Staying in a convent or monastery on your European trip
Written by Karen Bryan
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 this Europe travel tip 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 when you travel in Europe.
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 and the best places to visit 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 European 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 in Europe, 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 travels in Europe?
When we were in Assisi two summers ago we stayed at St. Anthony’s Guest House, run by a group of Franciscan Sisters. We think we found the best place to stay in Assisi for budget-minded travelers. The location was perfect, the vibe was friendly, and the price was right – I think around 50 Euros, with breakfast included.
You can read our review at (http://www.darngooddigs.com/stanthonysguesthouse.html).
This is a wonderful idea for accommodation and we’ve been interested for years in trying this the next time we are in Europe.
But our exchange rate is quite dreadful. 10 EURO = 15.6485 Australian Dollars — or the other way around, 10.00 AUD = 6.39039 EUR Ouch!
Will keep this in mind though if nothing else for the peace and tranquility compared to a normal hotel or guesthouse.
Thanks!
Michael – thanks for the link to the religious guest house in Assisi. Did the rooms there have a private bathroom?
Deborah – I hope that the Australian dollar gains ground against the Euro to make a trip to Europe more affordable for you. The UK pound has been increasing in value against the Euro recently.
Karen,
Yes, our room was very basic but with a private bathroom, and an amazing view overlooking Assisi. I think they have all sorts of rooms there, single, doubles, triples.
Michael
I do think that this kind of accommodation is usually good value if it is very centrally located or in an interesting old building -Residenza Madre Pie, the guest house I mentioned is run on semi professional lines, with a lovely garden, parking and en suite rooms and is just 5 mins from St Peter’s square, so I think it is good value, although obviously you could find cheaper accommodation generally in Rome.
I’ve bought the Good Night God Bless book myself and hoping to try out some of the recommended accommodations, although if there’s a Vol 2 I hope it includes Spain as I’m sure there are some great religious guest houses there.
Good article. A friend recommended I try staying in a convent on my trip to Sicily later this year. I found a great website which makes booking so easy – http://www.monasterystays.com. The site has access to over 500 monasteries/convents all over Italy. They represent great value, are safe and some are very central. It was so much easier than trying to do it myself (I’ve got to learn more Italian before I go). Check it out
Heather – I think that one would have to look at each religious accommodation establishment individually and weigh up the facilities, ambience, location and price in comparison with the alternatives and one’s own requirements. Unfortunately Vol 2 covers France, Ireland and England.
John – Thanks for link to that website. I’d be interested it hear your evaluation of the convent in Sicily. I think that a personal recommendation is an important factor in deciding on accommodation.
Very informative article with great tips! It recalled one of my first trips to Rome, as a teenager, spending the nights in a religous house run by nuns… my aunt had booked for me :)I simply loved it!!
For cities like Rome or other locations in Italy, this is the best type of accommodation in my opinion, especially when travelling alone. Thanks Karen for sharing this!