Apartments Vs. Hotels in Madrid (And Elsewhere)

I'm not sure about the 'come and go as you please theory'. I've only stayed in an airbnb once but I didn't actually feel as comfortable coming and going - every time I did I had to go past the door of someone who I think was the owner/caretaker/security for the building, and he used to separate the blinds to see us. The host had told us to be discreet and not tell people that we were renting the apartment, so I assume she wasn't supposed to be renting it out. The apartment was lovely in every other way and nobody caused any issues, but it just made me a bit less comfortable coming in and out than I would have been in a hotel.

Very interesting outcome. I used to live (briefly) in Madrid, and it is one of those cities where if you will look past the chain hotels, there are much more affordable hotels, that are simpler but still really nice. I admit I don't know of an online resource I would really trust to choose a Madrid hotel for me.

Your apartment seems to be a home-run winner, but that price seems pretty steep, considering the economy in Spain. There are plenty of other places to visit for €200/night. I flat out would not pay €200/night in Madrid, unless I was splitting the €200 cost with someone else. Then that apt. becomes a first choice.

For the first time, my Best Comment of the Day prize goes to . . . the original post itself for this gem: "Rooms with two queen beds in Europe are rarer than, say, taste and understatement are in Dubai."

But two twin beds are pretty common, of course.

Honestly I much prefer airbnb to hotels. Free wifi, better check-in and check-out times, better locations, and better prices. Yes you don't get status or points, but to me it is still worth it.

I think there is some confusion about how apartment renting works in Europe. There are company's that buy lots of apartments in a normal residential block. So you rent from that company almost as if it was a hotel just with much more room. You don't rent through someone renting out their own apartment as you would airbnb. That means you can come and go as you please. The really large companies may have a desk at the front but that person is often out and about sorting out things. The prices are amazing. Here In the Uk the price is not much more than a hotel and a two room apartment is usually cheaper than two rooms. With of course much more room. Because of this I gave up on hotel rooms I long time ago.

OT but @john galbraith what agency would you recommend in London. Thanks.

I agree. The washer/dryer and wifi is a great plus...along with the space. One thing I usually find is that hotels are usually in touristy spots which tend to have limited grocery stores/restaurants with very high prices. If staying at a rental I usually find that groceries and restaurants aren't as expensive (mostly)

Ever since I lost status with hotel chains (and I don't make an effort to retain it anymore given my travel pattern) I started using apartment rental sites more and more. So far I've only made very positive experiences and would recommend it to anyone - and I say anyone since there is a wide variety of kind of apartments to rent.

A couple notes — Marriott's acquisition of the discount AC chain almost certainly has nothing to do with their luxurious Autograph Collection, though I agree that is confusing that they are both "AC."

You should look into NH/Accor/Melia if you just wanted a chain hotel in Madrid. No strong points earning but reliable properties. Also, Priceline/Hotwire and the Radisson Blu.

We're a family of four and thus often go the rental apartment route. It does generally take some more work to find a good apartment vs just booking a hotel but for me the research/trip planning is just part of the fun.

It was funny to pull up this post because we stayed in that exact same unit for a week when we were in Madrid in February and loved it. The Chueca neighborhood is great (did you check out Mercado San Anton?) and the location of that unit isn't touristy at all but but still has great access to everything you want. My kids loved the park at the end of the block and there was even easy access to a Starbucks.

The payment even showed up as a reimbursable charge on my Arrival+, which is hit or miss for apartment rentals because they often code as real estate agencies, so it was a win across the board 🙂

@takke: Next time you use AirBnB, restrict the search options to "entire place" only. That excludes all the rooms in shared apartments, and you'll find that usually many people rent their whole apartment. Of course it costs more, but you get the privacy lacking with shared rentals.

Another good place to look is HomeAway, which has listings all over the world, usually from individuals with a place to rent (i.e., not rental agencies). In general, especially if I'm staying in one place for several days, I much prefer an apartment or house over a hotel - and that's especially true if I'm with family. Having a kitchen to prepare meals saves a *lot* of money over restaurants - which is not to say we don't go out to eat, just that we eat in a few nights of, say, a week-long stay.

I never use concierge services, I don't care much about hotel points, and I really don't need to feel pampered by hotel staff - and typically, except at very expensive places I don't feel pampered by hotels anyway. An apartment typically has some touch of character from the owner's possessions and it's great to talk to them about their city. Finally, be sure to ask about things like soap, shampoo, towels and kitchen appliances (coffee maker, microwave, washing machine, etc) - never assume that an apartment has everything that your own place has! Both AirBnB and HomeAway list exactly what you can expect the place to include, and always allow you to contact the owner with questions before you book.

In all, I've had great experiences renting apartments and houses, and in general I much prefer them over hotels

"the Euro at historical lows" ?! Man, you must be young. Just 10 years ago the Euro was hovering around 75 US cents.

No international chains? How about Melia? They might be small in the US, but they are huge in Spain, and have a large footprint in Brazil, the Caribbean, Portugal and Germany.

@snic - I did actually rent out an entire place, so privacy wasn't an issue in terms of someone being in the place - it was more the sense that the owner wasn't really supposed to be sub-letting her apartment out while she was away on holiday. It was brilliant in all other ways (location etc.) and I'd actually return in a hearbeat

@Ron: You're way off. The lowest the Euro has ever been (since it actually went into circulation) was around 87 cents back in January 2002, shortly after it was introduced. It has been above the dollar since November '02. Ten years ago, in April '05, the Euro was worth $1.29. Currently, the Euro is at its lowest point against the dollar since April '03. So yeah, this isn't the lowest the Euro has EVER been, but it's essentially the lowest it has been since the Euro's first year of circulation, when it was still being phased in.

My experience with Air BnB rentals has been that they usually offer toiletries and will specify in the description - or of course, you could ask. Also, the places we rented had recommendations for restaurants and local spots from the owners. Either in person, or in a book in the apartment, or both.

Have stayed at a Letsroom apartment since the CSR was released? Curious if they code as travel (VRBO does NOT).