Hotel vs. Vacation Rental: What's Your Tipping Point?

My tipping point is three nights - longer than that and I will choose an appartment. But it is more of a Rule-of-Thumb than a hard limit.

Important points are things like:

• Washing machine - We never carry clothes for more than 6 days.
• Kitchen/living room for breakfast - We like to sit several hours over breakfast (Reading news online and reading RS Travel Forum)
• We have different "rythm"; My wife raises around 04:30 and makes a cup of coffee, while I sleep until around 07:00, so a living room with a closed door to the bed room is important.

We are currently staying in an appartment i Covent Garden area (side street to St Martins Lane) which is nice and central and - even on Friday and Saturday nights - not noisy. Two negative points:

• there are 103 steps from street to door :-)
• The shops around here are VERY touristy: more sandwiches than bread, more sweets than fruit

And it is still very hard to find non-alcoholic wine :-(

I don’t have any set of requirements for either. Each trip is different. Like right now in Greenland we have had an apt most of the time but last night we were in a hotel as it was a one night stay and there are no rentals where we are. The town is only 800 people. We go back this evening and will have the apt for a few more days.

We like apts if we are doing a lot of activities so we can spread out a bit and then let gear dry etc.

We tend to cook easy meals in an apt, but mostly it’s nice to have a kitchen to make our own simple breakfasts.

It also depends on how much advice I think we will need. Hotels are better for that.

Have you been in London over Christmas before? You might find cooking facilities useful, given the fact that a lot of restaurants close on Christmas Day. That would lean me towards an apartment - I’d go to M&S and buy a lot of delicious prepared Christmas food and do my own Christmas feast.

Although I’m sure the Montague’s restaurant will be in operation.

l.p.enersen- I recommend you check out Club Soda on Drury Lane- it has what you are looking for!

I'm a little different. I always book hotels. However, for longer stays, I look for aparthotels/extended stay hotels. They offer apartment amenities but are actually hotels. There is a recepetion desk usually manned 24/7. No need to try to track down an owner. I get housekeeping and the basic supplies offered by hotels are restocked. If there are any noise issues or problems with neighboring rooms, the hotel will move me. Not so easily done in an apartment.

Since some are part of big chains, I may also get points towards future stays.

These type of hotels are one of the fastest growing segments in the hotel industry. It's a way to compete with AirBnb.

The other consideration is can I find a reputable apartment booking agency or a nice apartment hotel. And no, I don’t consider Airbnb reputable in anyway so that’s not an option.

That does mean in some small towns my only option is a hotel. That’s fine.

I'm with Frank, and have a preference for aparthotels - I like the apartment amenities in the hotel setting. When I travel hotels and transportation hubs are ideally located in the commerce/tourist/arts/museum districts that I want to be in. And locals do not deserve having their residential areas clogged up with tourists. I won't use Airbnb, and the last thing I want to deal with are flighty part-time hosts merely operating a side hustle.

I’m a hotel person so just will comment on Montague at the Gardens, as my wife and I have stayed there twice recently, once for four nights and the other time for a week. It is very nice, with excellent service. Great location right across from the British Museum and many restaurants nearby. The hotel restaurant (your post mentions restaurants, but there is only one) is good, based upon the one dinner we had there, which was prompted by a 50 pound food credit I got as part of our room deal. It is not inexpensive, but nothing at an upscale London hotel will be. There is also a bar, with (oddly) a leopard skin decor, but that is kind of fun. If you want a “007 martini” garnished with a (fake) bullet, that is the place for that! The reception areas are fine. Some of the rooms are on the small side, but again, that is typical for London. They have no cooking or food storage facilities other than a tea/coffee kettle with supplies for that, but we found the space perfectly adequate for the kind of in room dinner we sometimes have while traveling, which is an assortment of wine, bread, cheese, stuff like that, or breakfast with a take away pastry and the in room coffee. There is a good Waitrose supermarket 5-10 minutes walk away across Russell Square, in a little shopping arcade just past the Russell Square tube station.

Since our visits are usually a week or longer we like to rent an apartment central to the places we want to visit. And, since these areas are usually in older sections of cities, hotel choices tend to be meagre. Renting an apartment is also more culturally immersive.

