Hotel or Apartment? The Eternal question.

Paris is a city of plenty, and if you are only visiting for a short period of time, dealing with what is on offer takes some serious planning. Before even considering the museums, the transport, the restaurants or the shows, one has to make the all important decision of where one is going to stay.

Having somewhere relaxing, comfortable and central is essential to optimising your time, and maintaining your sanity while dashing around the City of Lights. For people who are past their backpacking years, there are two main choices; staying in a hotel, or renting an apartment . Which you choose can have a huge influence upon your stay.

Staying in a hotel seems, all things considered, the easy option. You can be sure of the quality, especially if staying in a well known chain; you know that your bed will be made each day, and that the room will stay clean. There is always going to be breakfast ready when you want it, and the front desk will (hopefully) be able to answer any questions you may have about the city. If you are only planning on staying a few days, and plan to spend all your time (including every meal) out and about, I think hotels are the way to go.

For a longer visit, however, hotels can be a bit, well, sterile. The fact that you are just a small cog in a big machine becomes all too obvious, and when you are spending some serious time in one place, it is nice to be able to feel more at home. Staying in an apartment is perfect in this situation. You can take time out, stay in for an evening, and, most importantly, have more than one room to call your own! It is certainly very nice to snuggle down on a sofa with a glass of yummy French wine and a platter of cheese after a day at the Louvre, rather than having to put on your glad rags and head out to once again choose from (and decode) a foreign menu!

Price-wise, it really depends what sort of hotel or apartment you would be after. If you are a party of 4, it is almost guaranteed that a (nice) apartment will be a site cheaper than a hotel- when I first moved to Paris on the skin of my teeth my three friends and I actually discovered renting an apartment was even cheaper than a youth hostel! Apartments also cut costs in a number of ways- cooking, laundry, entertainment. Obviously, there is a far higher degree of ‘do it yourself’ when staying in a home, but that is what makes it so much more homely, right?

Service is certainly something hotels pride themselves on, and they really are great at it. Having teams of people at your disposition to suggest activities or spots to visit can really help you, if you aren’t sure where to start. The only downside I have experienced in that area is that the teams of people mean that you are never assisted by the same person twice. If you want something specially catered (a private art tour perhaps, or a cooking course, wine tasting?) things become a lot more complicated. Most apartment rental companies are equipped with a one-man concierge service, who can sort things out for you from beginning to end. The personal touch, cheesy as it may sound, goes a long way.

But in my opinion, the best thing about staying in an apartment is the location. If renting someone’s home, you will be in an area of Paris which is not directly on the tourist map. Being a small city nothing is very far away, but staying in a quartier with its own special ambiance gives you a more real, valid and thrilling impression of the French capital.

So when the choice to visit Paris has been made, take some serious time to consider what you would like to get out of your stay- how many people are coming? Are you all going to want to do the same things? Will you want to eat out every night? Where in the city would you like to be? Hotels are certainly reliable, but apartments allow you an opportunity to live like a Parisian, even if only for a week.