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I was given a complimentary copy of “Good Night & God Bless” Volume One to review. The book is a guide to convent and monastery accommodation in Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy by Australian author Trish Clark.
I was already familiar with the possilbity of staying in this type of accommodation after reading Heather [...]
Written by Travel News on January 22nd, 2010 with
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I was given a complimentary copy of “Good Night & God Bless” Volume One to review. The book is a guide to convent and monastery accommodation in Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy by Australian author Trish Clark.
I was already familiar with the possilbity of staying in this type of accommodation after reading Heather Cowper’s post “Staying in a religious guest house in Rome” on the Europe a la Carte Blog last year. Heather enjoyed her stay, finding the accommodation comfortable and quiet. The room cost 125 Euro per night for a double room including breakfast and taxes (in Spring 2008). On reading Heather’s post two thoughts crossed my mind. The first was that as a non religious person would I feel comfortable staying in a religious guest house? The second that I could find a room in Rome in a central location for lot less than 125 Euro a night, using an accommodation metasearch such as HotelsCombined.
Therefore I still had these thoughts in mind as I started to read “Good Night & Good Bless”.The book got off to a bad start with me as I couldn’t read the white text on an orange background on the first page of the introduction. Fortunately the categorisation of the different types of religious accommodation on the following page was readable black text on a pinky background. It’s crucial to be aware of the two main types of accommodation, so that you choose what’s appropriate for you.
1 Open houses open to all visitors with a relaxed, casual atmosphere with no strict regimes or rules.
2 Spiritual retreats where guest have to be committed to spiritual activities.
The book is really well researched and gives you information about the area around each accommodation option. There are some fantastic locations like the Conventi Sicilia in Palermo, Sicily in Italy with ensuite rooms cost around 45 Euro per night per person excluding breakfast. Probstei St Gerold, Vorarlberg, in Alpine Austria offers ensuite rooms from 47 Euro per night including breakfast. If you’d prefer to be in the centre of Austrian capital Vienna, Schotten Abbey has single rooms from 66 Euro or twin rooms from 99 Euro per night including breakfast and private facilities. In the Czech Republic, the Hotel Jeneralka in in Prague has ensuite twin rooms at the early bird rate 1700 CZK (approx 65 euro) including breakfast.
Probstei St Gerold by sibypsilon
Staying in a convent or monastery gives you the opportunity to stay in beautiful buildings which often contain artistic treasures. You can stay somewhere unusual and more characterful the average hotel. You may also meet some some of the nuns or monks who live and work in the convent or monastery.
The accommodation prices ranged widely, with an average of around 50 Euro a night per person. However as a UK resident the low value of the British pound inflates prices for me. I reckon I can find a double room in Italy including breakfast, outside high season, at a 3 or 4 star hotel, for around 30 euro per person night. I haven’t stayed in Austria or the Czech Republic recently, so can’t comment on accommodation prices there. Now you could argue that you can’t put a price on a unique experience such as staying a convent or monastery. Whilst I do agree with that, if you are going to spend a lot of time out and about exploring, are you willing to pay a premium for that experience?
Some of the accommodation is quite basic with shared bathrooms. There may be curfews which could restrict your nightlife. While the idea of staying in a convent or monastery sound appealing, you may prefer more comfort and flexibility during your travels. With regard to my qualms about staying in religious accommodation, reading the book didn’t really answer that fully for me, I think it would depend on the specific establishment. The author Trish Clark was educated by Ursuline nuns so I think that she probably feels more comfortable staying in religious accommodation, due to familiarity with a religious environment..
In conclusion, for the average traveller, as opposed to someone seeking a spiritual experience, staying in an open house convent or monastery is an option you may consider if you want to do something a bit different when visiting Europe. If you’re considering this type of accommodation then “Good Night & God Bless” gives you the lowdown on the available options.
Have you stayed in a convent or monastery on your European travels?
Written by Travel News on January 22nd, 2010 with
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