Renting an apartment is also more culturally immersive.

How so, and what exactly is one immersing themselves into?

No rentals for me, not even for long-ish stays. Hotels only...and yes to aparthotels.

Been burned by AirBnB and its equivalents a couple of times, never again.

• Number of nights: 4 or fewer hotel, as a guideline, 5 or more, apartment or Aparthotel.
• Kitchen and laundry are huge draws for longer stays as we get “restaurant fatigue” especially on a long trip and we pack light.
• Like i.p. enersen, we get up at vastly different times: me about 4:30 and hubby about 6:00, so having a separate space is nice, and somewhere to sit other than on the bed. Plus we like to hang out “at home” after a busy day and especially if we’ve dined in.
• We’ve spent Christmas in London and Rome in apartments as well one Christmas in the Dolomites with half-pension in a resort hotel. The half-pension in the mountains was a divine treat and festive, and we had a mini-suite so some space. I’d lean toward an apartment if it wasn’t half-pension.

We did choose hotel over apartment for an extended stay in Rome last year as the reason for being there was to eat and we knew we would not be cooking. We got a room with a seating area so there was a place to sit other than on the bed.

We usually rent apartments for stays of three days of more and stay in hotels for shorter stays. Recently though we were in Padua, Italy for two nights and stayed in an apartment. There must have been something going on in town because a hotels were twice as expensive as the well located apartment we rented. The owner allowed us to leave our luggage early which can be a disadvantage of an apartment.

In the Dolomites we rented an apartment which was part of a hotel. We even had breakfast a few days! The apartment had been two hotel rooms-we had two bathrooms which was really nice.

And I do like to have a kitchen as we do some cooking. I get tired quickly of eating out every night.

When we were in London a few years ago we stayed 5 nights in a hotel before moving to Bath where we had an apartment. I must admit we were so happy to have more space.

We try to have a washing machine every other move, especially if traveling in a damp climate where clothes do not dry easily.

We only stay in hotels for many of the reasons noted above. We would never book through airb&b.
But, we will look into the aparthotels for future trips.

If I am traveling by myself, it is a hotel. Traveling with others, an apartment becomes an option. I don’t stay in one place longer than 4-5 days.

I'm another one with no rhyme or reason for booking where I do. And the length of the stay doesn't matter to me. I've stayed in apartments for only 2 nights, and stayed in hotels for as long as 10 nights. Generally I like hotels, especially if they serve breakfast, as it's easy and and I like the convenience of housekeeping. I'm also a fan of aparthotels, and have stayed in a number of them that were very nice, and allowed me to fix meals in the room so I didn't have to eat out as often.

But I've also stayed in apartments, and they have an advantage as well. The biggest advantage is having a washer, and if I'm going to rent an apartment, that is something I look for. I'm heading to Romania next month for about 3 weeks (plus a week in Budapest) and will be staying in 3 different hotels (including an airport hotel) and 2 apartments. No real reason for booking the apartments, but there were many that were available and I liked the idea of being able to wash my clothes at several different points during my stay.

I am more inclined to stay in apartments in smaller towns, but again, have no real reason for doing so. However, if I had my preference, I would book an aparthotel over a hotel or apartment, as it has the best of both worlds.

I'm almost totally a hotel person and don't even consider an apartment in Europe. We never travel for more than 3 weeks, usually about 18 days. We have no interest in cooking on vacation, so a kitchen isn't appealing.
We did an apartment once in Paris thinking that the extra space would be nice but the furniture wasn't comfortable. We also realized that we like having a front desk in case there are issues and don't want the hassle of meeting someone to get/return a key.
I also worry about vacation rentals contributing to locals being pushed out of living in their cities.

I prefer a hotel for a one night stay. I also prefer to stay at a hotel with 24 hour front desk when I arrive after a long flight. It's comforting to know that I won't have to hassle with finding entry and the airline will be able to deliver my bag if it's lost!

We never book ONE place to stay on a trip. We want to see the sights and not just relax in one place.

Since we do move around on a trip, we usually take group tours, but when we don't, we prefer B&Bs or small hotels LOCATED near the sights we want to see.
I routinely compare renting an apartment against B&Bs and generally find that apartments are usually farther away from the sights we wish to see, which adds that we have to take public transport and spend more on that and more time traveling, not seeing.

