What are the self contained apartments? The self contained apartments have become more and more interesting for holiday accommodation. If a few years back the apartments were mainly rented by persons looking for mid-term accommodation, or were a “first base” for the ones who came to a new city, until they found a permanent place to stay; now they are getting more popular for short stays, of a weekend or short holiday.

What exactly are the self contained apartments? A self contained apartment is a rental facility, which can be rented for short or longer periods, usually less than one year. Unlike a hotel room, it is equipped with cooking facilities.

Why this growing interest in the self contained apartments? Well, they offer the comfort of home while travelling. The kitchen offers the great advantage of being able to cook your meal. This makes travelling for holidays more accessible for tight budgets; but even if you don't cook your meals and prefer to eat out, you still save from breakfast, from making your own tea or coffee. Besides, families with kids know how important kitchen facilities are for travelling. To be able to sterilize baby's bottle or fix the baby's meal, or fix your own dinner after the kids are asleep, when you cannot leave to go to a restaurant.

Then there are the rates. Serviced apartments offer different standards of accommodations, from basic to luxury, but comparing an apartment and a hotel room at the same standard, the price of an apartment is up to 30% cheaper.

A hotel has, let's say, 50 rooms. You book a room based on the general description of the hotel, and a few photos but you don't actually know which room you'll have until you get there. They are all furnished the same and have the same layout, but some may be on a lower level on a noisy street, some may have a view and some not. The hotels usually don't make note of the sleeping arrangements you require, so the beds may be arranged as singles when you need doubles.

The self contained apartments are usually presented as unique accommodations so you know what you are booking. Most hotel services are provided in an apartments building as well: there is either reception in the building or security insured by locked doors; daily cleaning can be arranged; breakfast can be provided at some facilities on request; a 24 hours number is available to contact the managers; some apartments also have air conditioned, internet. All apartments have kitchens or kitchenettes and private bathrooms.

There are usually 4 types of apartments. The studios: one rooms apartments with kitchenette and bathroom. Usually they include a bedroom area, and a sitting area with dinner table. The studios are usually fit for 2 people, although there are also larger one room apartments which can have up to 4 beds.

Then there are one bedroom apartments, 2 bedroom apartments and large apartments of 3 or more bedrooms. They usually have a living room with kitchen besides the bedrooms, so the living space is larger. If an apartment has 4 bedrooms or more, it has to have 2 bathrooms; otherwise it would be worth booking 2 smaller apartments instead.

The apartments come in all shapes and sizes. There is no international agreement like hotel stars that would show the standard of accommodation. So the best thing to do when choosing an apartment is to ask for description and photos before booking, to know what to expect. Since they are unique accommodations, an online availability calendar on a website cannot be updated in real time, and to insure that there are no double bookings it is best to contact the managers to check availability before booking. When confirming a booking, always do it in writing; if you book by phone, ask for a written confirmation.

Thanks to K Apartments Barcelona for hosting this article.