Apartments
versus Hotels
with a family, this is not close
For a family of four or five, an apartment usually beats a hotel and it is not particularly close. Hotels are priced and configured for two people, and everything about traveling with children as a group of five is a fight against that assumption. But there are situations where a hotel is clearly right, and knowing which is which saves money and arguments.
The occupancy problem
Most hotel rooms sleep two, some sleep three, and very few sleep five. A family of five in most of Europe is two rooms, which means paying twice and sleeping apart from your children.
European hotel rooms are also smaller than American ones, and a rollaway bed in a small room is not a solution, it is a room you cannot walk across.
Apartments are priced by the property rather than by the person, so a family of five costs the same as a couple in the same place. That single fact usually settles it.
Look for the terms family room, quadruple, or apartment rather than filtering by guests, because many booking sites hide suitable rooms when you enter five people.
What an apartment actually gives you
A kitchen, which is not about cooking every meal. It is about breakfast without getting everybody dressed, milk in a fridge, and being able to feed a child at seven when the restaurants open at eight thirty.
A washing machine, which means packing half as much. On a trip longer than about ten days this is transformative and it is the thing I tell every family.
Separate space, so children can go to bed and adults can stay up. In a hotel room everybody goes to bed at eight and lies in the dark, which is a miserable way to spend an evening.
A living area, so a rainy afternoon is somewhere to be rather than a problem.
And usually a residential neighborhood, which is a better way to experience a city than a hotel district.
Where hotels still win
Short stays. For one or two nights, the check-in flexibility and the lack of self-catering setup make a hotel easier. Apartments suit stays of three nights and up.
Late arrivals. Hotels have a front desk at midnight. Apartment check-in can involve a key box, an address you cannot find, and no phone signal.
Trips where you are out all day and only sleeping there.
Breakfast included, which for a family in an expensive city is worth real money and removes the first decision of every day.
Service. Somebody cleans, somebody stores your bags after checkout, somebody tells you where to eat. On a tiring trip that matters.
Loyalty programs, if you have status worth using.
And in some destinations, the properties are simply better. Japan is one. Hotel rooms are small but the standard is superb and apartment supply is limited.
What to check before booking an apartment
Which floor and if there is an elevator. Many beautiful European buildings are four flights up with no elevator and the listing does not always say. With luggage and small children this matters enormously.
If the washing machine is real and if there is a dryer. There often is not. A drying rack and a warm room works, but plan for it.
Air conditioning, which is far from universal in Europe and increasingly necessary in summer.
Beds, specifically. Sofa beds are described as beds. Ask what your children will actually sleep on.
Noise. Apartments are in residential buildings on real streets. Read reviews for the word noisy.
The full cost including cleaning fees, which can be substantial on shorter stays and change the comparison completely.
The hybrid approach
Use hotels for the one and two night stops and apartments for anywhere you stay three nights or more.
Use an apartment in the middle of a long trip specifically for the laundry, then hotels either side.
Aparthotels exist and combine both. A front desk, daily cleaning, and a kitchen. In cities where they exist they are frequently the best family option available and almost nobody searches for them.
What I do now
With three children, apartments almost everywhere over three nights, hotels for transit nights, and I look for aparthotels first in any city I do not know.
I book refundable, I check the floor and the elevator, and I read the reviews specifically for noise and for if the beds are what they claim.
And I always pick somewhere with a supermarket within a few minutes walk. That single criterion has improved more trips than any view.
The accommodation decision drives the shape of a family trip more than anything except the flights. If you send me your route, I will tell you where to take an apartment and where a hotel is the better call.
Questions people actually ask
The ones that come up before anyone books. If yours isn’t here, ask me.
Are apartments cheaper than hotels for families?
Usually, because apartments are priced per property while hotels are priced per room and most rooms sleep two. A family of five often needs two hotel rooms, which typically costs more than a single apartment.
What are the main advantages of an apartment with children?
A kitchen for breakfast and early meals, a washing machine allowing lighter packing, separate space so adults are not confined to a dark room at bedtime, and a living area for rainy afternoons.
When is a hotel the better choice?
For stays of one or two nights, late arrivals requiring a staffed front desk, trips where you are out all day, and destinations where included breakfast and daily service materially help.
What should you check before booking a trip apartment?
Floor number and elevator availability, if the washing machine and dryer are real, air conditioning, what the beds actually are including sofa beds, noise levels in reviews, and total cost including cleaning fees.
What is an aparthotel?
A property combining hotel services such as a front desk and cleaning with apartment features such as a kitchen. They are frequently the best family option in cities where they are available.
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Written and kept current by Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel. If something here is out of date, tell me and I will fix it.
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