An apartment or a house for vacation: what to look for?

Destination set. Plane tickets? Check! Bought at the best possible price. The company? Check! Time to go and enjoy the holiday! But WAIT: the accommodation! Booked something? It may not seem a difficult job but the problems often start here. How to find something that will live up to your expectations without draining your wallet? Something in the city centre but far from noisy discos? A children-friendly spot with a pool but also with tasty food? In a quiet yet well communicated neighbourhood?

We’ve stayed at hundreds of hotels, rooms for rent, guesthouses, sometimes even hostels. We no longer look for what’s the cheapest like during my student exchange years when I used to stay in rooms with no windows in San Sebastian or hostels in the suburbs of Lisbon from which I had to commute to the city centre using the bus, the ferry and the bus again. Accidents happen and that applies to booking accommodation too. But you can do several things to avoid them.

 

What to look out for when booking your stay?

 

1) Think about what you want: a house, an apartment or a hotel room?

 

 

That’s the first and most important question! Think about where you’re going and what for? What do you need? In many cases renting a home or a flat may be more affordable than looking for a room in a hotel. We do it more and more often in different places of the world! We rented flats in Paris, Tallin, Brussels, Yerevan, Sarajevo or Montenegro and houses on Gozo, in Mexico or Spain.

 

We’re looking for a home when we’re travelling with our friends and their children. There’s plenty of us, a bunch of children too – we want some space to play for them and a common room for us where we can spend nights without worrying about children crying locked in hotel rooms far away. A house often comes with a private pool / jacuzzi /a playground. A house lets you prepare your own meals and beloved breakfasts on the terrace. If we’re travelling alone, the three of us or with Maks’ grandparents, we often look for apartments. We’re together, we have the common space, we can leave the kid with his grandparents and spend the evening out together.

A flat or a house always gives you a sense of independence and often costs you less. It’s also a way to blend in with the city life and imagine a situation when you return to your own flat somewhere in Paris or Tallin.

 

2) location and neighbourhood where you’re going to stay

 

Location is the key! Remember: never stick to the best price ONLY! It’s understandable that the further from the city centre, the cheaper. But remember that this way you will lose plenty of time and money to get to places worth seeing. Check the city map before booking and don’t believe information such as ’10 minutes from the centre’ – just check how it looks on the map for yourself.

If you’re going to a place you don’t know, make sure you know what the neighbourhood you’re planning to stay in is like – especially if you’re 2 girls travelling on their own or a couple with a little child. Sometimes a place on the map may seem near the old town or other important sites but the area may be not so interesting or even dangerous and you don’t want to stay in a neighbourhood which scares you even in the early evening.

If you’re staying in one place for just a night and treat it as quick stop on the road – don’t make it complicated and stick to a flat or a hotel (works great in this case!) near the railway station or the airport. You won’t waste your time and money for transfers and with just 8-12 hours you won’t be able to see the city anyway.

 

3) making it easy for travelling families

 

 

Travelling with a child and in need of specific facilities? That can be checked as well! If you’re planning on renting a house with a pool, check how the place looks and if there are any hazards for kids (i.e. stone steps to the pool).

 

As you’re looking for a flat/home make sure that your child will feel comfortable on location. If you’re travelling with a one-year-old who’s still learning to walk, multi-storey houses are not recommended. Unless you want to get really tired:) You’ll be running up and down the stairs with your little one 😉 Make sure there’s a bed for the toddler available – on HomeToGo you can already check it during your search by ticking a respectable filter. When booking, ask if the bed will cost you extra or is it included in the price. If you’re planning to stay for a week or two, a kids’ bed charged 10 euro for a day may cost quite the amount.

 

4) alimentation

 

 

A house or an apartment gives you a lot of freedom when it comes to preparing food. No fixed times for lunch and dinners in one which we don’t like. Instead a kitchen where you can cook something quick for the child, heat the milk or make some tea.

If you have plans to cooks something more than sandwiches for breakfast and a cheese board fo supper in your flat / house makes sure that the kitchen is equipped in all you need. You may even get a kitchen that’s better than your own 🙂 We got one in a house we rented in Nerja in Spain – we could have easily thrown parties there 😉

 

 

 

5) other guests’ opnions

 

That goes without saying, right? Look for opinions regarding a specific place but treat them reasonably. 2 or 3 complaining individuals vs. more than a dozen satisfied ones doesn’t mean you have to give up on that offer. Read carefully because some people can’t live without a TV while others don’t pay attention at all. We usually give up on a house or an apartment after reading that something doesn’t work or that the place is… smelly, written by many guests. It may sound silly, but imagine staying in place where it smells stale or of cigarettes for several days.. Not cool!

 

6) THE INTERNET!!!

 

You desperately need the Internet connection (like we do)? Check it, ask and make sure that it’s free and that it works in all rooms. Yet, our experience shows that you still can run into problems… it’s not uncommon for the owner/the hotel to assure us about the Internet connection with websites loading for 15 minutes. Another reason to read other people’s opinions 😉

 

7) where can I park?

 

 

Parking in the city centre, by the street, next to the flat you’re renting may be difficult in many European cities. Either you have to circle around the place looking for some parking space or you have to pay a lot for a few hours on a paid parking. Therefore it’s best to look for places with their own parking space or a parking lot with low fares if you’re travelling by car.

Don’t risk parking where you’re not supposed to – it may result in a significant rise in accommodation price

 

8) What’s included?

 

 

You already know about parking and the Internet connection but remember to read the offer carefully in order to make sure that everything is INCLUDED in the price.

 

9) check-in/ check-out

 

Particularly important if the arrival/departure hours are absurd. The check-in time in hotels or rented apartments is usually 2 pm and later. What if you’re flying early morning or taking a night train? You arrive at 6 am, tired and wanting a shower with a grumpy child who didn’t sleep as comfortable as usual on the train. What now? Strolling around with your luggage until 2 pm? No! You make sure there’s a possibility to check-in earlier, if you can do it for free or if they charge extra. When we rented our flat in Yerevan, we checked in at 7 am – fortunately nobody minded.

It’s similar with your departure – flying back at night? Ask how long can you stay in. In such situations rented apartments and houses work much better. Hotel days and check-out hours are much more straight in hotels – you usually have to pay for another night if you want to stay until 6 or 8 pm.

 

 

10) payment

 

All set, you can go. But wait… the payment! You take your card but if you’re going to rent a flat or a house, the owner may want cash, right after arrival. Check that and get some local currency if needed so you don’t have to look for an ATM in the middle of night.

 

How does that look/ Ready to find a flat or a house on your own? 🙂 Our last place in Paris worked pretty well – good location, a small and charming flat, a little be for Maks, fast Internet connection and the possibility to have French cheese and baguettes for breakfast in bed 😉 Right now we’re starting to enjoy our stay in Barcelona!!! 🙂

 

 

* The entry was written in cooperation with HomeToGo.