Hotel vs. Apartment...Why?
 

This is more a "curiosity" question than request for advice, but why do so many people prefer a high priced hotel room in Europe to a privately owned apartment, when the latter provides so much more space for often less cost? Just curious in that the apartment rentals I'm finding in Rome and Venice don't compare to the over-priced hotel options.

A lot of people prefer hotel services. When I go on vacation I don't want to go near a kitchen. I want room service (adore breakfast in bed), concierge and bell staff to deal with the luggage - and a maid bring in fresh towels twice a day. It's just a matter of whether you would rather spend money or time/effort.

1) I often travel solo, so sitting alone in an apartment in a strange city isn't the most appealing thought. Much rather have a cozy hotel, with a welcoming lobby area, front desk staff to assist me, a cold bottle of wine available, breakfast served, etc.

2) I don't stay at 'over-priced' hotels. I have always found lovely 3-stars at reasonable rates.

3) Apartments most often require a one week stay and have hefty cancellation fees, where if one hotel doesn't suit, it's easy to move to another down the street.

While I've rented an apartment in London for years, and this summer rented four other apartments in Europe for a week or more each, I understand both sides.

Incidentally, I'm not so sure that the apartment is often much less. To be honest to find an apartment furnished as nicely as most nicer hotels borders on the impossible unless you pay a fortune. Many apartment renters forgo the nicer furnishings and decor for an apartment. I had to pour over hundreds of websites for Paris apartments, boycotting all the ones with futons as furniture, fold out cots as beds, no headboards, a bed jammed against a wall on one side, a folding chair as the only sittable furniture, tacky fabric tied back at a window to pass as draperies -- the list is endless. I could easily find a very nice hotel in my same area in Paris for no more than I pay for the apartment I rent. I find really nice hotels in London a whole lot more expensive than equally nice ones in Paris, so it seems to me that for a week a London, a flat can easily be a big savings, more so than Paris.

I do like an apartment, even though I never cook in one. It's just the additional space and a feeling of "home" on my longer trips. On the other hand for a first trip or so to a new city, there's a lot to be said for the comfort of a hotel -- other people to talk with at breakfast, advice from the staff, and other ammenities.

YES..to all of the above!

I love stayhing in apartments, but if I am in a new city I like having someone available to get suggestions from.
That is the main reason for a hotel .

Otherwise, I would rather have an apartment.

We prefer apartments, too. We do plenty of research before we go to any city, so we feel comfortable being on our own.

We like the convenience of having a fridge, microwave, coffee pot, etc. We don't really do much cooking, but we like being able to have some things for breakfast or a light lunch in the apartment. We also like all the extra space and being able to live like the locals do. Most apartments also offer a washing machine which enables us to pack light.

I know many people prefer not to do have to do "chores" when on vacation, but I don't mind much if I can reap the other conveniences an apartment affords. We also find that apartments are often less expensive.

I like luxury hotels at times, too, but honestly prefer to go with an apartment and spend my money on seeing the sights and having lovely meals.

NatalieM:
I, too, love vacation apartments! Have travelled that way to Germany and Switzerland since 1994. I love to 'live like the locals', shop in the area cheese shop, butcher and grocers. Generally experience the area on a neighborhood level. I choose a town, check online for photos and descriptions, make contact directly with the owners, then book. Never once have I been disappointed! Generally, I find quiet locations, always one floor up, and often with balconies. I seldom cook dinner, but do appreciate the fridge for storing butter, jam and picnic lunch items. I revel in the extra room that an apartment provides. And I generally spend less than $30 per night for my private garden and patio!
Because I usually travel 'shoulder' season, most owners are willing to book 3 nights or more, though I always stay at least 5 nights in one location.
The ONLY drawback that I've encountered is that often owners ONLY book Saturday to Saturday, so sometimes my first choice is out. There is usually an end-cleaning fee, which can be paltry to significant---something to inquire about, though SOMETIMES, included!

I prefer apartments, but there are arguments on both sides.

We like to stay at least a week in each place we visit; if we were moving more often a hotel might be more suited. We are going to San Diego next week, with a three day stop in Las Vegas; in Vegas a hotel is better, as it is closer to the sites we want to see.

