Prestige Apartments Blog

We strongly recommend you don't take the "super economy" option! 

Hotels are great, aren't they? People do everything for you - they make your bed, they cook your dinner, they sometimes even carry your bags.

What's not to like, right? 

For me however, there always comes a time, usually about 2 to-3 days in, when I start to feel the urge to escape from all of the institutionalised luxury! Even if you’re glad of an excuse not to cook, I think even the most un-culinary among us will agree that there comes a time when you just want to make yourself a quick dinner rather than going to the hotel restaurant yet again. And that’s even if it is just microwaving a ready meal for one!

Now I’ll freely admit I’m not a morning person, so I need time to wake up and get myself together before tackling the day. So when I wake up bleary eyed (needing a nice cup of tea) and realise that I've used up all my allocated mini-milk cartons the night before, well…it’s just not a pretty sight.

That's when the lack of a proper kitchen in hotel rooms drives me mad. To be able to get my breakfast and sort myself out before I see anyone (apart from hubby obviously - but he knows by now to leave me alone first thing!) is an integral part of my morning routine. It sets me up for the day and when I miss it my whole day just starts off wrong and generally gets worse.

Then there's dinner time! Sorry, but I’m into full Rant mode now…these days I need to watch what I eat and being forced to constantly eat hotel or restaurant dinners…well, it’s just no good when you're trying to follow the latest fad diet. Not many hotel restaurants I know cater for the Dukan Diet and there’s something a little depressing about eating alone in a restaurant. It’s possibly even worse than going to the movies by yourself…and that’s pretty bad.

We haven't even touched on the economic advantages of serviced apartment kitchens yet, but the cost savings are certainly a major consideration. I recently experimented on 2 week-long trips to London to see how much I could save when catering for myself in a serviced apartment kitchen versus eating out all the time in a hotel…

And do you know what? Even though I was expecting it, the difference was quite shocking.

Eating out came to about £150 for 5 days, and if you know how much I like food and wine you’ll know that that’s a very moderate assessment. Conversely, when I used my serviced apartment kitchen to prepare meals and packed lunches for the same 5 day period, I stocked up on groceries for just £60. That's nearly 3 times as much staying in a hotel! Ok, so if you were being pedantic you could probably factor in some minor electricity and gas costs, but just imagine the cost savings for companies if all of their staff used this alternative method on business trips!

Business travel aside, let’s not forget about those travelling with children either - where serviced apartment kitchens can be even more of a godsend. It doesn't matter what time zone you're in, you can feed the kids (and so keep them happy) at any time of day. There’ll be no arguments because they're hungry and the hotel restaurant is closed or they don't like what's on the menu. Just keep some favourite treats from home in the handy fridge (or freezer) and you'll be their hero!

So apart from the special gains, for me that’s where serviced apartments really kick in and outperform hotels. The one key feature that I would not be without, despite all the luxury that hotels provide, is a kitchen. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I love to cook, but sometimes the freedom that it provides is invaluable. To be able to cook what I want, when I want, makes all of the sometimes stressful and tiring business trips bearable. 

I do love hotels for that treaty trip away when you just want to be spoilt, but when I want to get on with business or even go on a longer trip, I wouldn't stay in anything other than a serviced apartment. It sounds too simple to be true but the freedom that that kitchen gives you is without measure as far as I’m concerned.

And now I'm off to raid the cookie jar and make myself a nice cup of coffee in my serviced apartment kitchen - who needs room service!!

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Prestige Apartments has a wide range of serviced apartments on offer throughout the UK with options to suit all budgets.  Please get in touch with the sales team who will be happy to discuss how they can help you with your serviced apartment needs. 

Tel: 020 7704 6514 or email: sales@prestigeapartments.co.uk