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Serviced apartments are gradually emerging as the most trendy place to stay for both corporate and leisure travelers today. A serviced apartment is a rental facility, like a hotel, where you can stay for a few days or a few weeks depending on the nature and purpose of your visit.

Many guests prefer to stay at serviced apartments when they relocate to a new city and have to look for a permanent place. The reason why serviced apartments are the preferred choice for those who seek transit accommodation either for short-term or extended stay is because living at a serviced apartment feels much like living at home. You don't get the "I am living in a hotel" feeling when you live in a serviced apartment.

Serviced apartments are operated much like hotels-- you reserve rooms by calling or writing to the property, you follow a check-in and check-out schedule, and you don't have to pay extra for services such as housekeeping, maintenance and utilities. The similarity, however, ends here.

Serviced apartments are usually 30% to 35% less expensive when you compare them to hotels. This is because the pricing structure at serviced apartments is predicated on longer duration stays thus resulting in significantly higher occupancy ratios.

Serviced apartments are more spacious allowing you to literally spread yourself all over the place. The second most important difference between a serviced apartment and a hotel is that you can cook your own food in a serviced apartment whenever you choose to do so. This major advantage is specially a plus for those guests who have special dietary needs as well as those who have very small children.

Trying to sterilize feeding bottles in a traditional hotel can be a major challenge. Hotels will generally not allow you to cook in your room except in cases where the hotel owns and operates its own serviced apartments in addition to regular rooms.

Serviced apartments have all the amenities we traditionally associate with a regular hotel. In addition to being fully furnished, serviced apartments are secured with guards who are posted 24X7 and remote cameras are used for surveillance purposes. TV and direct-dial telephones are also provided.

Many serviced apartments provide Internet connectivity. Kitchens in serviced apartments are equipped with cooking gas, a refrigerator and microwave oven. Some even have coffee makers and food processors. Most serviced apartments provide cooking utensils, cutlery and silverware. You never have to bring linen or towels to a serviced apartment.

There are usually four categories of rooms and suites:

◊ Single room or a studio apartment with a kitchenette
◊ One-bedroom suite
◊ Two-bedroom suite
◊ Three-bedroom suite

In rare instances serviced apartments can have up to eight bedrooms. Each bedroom in a suite has an attached bedroom. The concept of serviced apartments is relatively new and so there is currently no system in place to rate them. It is always a good idea to ask for a detailed description and a list of amenities before you reserve your suite at a serviced apartment facility.

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