Economics cuts both ways. Hotels might have more stylish decor, but apartments have more space. Posh apartments usually cost quite a bit; I think most apartment users would equate their apartments to a less costly hotel, such as a 2 star. Hotels usually take credit cards, while many apartments take only cash, and demand a wire transfer for your down payment. Hotels often offer a continental breakfast, which we like, but since we prefer tea, we do our own continental breakfast in an apartment, customized to our own tastes.

Having a washer/dryer, as many apartments do, saves both money and space, since you don't have to pack as many clothes. We usually don't use the kitchen much; making tea and boiling a dozen eggs on arrival is about it. I also like having more than one room, as I arise early while my wife doesn't, so I don't have to worry about waking her.

Some of the hotel services, such as room service or a concierge, we almost never use; if we used them more, perhaps we would prefer hotels.

If staying for a week, we prefer an apartment (or cottage if its in the country.) We like being able to make tea and breakfast in the morning and being able to relax in a living room in the evenings. It's just more comfortable than a hotel room for longer stays.

One VERY minor annoyance is arriving in some big European city and having to explain to the taxi driver how to get to some obsure residential address when you've only got three brain cells left, which may be a couple more than the driver-- This happened to me in Prague once (even though I had it marked on a map!) and since then I've been gun shy.

I always like to stay in a nice hotel upon arrival and then "simplify my digs" as the trip progresses.

We only stay at apartments if we're going to be somewhere for more than two weeks. Otherwise, we stay in hotels, 3 star minimum, usually 4 stars if possible. We just prefer the amenities of a nice hotel, such as daily maid service, concierge, hotel bar (especially hotels with piano bars), etc.
When we stayed in Paris for about 5 weeks, we rented an apartment. That was fine, although it was on the ground floor and we weren't happy about having to roll down the security blinds everytime we stepped out the door, even for five minutes.
On a two week trip to central Austria, we rented a little chalet. It turned out to be even smaller than we'd figured and as it was such a hot spell while we were there, we seldom cooked. It made the whole place simply too warm and uncomfortable. The next year, when we spent another two weeks in the same area, we stayed at small elegant hotel with a much larger room, beautiful decor, wonderful service, and great food.
To each his own. Also, since we already live in Europe, we don't feel the need to get that European "ambience" by staying in an apartment on our vacations. We get that at home.

We stay in hotels that cost less than apartments. It's just a place to sleep, change clothes, and shower for us. All that apartment space would be a waste--though I suppose we could sublet some of the space to someone else.

We are retired and when we arrived in Paris in early June we had rented an apartment for the summer through FUSAC www.fusac.fr (found it under "short-term rentals"), which we've done several times. We like the apartment (it's in the Bastille area), shopping for our own food and cooking at home - we can have guests over for dinner and family has been able to stay in the spare bedroom. The only problem has been that the owners left the closets stuffed with their clothes and other things that we had to pack into boxes that clutter up the hallway. This was not very thoughtful. Also, they asked us to please not use their washing machine, even though they told us there was a machine in the apartment, but that's okay because there's a laundromat downstairs. We feel we really have saved alot however (in tips alone) but next time we come to Paris, if it's just for a couple of weeks, I think we'll rent through one of the anglophone apartment rental agencies we've heard good things about, or, if it's through FUSAC, we'll be sure to tell the family to please empty out their closets. In a funny way you do feel more like a real "resident" staying in a neighborhood, in an apartment, but if I were on my own I would stay in a hotel.

An advantage about renting an apartment we found is that if it's for a longer period, as ours was, you can go and come back without feeling guilty (price per night is considerably less than a hotel) and don't have to go through that whole booking a room thing over and over each time.

A lot depends on "where".

For example, in England we always stay in an apartment because we prepare are own meals. Mainly because most English restaurants exhibit at least one of the following:
1. too expensive
2. lousy food
3. lousy service
Wasting 3 or 4 hours a day, in an English restaurant, is definitely not worth the money, aggravation or time.

On the other hand, in a place like Rome, you would have to be nuts to be cooking your own meals - dining out is an absolute delight.

The original poster is obviously quite biased against hotel stays which are uniformly described as "high priced" or "over priced" and apartments are described as having "much more space" and so forth.

Personally, I've never come and gone from ANY establishment I have ever rented and felt "guilty" about it.

There probably isn't any "one" answer to this question and even if there were, I'm not sure it would satisfy the supposed "curiosity" of the original poster.

