Serviced Apartments: A Great Lodging Alternative, but Bring a Knife!

One of the joys – and sometimes the biggest challenges – of traveling with kids is providing them with the comforts of home at an affordable price.  In my family of four’s recent year-long excursion through Australasia, choosing a good place to call “home” during our various stays was vital.  It often made the difference between a happy day of homeschool and exploring and “The Grumps.”  Serviced or self-catered apartments provided us with an especially great lodging option, often at a very reasonable price.

Fewer $$$ & Less Hassle

Unlike in the US, where hotel stays are the norm and where home rentals or “suites” are rather expensive, it is easy to find affordable self-catered apartments in many urban destinations abroad.  For instance, using Wotif.com, we found a great two bedroom apartment in the very inviting Cuba neighborhood of Central Wellington, NZ for around NZ$90 (+/- US$70) per night.  This was a weekly rate and included internet, cable tv and in-building laundry.    Melbourne, Australia was one of the more expensive cities we visited, and yet we still managed to find a great one bedroom apartment with in-room laundry, fast and free internet service and – to our kids’ joy – a dishwasher for just over $100 per night.

Southern Cross Service Apartments
Central Wellington, NZ

In every case, we found our apartment accommodations clean and, for the most part, well equipped.  (See “Tips” section below.)  There were many places to choose from too, from high end, luxury flats to funky, retro-fitted spaces with un-matched second-hand furniture.  The “you get what you pay for” rule still applies in these spots, but we found many good options that were within our tight travel budget.  And, with a full kitchen and the ability to eat three meals a day at home, we were able to save even more.   

Buckingham Int'l Serviced Apartments
Brighton, AU

With all (okay, most) of the comforts of home, we were able to concentrate more on exploring and less on “Where are we going to dinner?” or “How am I going to get clean underwear for tomorrow?”  In addition, we all got a much better idea of what it is really like to live in these destinations. answering questions such as....What is it like to live in an apartment in the Big City?  How do people who live downtown without a car?  How do they do their shopping and other errands?  How do they get their exercise?   Where do they go for fun?  In my mind, that bonus was priceless.

Tips for Serviced Apartment Dwellers

Here are a few things to think about or do as you explore your family’s alternatives for serviced-apartments abroad. 

1.  Do your homework.  Research your alternatives like you would research any apartment rental.  Check out the neighborhood.  Is it safe?  Is it close to the places you want to visit?  If you have a car, make sure there is parking.  If you don’t, make sure there is easy access to a grocery store and/or public transportation. 

Wotif.com and other lodging websites provide pictures, location information and plenty of other data to help you make your lodging decision.  We also sometimes called the facilities directly to get answers to specific questions from real human beings.

One can find even better rates for stays longer than a day or two, and weekly specials are often available. To save even more money, ask whether further discounts are available if you forego or agree to reduced maid service.

2.  Watch your timing.  Serviced apartments are a favorite among local tourists as well, especially those with kids, so these places are usually the first to be snatched up during school holidays.  We learned this the hard way when our planned arrival in Christchurch, NZ coincided with the Kiwi schools’ April mid-term vacation.  Make your reservations well in advance if your itinerary coincides with such periods.

3.  Check connectivity.  Unlike the US, where it is easy to find free a wifi connection with unlimited downloads, you will often have to pay for internet access abroad.  If you want internet service in your apartment, it is crucial that you check out those details before booking your serviced apartment.  Just because the website says that internet is “available” does not mean it is free, and you can quickly rack up internet connectivity and download charges to make for a very expensive stay. 

Typical Kitchen Unit
Melbourne, AU

4.  Bring a knife!  While most kitchens contained sufficient kitchen “basics,” these items were often cheaply made and sometimes hard to use.  Perhaps most bothersome to me was that we never found a place with a good kitchen knife.  Had I to do it over again, I would have purchased a cheap plastic protective cover for my favorite chopper and thrown it in our suitcase.  

Other specialty kitchen tools are worth bringing or buying if you have the room.  For our three months in New Zealand, I bought a good peeler, a small grater and some disposable storage containers.  I left these with a friend upon our departure, but could just have easily left them behind in our last apartment.  Being Pacific Northwest coffee hounds, my husband and I also packed our own stove-top espresso maker.

Finally, it may seem strange, but bring a little bit of home décor to spruce up the place, if you have room in your suitcase.  We repurposed a small, cotton sarong as a table cloth and found that it really gave us a feeling of “home” when we spread it on the dining table. 

5.  Think about lighting.  Mangers of serviced apartments learned long ago that overhead lighting is a much better and cheaper alternative to providing free standing or table lamps.  We were homeschoolers and big readers on our trip, so we really felt the lack of reading lights.   Had we to do it over again, we would have brought a portable reading light or two. 

We also got a lot of use out of tea lights, which we placed in glasses or other safe spots around our lodgings at night.  Such “mood lighting” made for a more “homey” ambiance, giving us a needed break from the harsh fluorescent overhead bulbs that appear to be the norm.

So, next time you travel with your family – or not – think about renting a serviced apartment instead of a hotel room.  You may just enhance your living experience overseas and save money in the process!

Have you given serviced apartments a trying in the course of your travels?  Do you have any recommendations or advice that we haven’t covered here?  Please do share!

About the author:  Bainbridge Island-based Brooke Drury, her husband Ben and kids Tica (12) and Ian (10) just returned from a year-long adventure in Australasia, with extended stays in Fiji, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia.  They called it the year of Homeschool in a Global Classroom and kept a blog of their adventures.  Brooke now works for The Traveler, both in the store and on internet-related activities.