When you are a tourist in London or in the city for a short shopping holiday, getting the right economical accommodation is always something that does put a strain on the budget. You can easily find online, a number of offers for self catering apartments that can help you out at reasonable costs. The savings you make can probably help you to extend your holidays, or make trips more often to get away from the drudgery of a routine.

Food is another expense that can make a large dent on pocketbooks, and when you are always eating out, you can never be sure about the quality of the food and its contents. When you check into self catering apartments you can cook your own meals, eat what is healthy and save yourself a lot of money. Preparation of food really does not take a lot of time, as most housewives will tell you. It is the preparation that requires a lot of minutes, and if you are on a holiday, get the whole family to pitch in, and your meals will be on the table in next to no time. There will also be a lot of bonding because of this activity and this can probably make your holiday a real fun time with your family. You can also take care of any special needs of any family members with particular food preferences, or medically related diets. Most self catering apartments come complete with well equipped kitchens, with gas ranges, refrigerators, all required crockery and cutlery and everything that you will find in a normal kitchen. London is a city that has a lot of neighbourhoods, with each having its own markets and shopping and this can make shopping for food very easy. As a matter of fact, most people who lease out self serviced apartments will also give you details of the nearest shopping, the nearest pharmacy, the nearest hospital, the nearest station and bus routes, so that people who rent out their apartments are comfortable from day one.

Hotel, Bed & Breakfast or Self Catering Apartment

When you travel in a group of 4 or 6 persons, booking a self catering apartment can definitely be much cheaper than booking hotel rooms that ensure the required privacy. Most apartments will have more space available to you as a family, than hotel rooms will do. If you book into one with three bedrooms, it will also have a kitchen, a living area, a dining area and enough bathrooms. So while you can enjoy privacy in the bedrooms, the other areas are available for the other members of your party to meet in, talk, play or spend quality time together. There will also be balconies that you relax on, with a drink or a cup of coffee. You will never be interrupted by maids needing to clean your rooms, something that is quite irksome in hotel rooms. Children will have more space to play, not only in the apartment itself, but in outside areas. Most such self catering service apartments are set up in complexes, which will have their own gardens and open spaces, while some of the higher end ones, may even have their own gymnasiums and swimming pools.

You will have to be prepared to overlook some of the disadvantages that are integral with self catering service apartment rentals. You will have to clean the apartment yourself, though some may offer janitorial services at an extra cost. You will have to make your own beds and keep things neat. But in case you have the discipline already inculcated into your children and other family members at home, this should not be a big hindrance to your enjoying your holiday in London. You will have to understand how things work in the apartment and will not have a reception that you can phone in for every problem. You will have to look after your own keys, once you receive them from the apartment managers, and may not have the advantage of depositing them at the front desk, as you do in hotels.

Confirm your bookings well in advance and make sure you reach at the appointed time, and also vacate on the date you had agreed to. While hotels may be able to accommodate guests in other spare rooms, apartment owners, may not have such facilities available and you will have to leave at the appointed time.