Dad grew up through the home computer revolution of the 80s and through the birth and growth of the internet. However, he’s not really an early adopter with even his parents beating him to be first to get an email address and a mobile phone

Dad was therefore late to the Airbnb world. He had heard about it but hadn’t used it before last summer’s trip. He decided to try it out when central Seattle prices turned out to be rather prohibitive

Basically, Airbnb allows users to rent out their private dwellings to other users. Airbnb carefully screen all users for safety purposes, using IDs like passports and driving licenses to confirm that the user is a real person. So, you will need some time up sign up. Once your ID had been verified, you can hire out your property or rent a property on the site from other Airbnb members

The Airbnb website is a joy to use. It’s quick and responsive with maps scrolling and updating quickly and smoothly

Dad found a property on 3rd Ave in the Belltown area of Seattle promising great views. The site prices up the total cost of the proposed stay and you send a request to the owner. In fact, dad’s first request for another apartment was rejected, which was a new experience as he was used to automatic acceptances from hotels

There’s a description of the property on the website but obviously, some owners give more details and write better. However, you can email them if you have any questions before making a booking

The apartment delivered on the promised great views. Located on a high up floor of an apartment on 3rd Ave, there was a west-facing balcony, which was perfect for a view of the waterways and islands off the west coast of Seattle. Looking north to Seattle Centre reveals the iconic Space Needle

  
  
The bedroom had a comfortable bed and there was a good kitchen though we ate out. We also enjoyed the decent sized swimming pool and hot tub on the 6th floor

 The main tourist areas of Pike Place Market, the waterfront, Seattle Centre and Pioneer Square are all easily walkable. Belltown is a great neighbourhood and has a lot of restaurants and bars to choose from

The best thing was the price was about half the price of a decent hotel in the same area and if you wanted that amazing view, hotels would have charged an arm and a leg for that

Another nice feature is that after your stay, the guest and owner can review each other to help highlight the good and the bad

So, a good first experience on Airbnb for us

If you want to book this apartment on Airbnb, it’s current description is ‘Ideal location + view, free parking’