Love to rent apartments. We much prefer the extra room and living in a village or area where we can at least be "part-time" residents. It's great having a kitchen so we can fix coffee, tea, etc. at our leisure. Usually we have a good breakfast before taking off for a day of sightseeing, have lunch out and many times bring something back to heat or cook our evening meal at the apartment as we're early diners and are exhausted at the end of the day. We will be going to Germany for 3 weeks in December and have rented apartments in 3 different areas of the country.
Susan

Suspaul and I have the same ideas on this question. I like to have a nice substantial breakfast at my leisure. I like to make an omelet and sit in my nightgown sipping coffee in the mornings before I greet the public. At an hotel unless you have room service you have to dress before you even eat breakfast and then have to endure breakfast room chatter before you even have your coffee.

Some days if I have been out and about all day it is nice to get into my robe and just have a light dinner in my apartment before I into the other room to sleep, no commuting. I like the extra room of an apartment too, the idea of two beds with a two foot space surrounding them in one room doesn't cut it.

But I have morphed into this apartment loving person over time and experience. I now travel with a different perspective which is to be slow and calm. Sort of like slow travel.

TopMan, I know what you're saying and yes the poster is obviously biased. I think the tone was really "gee, we like to do things this way, is there some reason people don't agree with this". I see nothing wrong with people feeling their way is the best way -- it obviously IS for them. I don't think it's any different that the many posters who directly or indirectly say, "Italy is the greatest. Why wouldn't anyone want to go there?"

Sheesh! Just got back to check the last couple of responses to my post. I certainly did not intend to insult anyone's preferences, nor did I expect my post to be taken as such. FYI sometimes we stay at apartments; sometimes we stay at hotels; sometimes we stay at b&b's; sometimes we stay with friends; sometimes we stay home. I really did simply want some input from others because we have not been to Italy before. Thank you for your helpful replies.

I like apartments since it gives everyone a little space! I also like the option to eat at home.

i just like to be left alone on vacation. i dont' need or like housekeeping service, i don't want to have to deal with a bellman, i like to cook some meals "at home" and i would never dream of ordering room service for breakfast in bed.

when i stay in a hotel, i wander around the markets and get depressed that i can't cook any of the fish, mushrooms, etc that i see on offer.

as others said, you feel much more like it's your own place.

While I can't cook a fish (!) I always set up my hotel room with a bottle of wine, a nice glass, bottled water, juice, and a few snacks. Sometimes even purchase a small square of fabric or a dishtowel and an inexpensive fruit bowl and make a 'kitchenette' in a corner of the dresser. I also often buy fresh flowers.

I didn't realize so many of you rent apartments. I am thinking of this for my journey next year - I like the idea of more room and a little kitchen area.

A hotel is OK for a night or two, but any longer than that and we like to have an apartment or flat. Like others, we like the added space and having a kitchen available. It's our little home away from home. :)

Well, guess NYTraveler and I are alike. I want a hotel. Do not want to cook, period. Opening up a bottle of water or wine is my limit on vacation.

Do love coffee in my room, sitting in bathrobe enjoying the serenity. Do not eat much for breakfast so no problem there.

Do not want to make the bed, dust etc.

Besides lingerie do not want to do laundry. Do not want to clean the bathroom.

But do always keep my hotel room picked up and I am respectful of the room and the hotel maids.

But I love hotels. It is interesting IMHO that we all have different thoughts as to what makes up happy.

Apartments often require longer term rental than we stay in most places.

Like others have mentioned, we don't want a kitchen, like having the room cleaned, beds made, fresh towels daily, etc.

Plus, we only sleep, shower, and change clothes in our room--so we don't need a lot of space.

Oh, and we normally stay in nicer unrated pensions or one-two star hotels, so it's usually less expensive than an apartment anyway.

some of this might be a european/american divide.

europeans tend to stay in houses or apartments more while americans generally are more likely to prefer hotels.

why?

don't know but perhaps europeans generally take longer holidays/vacations and americans take shorter ones and move around more during a visit to europe. If you move around a lot, an apartment is not practical as real rentals typically have one week minimums. Also while europeans have more time for their vacations, they often have a smaller vacation budget and rentals are usually much cheaper than hotels. Hybred hotel/apartment deals are the exception as they operate much like hotels and are therefore usually as, if not more expensive than hotels. I am talking about the rental that is typically rented from a person and has no on-site management or services.