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Serviced Apartments - What is a Serviced Apartment?

Serviced Apartments provide a a great any advantages over hotels and other accommodation. Here we tell you what a serviced apartment is and why you might consider one.

Serviced Apartments are springing up in every town and city across many parts of the world. They typically comprise a fully furnished apartment, usually located in a city centre that can be booked for a short period as an alternative to a hotel. Typically, the they would be modern and kitted out to a high standard, although they vary enormously from basic to luxurious. Nearly all serviced apartments contain digital flat panel TVs, free WiFi, leather sofas, comfortable beds, cooking facilities, dining facilities, washer/dryer and so on. Some are very basic and contain the bare minimum. Some others are professionally furnished to an exceptionally high standard.

Prices vary from city to city with London being the most expensive in the UK. In other UK cities it is possible to get a serviced apartment for considerably less than an equivalent hotel.

Some apartments have minimum stays of say 2 nights or sometimes a week but many are totally flexible allowing you to stay from as little as one night up to a whole year. Whilst many serviced apartments are contained within a purpose built building or part building and have a concierge service, many are simply normal apartments that are being used as serviced apartments.

As well as being fully furnished, they also come with fresh towels and linen; just as you would expect from a hotel. If clients are staying for longer than a week, you would expect housekeeping to replace the towels and linen with clean ones each week or on request. How often this is done also varies, with some doing so every day and some each week or by agreement with the client.

Some apartments come with a welcome pack containing soap, shampoo, tea, coffee, sugar, milk, cereals, bread, butter, margarine, jam and marmalade etc. Few provide all of these and many provide non at all; some charge extra. Being able to have your breakfast before you set off for the day is a big bonus, even if it's only toast, cereal and jam.

Other services are often available on request such as a baby cot, high chair, and children's toys. In some respects, the serviced apartment is similar to the self-catering holiday home. These too can be booked for a short period. However, serviced apartments are nearly always city based and located in tower blocks, whereas holiday homes tend to be located in the country or near the sea and are in individual buildings.

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