The idea of “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” is pretty exciting to me when it comes to accommodation overseas when I am on vacation or on a trip like this.
That is one of the reasons when I choose a vacation rental.
However, there is always a debate over which is better!
In terms of economics? location? security? etc etc~ ~
If that question were to be thrown to me, I would reply;
“Whatever your priorities are and whichever you feel comfortable with.”
Why so? It’s very simple.
Overseas accommodations, no matter how short the stay may be, in my opinion; it’s like a home away from home. You leave your luggage and your worldly belongings in there when you go out sightseeing or shopping. You get your peaceful slumber in there and you want to look fresh everyday. I am very sure each of us have a certain standard we would want from a bathroom, besides the basic “clean”.
I just cannot agree with those who regard an accommodation when you “JUST” get a sleep at night and a place to clean yourself.
I feel that, accommodation is the most important item on the travel list because it does make or break your travel trip.
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| Serviced Apartment/Vacation Rental in Hawaii |
Budgeting
While the standard of each accommodation increases as the room rates increase; and worst, the prices seem to be increasing every year, but not the quality of the rooms; there is always a benchmark everyone would have innate when it comes to comparing budget and quality.
Of course, if you are miser, you are going to be miserable.
However so, you just have to decide how much you want to spend on accommodation alone when you travel. There’s where you do your research; read reviews, view actual photos and make your own judgement.
I have my misses too, when many of the positive reviews and the actual product don’t match. That’s where we, as online socialites; bloggers, you may call us; come in and tell the real story.
The most important thing when such unfortunate situation happens; I can only advise, just manage your expectations, make the necessary complaints (YES, I do mean it when I say to complain), readjust your attitudes and carry on travelling.
Balancing budget and other factors
Obviously budget isn’t the only factor when planning an accommodation.
That’s where many of us will consider a vacation rental.
I have learnt about the concept of vacation rentals from my best friend’s family, whose father works in an airline company and gets to ballot air tickets to fly the whole family every year.
However, the headache comes in because they are a family of five: 2 younger siblings plus herself and her parents.
And because the father would drive when overseas and they would go on frequent road trips, in addition to her party of 5, her cousins might tag along on some of their trips.
Finding accommodation for such a big party maybe difficult and would be pretty expensive if they were to put themselves up in a hotel.
Many of the hotels would be out of the question since there is a limit in numbers in a room and like I had mentioned, that would mean that they have to pay for multiple rooms, which would be rather expensive when totalled.
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| Apartment / Vacation Rental in New York |
She first introduced to me to idea of serviced apartments, where you get hotel like place with a lobby attached like a hotel; bigger rooms, sometimes with kitchenette to host such big family travel groups. The entire family will stay in one room, and with a kitchenette, her mum would cook for the family, thus saving another chunk of expenses when travelling with the entire family.
So those were the foundation of my understanding and knowledge of serviced apartments and vacation rentals.
I don’t come from a rich family nor I earn big bucks, but I simply love to travel and travelling, honestly, do take a huge chunk from my savings every year. But as I travelled, I also realised some other factors other than budget when considering my accommodation
Besides budget, the party size, there are also other factors like convenience and experience added into the mix in making your choice when choosing an accommodation.
Convenience
I was in Anaheim to attend a conference and vacation rentals were not so nearby to the convention hall, and to think I have to be up at 9am to attend seminars, I decided to choose Hilton which was right next door to the convention hall to save me the hassle of travelling to and fro from my accommodation and also factoring in the fact that I may get tired after the entire day of seminars.
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| Hilton Hotel room in Anaheim, California |
Experience
Experience as in to feel what it is like to be a local.
To enjoy a scenery or view or even enjoy the lap of luxury when you step in, or simply enjoy where you would be living in for the next couple of days.
To experience something new and what you don’t get at home isn’t a bad thing; it’s all about your priorities when it comes to considering an accommodation.
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| Cabin Room on board Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas |
Besides learning new things and new experience when I travel, I always want to make sure I also get to experience what it feels like to live like a local; to enjoy every moment so I want to make sure I get a good night’s rest; and I also have my benchmark for bathroom cleanliness which I simply must have my must-haves.
So, there really isn’t much to debate on which is better, hotel or rentals.
It’s al about your priorities, your needs and wants and also to suit your budget.
That’s how you should based on when planning for your accommodation.
Hope my experiences helped you in planning your vacation.
Let me know your views?
Which do you prefer more? Hotels or rentals?
Let me know!
More stories soon!
nice one
Thank you!