Choosing Between Apartments and Hotels

When you are traveling with the family, it’s almost always preferable to book an apartment instead of a hotel. But there are certain factors that tip the scales in favor of hotels sometimes. Here are some points to keep in mind when making your decision:

1. Location: I have found that apartments are more likely to be on obscure streets or in less accessible locations than hotels. They are also less likely to be known by cab drivers or on major public transportation routes, making them a nightmare to get to, particularly if you are not fluent in the native language. Further, some apartment buildings may lack facilities such as elevators and doormen which can be a necessity when you are traveling with kids and have all that extra stuff. Therefore, if the apartment doesn’t look very central, doesn’t have basic amenities like an elevator, microwaves, dishwashers, and washing machines (for longer trips) and is not close to a major street or landmark, you may want to consider going the hotel route.

2. Facilities: Room service and concierges are my favorite things in the world. Nothing like someone cleaning up after you and telling you where you can find anything you want. When you are in an apartment, you are completely and truly on your own whereas in a hotel, your every wish is a phone call away (assuming you can pay for it!). But it is comforting in a foreign country to know that you can at least get a late night snack or warm milk if the baby is acting up. Further, larger hotels may have open gardens, playgrounds, swimming pools and other facilities that you can avail of. Finally, if you hate your room, there are usually other options you can change to whereas with an apartment, it’s much harder to do.

3. Comfort: I have always found that with hotels, you know what you are getting, and there is someone you can hold accountable when something goes wrong. For instance, we were in Spain in the peak of summer, and the air conditioning in our apartment was malfunctioning. Not only could we not get anyone to come service it at that hour of the evening, we had to wait in our apartment for the contracted vendor to come take care of it. And it still wasn’t really working. Similarly, when the paint was chipping off the walls, there was nothing we could do but walk around it and make sure we washed our feet regularly. Hotels can be crappy too, but generally if you stay with a reputable name, they will have someone around to make sure your basic needs are taken care of.

4. Emergency Resources: While apartments may offer you freedom and space, I always take comfort in the fact that emergency services are closer at hand in a hotel. Whether there is a natural disaster or medical emergency, I feel like you are left to your own devices in an apartment, without anyone to counsel or assist you in a worst case scenario.

Overall, my best two scenarios are:
1) A well researched or recommended apartment, centrally located, relatively new construction with a sales/managing office on the property to address your concerns/questions such as the Pounamu Apartments we stayed in Queenstown, NZ.

2) A spacious hotel room with a kitchenette (burner, refrigerator, microwave, sink at least) within a hotel, and where room service exists and understands the needs of kids, such as the Pachtuv Palace in Prague.