there are cons to everything.
Speaker A:For monasteries.
Speaker A:These rooms tend to book up, so book your room well in advance.
Speaker A:You have to make your reservations as soon as you commit to a trip.
Speaker A:If you're going to wait until you arrive in the town that day and reach out to the
Speaker A:monastery, you're probably not going to get a room,
Speaker A:so several weeks in advance.
Speaker A:Also, cancellation policies, I've noticed, tend to be very different at monasteries,
Speaker A:which is tricky.
Speaker A:Once you purchase a room and usually you pay up front,
Speaker A:that money is non refundable.
Speaker A:And if you have a really good excuse for why
Speaker A:you can't travel, it seems like monasteries will often refer you back to cancellation
Speaker A:policies in travel insurance.
Speaker A:So you would need to apply through travel insurance for any reimbursement.
Speaker A:The other thing is there might be a minimum stay required and you can understand why if
Speaker A:they have very few staff on hand, that's fewer times they have to turn over a room.
Speaker A:So there might be a minimum stay, just know that.
Speaker A:But that'll be obvious to you in some of the websites we talk about.
Speaker A:The last con, I think is that there may be a curfew.
Speaker A:Usually it's between 10pm and midnight.
Speaker A:So for over 50 travelers maybe that's okay.
Speaker A:You may be able to make accommodations, they might be able to give you a key or Something
Speaker A:like that if you know you're going to not be in by curfew time.
Speaker A:But if you're somebody who wants to go clubbing all night, again, this might not be
Speaker A:the place for you to stay, so just know that as well.
Speaker B:There are three websites I use when I'm researching and looking for a stay.
Speaker A:In a convent or a monastery, and.
Speaker B:They'Re all pretty similar, but These are the three that I like.
Speaker B:Monasteriesdays.com is the first site I use.
Speaker B:It focuses mainly on Italy, but also has a few
Speaker B:listings in Austria and slovenia, so nearby.
Speaker B:Monasteries.com is the second website out there.
Speaker B:It focuses on stays around the world, but primarily in Europe.
Speaker B:I've even seen listings for Egypt and Australia.
Speaker B:This site is interesting in that it also includes some tips for staying in a monastery.
Speaker B:Nothing out of the ordinary, all what you would expect, but just just sweet to have
Speaker B:that.
Speaker B:And the third site I use is Good Night and God Bless.
Speaker B:All these sites work very similarly in that you're generally not interfacing directly with
Speaker B:the property.
Speaker B:If you see a property that you want to stay
Speaker B:in, you actually have to fill out an online form and then submit it.
Speaker A:And then the people who run the.
Speaker B:Platform reach out to the property to.
Speaker A:Find out if there's space or not.
Speaker B:For you and then they get back to you.
Speaker B:So in one case, monasterystays.com, you actually can put a second choice down.
Speaker A:They all work very similarly, but play.
Speaker B:Around with them, see which ones you like.
Speaker B:But those are the three that I.
Speaker A:Use and if you know of any.
Speaker B:Others, please send them along to me overseas and over 50 mail.com I'll be sure
Speaker B:to update my show notes.
Speaker A:Now, if any of this has sounded appealing to you and none of it has put you
Speaker A:off or frightened you off, just remember these few things.
Speaker A:Here's like the least you need to know about staying in monasteries.
Speaker A:First of all, be super careful about their cancellation policy.
Speaker A:Again, read the fine print and make sure that if you commit to something, you're pretty much
Speaker A:going to go.
Speaker A:I always double check the reviews on websites and actually this goes for any accommodation I
Speaker A:stay in, I always want to get another good review to back up what I'm reading.
Speaker A:So I double check the reviews on my sites.
Speaker A:Now you can often do this with tripadvisor.com
Speaker A:you can cross check through the other monastery sites.
Speaker A:So maybe you'd book through goodnightandgodbless.com but you might want to
Speaker A:also read the reviews of that property on monasteries.com and vice versa.
Speaker A:Even booking.com might have a listing for you to look at,
Speaker A:so just double check everything.
Speaker A:Make sure that the description is exactly what
Speaker A:you're looking for and so that you're not going to be surprised.
Speaker A:Again, book well in advance.
Speaker A:You're not going to find openings on a whim.
Speaker A:As soon as you really commit to a trip even a month or two out,
Speaker A:get on and book if this interests you.
Speaker A:Also, double check the location.
Speaker A:Now, is it in an area near things you want to see or is it close to a public transport link?
Speaker A:Always do a little bit of background research about the neighborhood and the general area.
Speaker A:And again, this is a general recommendation for anyone staying anywhere.
Speaker A:I mean you always want to make sure that your hotel is in a safe neighborhood.
Speaker A:So just double check the location.
Speaker A:I'm going to put all the links in the show
Speaker A:notes so not to worry about that.
Speaker A:That's it for monastery stays.
Speaker A:I Hope that the 10 minutes was worthwhile for
Speaker A:you and I hope this gives you an option for possibly saving money and having a unique
Speaker A:experience really is what it's about.
Speaker A:Thanks.
Speaker A:Look forward to seeing you soon.
Speaker A:So thanks so much for checking.
Speaker A:Second act travels out and I'll see.
Speaker B:You back here soon.