I'm AirBnB by default. I usually travel with my teenage son, my sister and/or a friend, so we like to have some space. And I snore, so they like to have a wall between us. I won't use AirBnB (or VRBO, which I gave up on a long time ago, or the like) in cities where I know (or suspect) there has been a negative impact on the local housing market (e.g., Dublin, Amsterdam, Barcelona). For my last stay in Dublin, I chose a purpose-built aparthotel for this reason.
In the rare event of a one-night stay or an airport stay, I would choose a hotel.

I'm almost always a hotel person. On more than one occasion, we've booked through one of the main platforms and had a serious issue with the place. There is no front desk, manager, or other room to move you into so your vacation can continue as planned. Even if you get your money back afterwards, your vacation has taken a hit and you've wasted hours or days addressing where to stay. Also, as others have said, I don't want to cook on vacation, and I am fine with using a Laundromat rather than someone's personal machine.

Increasingly, I find the ethical dilemma against home rentals to be compelling. Same for Uber/Lyft, actually. When it all goes right, you are saving money, but when it goes wrong, you are on your own with minimal regulation to help.

In response to VAP, I understand the reluctance to contribute to rentals that operate at the expense of residents. The apartments we rent are owned by people who live in the building. We have become good friends with them and with the local residents who live in the building through the years through our repeated visits. We support the neighborhood economies by eating at the same local restaurants and shopping at the same local stores as they do. That is what I mean by cultural immersion.

Thank you! I love reading all of the viewpoints.

l.p.enersen, would you share your rental by chance?

If I could find a charming apartment, I would choose it for a stay of 8 nights. This trip was planned a bit late in the game, and I cannot seem to find that is cute and reasonable.

I did find Chancery Quarters but wondering if it is off the beaten path too much for the holidays: not really in shopping district, offices may be closed around Temple and workers OOO for Christmas Week. Not that London can feel desolate but Chancery Quarters doesn't feel like a neighborhood. Any thoughts?

https://chanceryquarters.com/

Always hotels, a small one, a B&B, or a big one, those of a hotel chain, Motel One, Ibis, Intercity, Mercure, Austria Trend, depending on the price.

In the past the choices were mainly between small hotels and Pensionen. Vacation rentals, apts. AirB&B were/are never options.

With 4 of us (all have different sleeping and waking patterns, not to mention the snoring) we really appreciate the space of an apartment. We are currently staying in a flat in the Tooting Broadway section of London and enjoy having a kitchen and washing machine. The teenagers love their parents, but need their own space. This flat is owned by a couple and maintained by a family member who lives close by. For more than 2 people and more than 2 nights-I go for the apartment.

I've never traveled with more than one other person. It's generally hotels for us all the way, for the reasons others have mentioned above. I do like having a fridge in the room, but have no intention of cooking on vacation so no need for a kitchen. There's is one place where we visit each time to see friends, and we stay in an apartment there because it was the best option near restaurants and transport.

Re: having a washer in the apartment, I really don't care because I seriously dislike European washing machines. We have developed a completely sink washable, quick dry travel wardrobe (which by the way, ends up packing much smaller, even with some dressier pieces included). I am happy to sink wash vs. enduring the European washing machine torture. It takes forever and wrinkles even the clothes that can be stuffed into a suitcase and emerge wrinkle free. And the dryers are even worse. End of rant...

The tipping point for an apartment (bed, small kitchen, two rooms with door for early risers, if lucky washing machine and if luckier outdoor space) is 3 nights. At this point the hassle of finding and getting into the apartment is worth it. We use booking.com to find a place to stay. They are rated by actual people who stayed there with comments, lists prices and extra expenses and a way to contact a person. We pay the few extra dollars for free cancellation . Got to read carefully the cancellation dates as they can be a week or a day. Unfortunately, we never see a real person at some places. a hotel is usually better for the short stays with a front desk with helpful people and easier to find. We look for all places close to local transportation.

