I’ve talked up vacation rentals quite a lot in the past. They’re an outstanding value, often providing more room and amenities for your travel dollars than a typical hotel. Rentals can be found in all corners of the globe, from ski destinations to world capitals, spring break beaches to secluded shores. They come in all shapes and sizes, from condo rentals to cozy cabins, sprawling chalets to city apartments.Fully equipped kitchens allow you to cook some or all of your meals, thus saving money over pricey restaurants. Larger spaces enable groups to travel together and split the lodging costs, offering more affordable per-night rates overall than hotels. The trade-offs? No room service, no daily maid service, and no concierge (for the most part). However, after pricing out rentals versus hotels, you may find the savings from rentals are worth making your own bed on vacation.Want to see just how much you can save with a vacation rental? Take a look at the following put-to-the-test experiments, where I compare rentals in five popular destinations to suite-style accommodations at local hotels.
Paris
An apartment Rental in Paris’ Latin Quarter includes:
• Two bedrooms, each with a private bath
• Kitchenette
• High-speed Internet access
• Cable television
The property is a five-minute walk from Notre Dame and features antique furnishings. It’s available for ?1,050 per week (or $1,465). Divided between four people, the cost works out to $366 per person, or $52 per person per day.
Compare this apartment to the Adagio City Apart Hotel Paris Opera
. The suite-style room features:
• One bedroom with two single beds
• Living room with a double sofabed
• Kitchen
• One bathroom
• High-speed Internet access
• Cable television
The hotel room costs $2,904 for a one-week stay, or $726 per person. The per-person per-day charge works out to $104.
As a traveler who likes to have some downtime after exploring, I love that the apartment has two bedrooms—convenient if one wants to take a nap or rest while others may still have energy to burn. The apartment’s two bathrooms also add extra convenience. Given that the apartment is about half the price of the hotel, I’d go with the rental in this case. Leave a comment and let us know which one appeals more to you.
