Legacy Blog

More bed for your buck

The choice is yours: expensive hotel room or cost-effective luxury apartment?

Not just for Christmas …

Edinburgh is an awesome place to visit and the world famous Edinburgh Festival makes it a particularly popular destination in the summer – more than doubling the city’s population. The Hogmanay festival provides another reason to visit the city, but there is more to Edinburgh than it’s amazing festivals. The city of Edinburgh with its beautiful location and compact centre is an ideal short break destination at any time of the year.

How though whenever you visit Edinburgh – do you get the best accommodation deal?

Self catering apartment vs. hotels. Are hotels now a poor substitute?

With so many people visiting Edinburgh there’s a wide choice of accommodation options available (although availability is definitely limited during busy festival periods).

Two of the main options are hotels and self catering apartments. There are many differences between these options – not just the price.

Why people love self catering:

Your own space (and a lot more of it)
Greater independence
Immersion in the local community
Increased flexibility

Families often really enjoy self-catering as they have the flexibility to eat what and when they like (great if you’ve got fussy kids!). You can create your own schedule and do what you want to do. Some properties even come complete with spacious gardens, children’s play equipment, board games, books and DVD’s – all of which can be really useful on those rainy days!

Higher quality … lower cost!?

One of the most appealing aspects of choosing a self catered accommodation over a hotel is the cost savings you are likely to make. Not only is the overall price of the apartment often far cheaper than staying in a hotel, but the cost can be shared between those who stay – which can be particularly good for groups of friends looking for that weekend getaway.

But is self catering really the cheaper option? Travel writer Ferne Arfin, writing for About.com, states that for groups or families, renting a cottage or apartment in the UK is almost always substantially cheaper than staying in a hotel. She writes that most rental cottages in 2007 were priced at no more than £800 per week – with the majority being available for less than £500/week even during the busy summer months.

Let’s look at some facts based on actual prices over summer 2007:

(Prices for 19^th – 26^th July 2008)

Hotel	Guests	Price	Self Catering Apt.	Guests	Price
Marriott	2	£875 (min)	The Causewayside	6	£650
Hilton	2	£1540 (min)	Drumsheugh Gardens	6	£897
Novotel	2	£1323 (min)	Blair Street	4	£735
Sheraton Grand	2	£1061 (min)	Silvermills	5	£550

The table clearly demonstrates that a self catering apartment can be much cheaper than a hotel. You get your own space, a gorgeous apartment all to yourself and much more room for significantly less money. The examples above are also comparing minimum hotel prices for 2 people, with apartments that can sleep up to 6 people. Therefore if you do maximise the number of guests allowed within a self catering apartment, the savings can be substantial.

Find that perfect self catered apartment in Edinburgh

So, are you convinced that self catering outperforms the hotel option? If you are where do you go to find that ideal short term let?

There are many agencies available in Edinburgh that deal with short term lets and the range of accommodation available is excellent.

However, for the widest range it is best to turn to the Internet. Let In Edinburgh offers well over 100 apartments selected from accommodation agencies and individual property owners. You can narrow down your search and decide exactly what you want out of your stay – do you want a family break, a romantic getaway or are you in the city on business? If it’s the latter then having Wi-Fi internet will likely be important (whereas a cot and highchair probably won’t be!). The search feature also enables you to search properties that match your budget and easily enables contact direct with owners/agents. Additionally an online booking feature is being added in the near future which will compete with the best hotels have to offer.

Using the Edinburgh accommodation search on sites like Let In Edinburgh make the process of finding the ideal place to stay a whole lot easier. Extras such as a balcony overlooking Edinburgh Castle or a welcome pack from the owner can really help make your stay extra special.

So next time you fancy a stay in “auld reekie” do it in style at a fraction of the hotel price and self cater-you would be mad not to.