Should You Consider a Self-Catering Apartment for Your Next Holiday?

You’re getting excited, browsing ‘places to visit’, and making a list of everything you want to do. A new area awaits as you consider your next holiday. Usually, we choose the destination and then the accommodation comes in second. After all, you may be in a luxury boutique hotel in a small market town, but that’s no good if you want to do a London Bus tour, jet boat on the River Thames, see the views from the London Eye, and enjoy a West End performance! So if London is on your agenda for your next holiday, how can you choose the best accommodation for a fantastic holiday? Hotels, guest houses, hostels, lodges, and B&B’s (even of the Air variety), all have their place. But when it comes to visiting London on holiday, self-catering apartments are definitely the way to go. And that’s not dependent on chaining one of you to the kitchen sink. Here’s why.

Living like a Londoner

Visiting London, even if you only live down the road in the Home Counties, is a cultural experience. It’s unique. Only in London will the phrase ‘Mind the Gap’ make sense, or buses and taxis be part of the iconic view. Only here will food vary from cockles, whelks, and jellied eels to fine dining at Le Gavroche, with the rest of the world’s food at Brick Lane market.  If you stay in a hotel, you lose a huge amount of the London charm. Spend your holiday in a self-catering apartment and you can grab your dinner from the chippy, and peruse The Times newspaper over an orange juice breakfast, like a true Londoner.

Choice

With self-catering apartments in London you get an enormous range, from the high-end luxury apartment complete with a spa in Mayfair, to an affordable, comfortable studio near Paddington. You can choose exactly the right size apartment, in the right location, at the right price. No compromise needed. This applies to the London style of the apartment too – from penthouse chic, to bohemian, modern art, and vintage elegance, there’s the right feel for everyone.

Versatility

Every travel adventure is different. Every family is different. Every day of every holiday is different. Having a versatile option in your accommodation is essential. Therefore you need accommodation which is as perfect for the 6.30am visit to Borough Market, as it is for returning from a West End Show at 11.30pm. You need accommodation that might allow you to park your car, whilst also being next to a tube station. You might want to bring your dog, you might not. You might want a gym. All these different elements make your stay unique, and can’t be provided for as easily with a mainstream hotel.

Comfort

Whilst hotels can of course be luxury, there is something inherently unrelaxing about being in a place where the only true privacy is in the bedroom, and even then you might be disturbed by housekeeping. A self-catering apartment affords you as much privacy and comfort as if you were in your own home. That makes for a truly relaxing stay. Furthermore, if you’re traveling with your family, you’ll all have your own space, making for much more harmonious holiday relationships. You’ll also not be at risk of being woken by the wedding disco downstairs, or the 5am returning clubbers slamming hotel doors.

Location

With London hotels location causes a double-edged sword: on the one hand you have the locations, on the other you have space. The top London locations are limited for hotel space. That’s at a room-level, and at a hotel-level. Serviced apartments, offering self-catering options, both fill the gap and have their own dedicated buildings designed with apartment living in mind. This means you can be exactly where you want to be, without being stuck in a shoe box.

Cost

Self-catering apartments typically cost around 30% less than an equivalent hotel stay – and that’s excluding your dining. This means your overall holiday costs will be less, plus you’ll have more budget to dine in style should you want to.

Flexibility

The problem with options other than self-catering are that you have to live your day by someone else’s agenda. You have to want your breakfast between 8am and 10am. You have to be out of your room for housekeeping during the day. You can’t easily decide this is the morning you fancy a lie-in, or brunch by the Thames, or a midnight snack, without causing problems, or losing out on costs. With self-catering, you set the agenda. So what are you waiting for? Book a self-catering apartment for your London holiday.