I’m just in the midst of booking accommodation for a 10 week trip in Europe next year. We generally book apartments/holiday cottages because we quickly tire of eating out at night and usually stay for 4-7 nights in one place. We mainly choose to stay in smaller towns and they don’t always have a broad range of restaurants.
The exceptions are if we’re staying for one night in transit or sometimes in cities. And on this trip I’m booking a country inn in Dorset just for the experience.
Generally it’s worked well for us in the past, although I admit that there have been occasions when we missed having access to hotel staff - for example booking a taxi in a town where the only way was by phone and we didn’t speak the language, although a kind staff member at the tourist office did it for us.

musicmoll1, I'd say that your immersion is familiarity born of return visits to the same place. Not a matter of apartments vs hotels.

While being concerned about the impact of short-term rentals is an admirable thing, you should worry as much about hotels doing the same when apartment blocks are torn down to make room for them. But alas we don’t because its not a concern that is in vogue. Complicated. Better to trust that the locals are self-regulating to their best interest through their democratic processes, despite what outsiders may think about their decisions.

Personally I am a spoiled brat and prefer a hotel with lots of service. But I get the other point of view as well. Each to their own. Choose what will enhance the quality of your holiday, no matter what that choice is.

Calimom: https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/hausd-covent-garden.da.html?aid=304142&label=gen173nr-10CAEoggI46AdIM1gEaFCIAQGYATO4ARfIAQzYAQPoAQH4AQGIAgGoAgG4AuOAlsUGwAIB0gIkN2RhYzJlNGMtMDIzZi00ZmU5LWIzMjItZjJlMjlmMzUyYmVk2AIB4AIB&sid=4c0764b13c0a9c4d63cfe27546d147d3&all_sr_blocks=671306311_275874051_0_0_0&checkin=2026-01-26&checkout=2026-01-30&dest_id=-2601889&dest_type=city&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&hapos=1&highlighted_blocks=671306311_275874051_0_0_0&hpos=1&matching_block_id=671306311_275874051_0_0_0&nflt=privacy_type%3D3%3Bprivacy_type_no_date%3D3&no_rooms=1&req_adults=2&req_children=0&room1=A%2CA&sb_entire_place=1&sb_price_type=total&sr_order=upsort_bh&sr_pri_blocks=671306311_275874051_0_0_0__59450&srepoch=1755676807&srpvid=127e383bee011630&type=total&ucfs=1&

We are in one of two top floor appartments. I recommend you check number of steps before renting :-)

We are in Greenland right now and had an apt for the first two days, then went to another town and the only lodging was a hotel. We are back in the first town and got the same apartment as earlier. We got in late and our host was out sailing so he left it unlocked for us and the keys were inside. We can call or WhatsApp him anytime.

When traveling solo, I always choose a small hotel or B&B, if possible. I did stay one night in a rental in Martina Franca because there wasn’t a B&B in the center of the city.

When my husband & I stayed in southern Spain for a few weeks in Feb 2024, we had two rentals and a couple of hotels. The tipping point for us was 5 days plus the convenience to have a washing machine a couple of times. One rental was five nights; one was one week.

Something that greatly affected my choice was whether I/we could leave off our luggage early. I’ve never had a B&B or small hotel turn down my request sent ahead of time to ask permission to leave off our luggage. When we had to wait until 3pm at the rentals to activate the key to leave off luggage, it played into my choices for future planning. I also very much prefer a place where I am greeted by a person vs. a set of instructions that hopefully work…

If I was making reservations in your situation, I would be leaning towards a rental because you’re there over Christmas and restaurants may either be packed or not open.

For those traveling with other people: we (husband and I) had a friend join us on our trip to Italy and had great 2BR/2Bath apartments in Rome and Florence. At the risk of sounding like a b$**ch , I have to admit that I sometimes wished that we'd had separate hotel rooms because I was annoyed that he was always in the living room with us! Just something to think about!

