Useful information

• Surely there are certain aspects of life that every one of us seems to know almost all about. Thats the way the "Inndays" company feels about renting apartments by day! Moreover, our experts are ready and glad to share their knowledge with you. What kind of apartments are available for rent by day, what their advantages, drawbacks and peculiarities are and what shoals and pitfalls you should be aware of - no doubt, all this is "useful information".

• Renting apartments by day: benefits and disadvantages

  As if you didnt leave your home...

  If you have already travelled far away and for a long time, you definitely know the pleasure of returning back home. Even if you made a trip to the seaside, you can hardly deny having blissful feelings upon coming back home.  But this is not to say that you are particularly fond of that faded wallpaper and old furniture that you honestly have never liked. Its just that no matter how good a hotel is, it is only a hotel and can never compare to the cosy ambience of home. By the way, there are no crowds of tourists roaming around at home. Nor birthday celebrations in the restaurant downstairs. Nor sounds of noisy music coming from the dance floor. Whereas in hotels you never know...

  But if you choose to rent an apartment by day, you can be certain that homelike comfort is guaranteed. First of all, no two apartments are alike. True, the same can be said of expensive hotels or mini-hotels that have only 5-10 rooms and every one of them is designed in an individual style, reminiscent of a specific epoch. But frankly speaking, how often have you chanced to stay in one of those? Therefore, you are left with no choice but to stay in traditional, standard hotel rooms. Yes, there is a bathroom, shower, Internet access, TV set and mini-bar but the rooms are all cast in one style. Are you willing to spend your free time in a setting like that? Of course, a good hotel will not spoil your vacation but the trouble is that there may not be free rooms when you need one.

  Lets now consider apartments for rent by day. First of all, the area: a typical hotel room, even a room for two with an option of an additional third bed, will hardly exceed 20 sq m, while even a single-room apartment will most probably be larger than 30 sq m. This is not to mean, of course, that you can cover the floor with mattresses and bring all your family members along, with neighbours pets on top of it all. But even the most conservative estimates show that at a lower price (hotel rent is higher than daily rent for an apartment) you get more square metres.
  Secondly, take a virtual look at the furniture. In a hotel room there will be no coffee table, no cupboard with tableware (actually, you will not need tableware in a hotel), no household appliances, no kitchen furniture... There will be no kitchen at all and thats already a third point. It should also be noted that apartments are renovated much for frequently than hotel rooms - no offence meant - so that walls, floor and furniture have often a more decent look. And not least importantly, more diverse.

  Thirdly, the kitchen again. True, if you go on a vacation to a resort, youll only be too happy to forget about household routine, at least for a while. This is especially true for women who often seem to have had more than their fair share of cooking during the year. But not being able to cook is only no problem in case of an "all inclusive" stay in a hot country. With three meals a day, bad mood due to malnourishment is hardly possible. But if you go on a short trip to a neighbouring town, having no kitchen available may well spoil your mood and be quite costly. True, there will be a restaurant and a cafeteria in a hotel but meals there will cost you quite a lot. Now thats no problem if your stay and meals are paid for by the company... Besides, some people are used to their morning coffee right after getting up. Many hotels do not allow eating and drinking in hotel rooms and before going to the hotel restaurant you will need to wash yourself, get dressed and tidy up. Fair enough, a kitchen may come in quite handy. A kettle, a microwave oven, a food processer, a percolator, not to mention a stove and a refrigerator, may make your stay in a host town much more comfortable. After all, you dont have to cook if you dont need to but at least you will be able to enjoy a cup of coffee whenever you want, you can always go to a cafeteria to have a meal: our apartments are located conveniently close to restaurants, cafeterias and snack bars. No-one forces you to toil in the kitchen but isnt it good to know that you have all the equipment to cook whatever you like.

  Fourthly, no curious starers. This is especially important for those who are in no hurry to let everyone know theyre there. In hotels, there are always plenty of holidaymakers seeking new acquaintances. Is it always easy to identify them and make away just in time? Make no mistake, their attention is usually more than annoying. And you never know which is better: communicate with them or tell them to get lost. The latter will only make you notorious among those who do mix with the tourist you refused to talk to.  And they will all be looking your way! Of course, living in an apartment you will not be absolutely alone either: there are neighbours after all. But first of all, stairwells are less crowded than hotel halls by definition. And then again, your neighbours will be living ordinary lives sticking to their normal timetables: they will be going to work on weekdays and out of town for the weekend.

  And lastly, a greater geographical variety. Most hotels are invariably located in historic city centres.  Mini-hotels could seemingly compensate for this uniformity but no, they too are located in city centres, in renovated mansions and old communal apartments. Apartments for rent by day can be found in any part of the city/town. An apartment in a district far from city centre will probably cost you less and it might very well be that that specific part of the city is exactly where you need to live.

  Disadvantages too...

  It would be unfair to focus solely on advantages of renting apartments by day while there are downsides too. However, some of them do not affect the quality of apartments and rental by day. But they may make you pause before choosing to rent an apartment because you wont get what you have expected.

  Our first example is celebrations in a rented serviced apartment. To begin with, a renting company will agree to rent out an apartment to you for several days only in January, at the time where New Year and other holidays are celebrated throughout Russia. And only after discussing the matter with the neighbours. But you wont be able to rent an apartment for celebration during the year, because the renting company needs no trouble with the neighbours or police. On their websites it says unambiguously that for entertainment it is better to rent a cafe, not an apartment. If you try to celebrate secretly and the renting company finds out, you are in for eviction with all the payments withheld.

  The same goes for renting an apartment for several hours. Of course you can spend only several hours in the apartment but you will have to pay for the whole day. Exceptions do exist but normally only for regular customers. New customers may even be asked to rent an apartment for at least two days - for additional safety. But again, how long a time out of those two days you actually spend in the apartment is totally up to you.

  One can also consider security, which cant always be guaranteed in rented apartments. The entrance to the stairwell or to your apartment will not be guarded as it would be in a hotel. The house will probably have no concierge and may even lack a metal door with a numeric lock. The adjacent territory will not have a fence in every case. In other words, no unprecedented measures will be taken to ensure your security. But apartments for rent differ considerably form one another and there are those with an enhanced security level. It is therefore advisable to accurately inform the agent of your preferences, in which case you will most probably find the kind of apartment you need.

  The most unpleasant fact is that in the serviced apartments business scams are much more frequent than with hotels. It is hardly imaginable that after booking a hotel room and confirming your reservation, you will not be able to check in safely. With rented apartments this is quite possible. If your choice of the renting company is wrong, you will have to face being all alone in a foreign town with packed suitcases, prepayment made and nowhere to go. To avoid this, use your friends recommendations and choose your renting company with caution.

  
  
  Posted online: 2010
  Unauthorized copying prohibited.
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