in search of darn good digs

Visitors to Minas Gerais, the Brazilian state bordering Rio de Janeiro, can step back in time by wandering the cobblestone streets among whitewashed 18th century houses in dozens of colonial mining towns dotting the region. The most famous destinations, Ouro Preto, Tiradentes, and Mariana, are closest to Rio, but true treasures await for intrepid travelers [...]

We’re always on the lookout for original accommodations around the world for budget-minded travelers.  Holly Maguire, at Escapio.com, suggested a guest post about Paradores – the collection of historic properties scattered around Spain that have been converted into unique hotels.  Quite honestly, we assumed that paradores as a rule were out of our price range, [...]

Puerto Rico offers far more for travelers than just all-inclusive resorts and high rise hotels. A simpler, more laid back Caribbean thrives all around the island – in mountain retreats, island guesthouses, and beach-side inns. Here’s our starter list of original hotels in Puerto Rico for budget-minded travelers: We had the good fortune to visit [...]

During our road trip this summer in the southwest U.S., we had the chance to spend three nights at Albuquerque’s newest boutique hotel, the fabulous Hotel Andaluz – as part of our search for the best independently owned hotels around the world for budget-minded travelers. We were living in luxury for close to $100 a [...]

Do you ever read those glossy travel magazines and think to yourself, ‘Oh, how I’d love to stay in a fabulous ice castle or undersea lodge – if only I had a gazillion dollars?’ Sometimes it’s fun to live vicariously through sleek photos, but we at Darn Good Digs have put together a list of [...]

When Lena from Amman, Jordan stumbled upon Darn Good Digs, she noticed a gaping hole in our guide to the world’s best independently owned hotels for budget-minded travelers.  Where were all the hotels in the Middle East?  Well, thanks to Lena, we will be adding a fabulous small hotel in Damascus, Syria, the Beit Rose [...]

After reading Arthur Frommer’s blog post about Darn Good Digs, Kathy from Ankara, Turkey decided to nominate her favorite digs in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  Kathy spent one month at the Sri Pat Guest House with her daughter, and she could not more highly recommend the Sri Pat or its friendly staff.  We just published Kathy’s [...]

Over the past year we truly enjoyed reading about Sarah Lavender Smith‘s family travels around the world on her blog, Away Together.  We have the added bonus, here at Darn Good Digs, of receiving new nominations from Sarah every few months as she clues us in to her favorite hotels along the way.  Sarah has [...]

Nadia Latif of Travel Intelligence has uncovered for Darn Good Digs an intimate three-roomed riad in the heart of Fez’s labyrinthine medina.  From the moment we received the nomination of Riad Numero 9 from Nadia, a self-described hotel junkie, we knew we had found an extraordinary small hotel.  She emailed us, “I visited it last [...]

Gary Diedrichs from Green Traveler Guides recently nominated the eco-friendly Balamku Inn on the Beach in Mahahual, Quintana Roo, Mexico, as one of his all-time favorite independently owned hotels.   The Green Traveler Guides, launched by Gary and his wife Peggy, are all about traveling well with the lightest possible carbon footprint. They do old-fashioned research [...]