The destination often dictates our decision on where to stay. If we are staying 3 nights or more we will definitely stay in an apartment. Since I try to save money on accommodations, I start with which choice is easier on the budget. In Greece, where we are going in October, hotels are often much cheaper than apartments. When in Belgium and the Netherlands last year, it seemed the opposite.
London will have more options than many cities, most of them pretty pricey. When you factor in your travel style and plans while there, one option will probably emerge as the right choice.
My wife and I attempt to 'live like locals' as much as possible, so we mostly stay in apartments. We like to buy local food and herbs in the local markets and prepare it ourselves for some meals. This also helps avoid restaurant fatigue.
I have been amazed at the quality of rental apartments that I have found across Europe. The space, amenities, locations and views have exceeded what was available in most hotels where we traveled. Last year we had 3 of our 5 AirBnbs cancel our reservation within a month of our arrival. This was disturbing and stressful. The bright side was that we ended up finding other apartments that were better than what we originally picked! I am a planner and like some certainty when traveling, but I have learned that flexibility is my friend. Sometimes the universe has a better plan in mind for me than I could come up with on my own.
I am planning a future trip to include London and would love to here what you decide to do.

Last year we had 3 of our 5 AirBnbs cancel our reservation within a month of our arrival.

I have had AirBnB cancellations within a day of arrival.

Never again...

We've never had any AirBnB cancel on us. I have had hotels fail to honor reservations (very infrequently).

In general we don't use hotels except in special circumstances. The comfort and flexibility offered by apartments and houses is too great unless it's a very short stay.

I have enjoyed reading all the responses. We do use Airbnb occasionally, but only here in the US. We have used it approximately 12 times and never had a problem or been disappointed. In Europe, we move around and like hotels or aparthotels. We recently booked an apartment in Rome at Hotel Smeraldo. It looks very nice. It was not inexpensive for a 2 week stay. But, we have never been to Rome and might need the guidance of a hotel staff. We find as we have gotten older, we need our creature comforts.

I use booking.com for apartments and only had one (out of maybe 20 bookings) cancellation about 10 days before our reservation. Booking.com offered a 'suitable' alternative or I could pick my own.

We recently booked an apartment in Rome at Hotel Smeraldo. It looks very nice. It was not inexpensive for a 2 week stay. But, we have never been to Rome and might need the guidance of a hotel staff. We find as we have gotten older, we need our creature comforts.

Tammy, we stayed at the Smeraldo last October and enjoyed it very much. We had a large room in their annex, not the apartment, but that looks great! Very nice staff, good breakfast.

I book a hotel for my first night or two after a long flight to Europe from the West Coast of Canada.
That is for safety as a usually solo female.
Then after that I move to an apartment when I am well rested,more alert, and more aware of people and surroundings.
I like to be totally with-it when arriving at a rental, meeting a host etc.
I’m done with AirBNB for political reasons, though only had one problem after many rentals through them, and that was a weird host, not the company itself.
I generally rent apartments through booking.com, with great success for over twenty years.
I’m not a foodie, neither are any friends who sometimes join me on trips, so I like to have a kitchen and dining table.
As I pack light a washing machine is essential, though sometimes like a real puzzle to figure out how European ones work.
This next trip I have 8 nights in three hotels, which is unusual for me.

I love all of the opinions and feedback. Great "food for thought"!

Typically, we like to live like locals as well and rent vacation apartments -- some through agencies and some through AirBnb or VRBO.

We spent 3 weeks in Sevilla over Christmas in 2023 in a lovely apartment. On Christmas Day, we went to a Flamenco show and then to dinner. There were several restaurants open -- it was not a problem. We will be having. Christmas Dinner with friends in London so we're not worried about restaurants. :)

My husband wants to stay in a hotel for this trip so I am deciding between the Montague, the Hoxton or Radisson Blu Bloomsbury. Would love more opinions on hotels in the Holborn / Covent Garden / Bloomsbury neighborhoods.

With our daughter living in London now, we will figure out the apartment landscape for next trip.

One of the things I especially like about AirBnB is that its app organizes one's lodgings in a "trips" tab. When one is gone for a long time, that tab is very helpful in keeping track of one's schedule.

While I am not a big fan of staying in short-term rentals (just life style on holiday no other reason), I once owned a couple in Europe. One way to improve the chances of a good outcome is to check out the "Hosts". Hosts are not always the owners. Often they are the managment company. So if you check a Host they may be the Host of a dozen apartments. Again, not owner, manager. Managers are professionals. They arent Zoltan renting out dead aunt Zsofia's flat to make extra beer money. Professionals are more likely to ensure a better experience as they do the job to feed their families. If all of their apartments get good reviews then they are doing their job well.