Yes, you can. There are plenty of other stays that allow you the perfect blend of autonomy and privacy with plenty of homelike touches. There are several types of other stays that don’t have you living under the same roof as the property owner.

One of these other stays is the bed and breakfast guesthouse or inn, where separate living quarters are located on the property. This is where you will rent a room in a separate house from the owner/manager, with others possibly renting other rooms within the guesthouse. The guesthouse usually has its own dining room where you will have your meals (dinner may be provided, depending on the type of guesthouse you have chosen) and you will either have an ensuite bathroom or a shared bathroom. While they are kind of like a hotel, these tend to have a homelike, community feel to them.

Other stays in the bed and breakfast category include cottage stays and self-contained units where you will have your own separate bathroom and kitchen facilities, rather than sharing the family’s facilities. A unit or suite is usually attached to the owner/manager’s home, while a cottage or cabin is a standalone building.

Don’t talk about it too loudly, but the accommodation for these other stays is probably where the owner puts those ornaments and bits of furniture they don’t want to look at but they got as gifts from relatives they don’t want to offend! Perhaps one or two have a story attached to them…