 Apartments vs. Hotels |
AfricaAntarcticaAsiaCentral America CaribbeanEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaOceaniaSouth AmericaOceans and SeasApartments vs. HotelsCentral America Caribbean » PanamaTopic Type: Accomodation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Which would you prefer to stay in? Have you tried both while travelling or living temporarily in another country? If so, in which countries? What are the pros and cons for each? Which are safer? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
eastvanbran Brandy T Post Count: 1 Msg: #1 130 days ago, July 15th 2008 | I am probably going to be traveling to Panama City for 3-4 weeks in the next couple of months for work. I have read a lot about being careful to stay in tourist central areas for safety reasons. | Due to the length of my stay, my employer is looking at getting an apartment for a month for me there, rather than a hotel room. Are there any safety issues that we should be thinking about? Any areas to stay away from? Any tips at all? And just in case it is relevant, I am a thirty-something woman traveling alone.  Mell Mel Fla Post Count: 4816 Msg: #2 129 days ago, July 15th 2008 | Hello Brandy :) | I dont see why an appartment would be less safe than a hotel room. It would also be more comfortable if you are staying and working in Panama for a while. As regards women and safety, I would avoid wearing jewelery and dress discretely. Also keep other valuables out of sight when walking around. Men in Central America often have the idea the foreign women are easier than the local women so avoiding wearing anything or doing anything which would encourage this idea is probably advisable. Mel [Edited: 08:53 - Mell ] Boricua Antonio Martinez Post Count: 12 Msg: #3 112 days ago, August 1st 2008 | listen Panama City is safe....compared to Costa Rica anytime of the day. If you need a hotel stay at the Hotel Montreal: it's on Via Espaņa. It's nice and also safe, they have a rooftop pool aand restaurant: plus easy access to grabbing a cab. The prices are about $25 to 35.usd or balboas(same currency) | tinahope Tina Hope Post Count: 5 Msg: #4 105 days ago, August 8th 2008 | Hey Brandy, | Take some deep breath, be optimistic, you are not gonna lost something there. Yahh you should take care of your belongings & urself.However its a beautiful city you must enjoy some leisure time there. I believe that your employer will take special care in providing the safe rooms , whether its a hotel room or apartments. Best Wishes, Tina  Ali Ali Watters Post Count: 2986 Msg: #5 104 days ago, August 9th 2008 | I often rent apartments rather than live in hotels - due to the nature of my job I'm lucky enough to be able to choose where I live - as long as I have a reliable internet connection. So I pick somewhere I have friends, or where I'm interested in getting to know the culture and stay... Rio was my last stop, but I've also stayed in apartments in Thailand, Hungary and Australia - sometimes with house-mates - other times on my own. | Apartments have a whole load of advantages: • Cheaper - usually! • It's your own space - privacy! • You usually get a kitchen - cook your own food - a novelty for a long term nomad. • Invite friends round for a meal. • You don't have embarrassing incidents with maids coming in to clean while you're in the shower... or just out of it. Hotels have the advantage of convenience; • Rooms cleaned • Room service • A bar downstairs to meet other transients Obviously if someone else is paying for all this then the cost advantage disappears. Any more advantages and disadvantages? Mell Mel Fla Post Count: 4816 Msg: #6 104 days ago, August 9th 2008 | Ive stayed in a few appartments while I travelled. The very short term ones I stayed at for a few days were almost like hotels but were in fact appartments. They were not expensive because I did not have one all to myself. They usually put some other people in there with me. I usually also shared a bedroom with one or more people. The owners cleaned these appartments. | The main advantage was that there was a kitchen. I could buy enough food for a few days at the supermarket and put it in the fridge which is not possible with a hotel room. I stayed in very short term appartments in Rio, Brazil and on an Island in Estonia. I stayed in longer term places when I stopped to work someplace. Of course when staying long term an appartment is more comfortable. One does not want to eat take outs for months at a time. I also shared these places. One was in London, England and the other in Toronto, Canada. The main advantage of these longer term appartments I stayed in is that they had an office or a person to manage them. We all payed a fixed rent which included all electricity etc bills. It made things less complicated with people comming and going so often. The disadvantage is that one has to be lucky with ones house mates. There are the extremely messy who leave no kitchen counter free of dirty dishes and the obsessively clean who nag if a cup is left unwashed for a few hours. Unlike the very short term appartments it was up to us to keep the place clean ourselves. And there are the housemates who are so noise sensitive that one cant go to the kitchen for a glass of water during the night without receiving complaints from them and there are the incredibly noisy who come in at 3AM 4 nights per week with a bunch of friends and pound on ones bedroom door to ask if one will join them for a drink or 20. It is difficult to get housemates who are between the two extremes and thus easy for me to live with. travelbargainfinder brianna b Post Count: 3 Msg: #7 103 days ago, August 10th 2008 | Have you considered condo-resorts? They are like furnished apts but with hotel ameneties & service! I got a package for 8 days 7 nights at this site & was NOT disappointed! I also got a great buy 1 get 1 free airfare ticket with them when my bf & I went to puerto vallarta - Good luck! | <snip> [Edited: 18:30 - Mell - Removed URLs] Chuck Kuhn Chuck Kuhn Post Count: 11 Msg: #8 97 days ago, August 17th 2008 | Be careful if you book thru Craigslist.com. I'm going to Paris in Sept 08 and just for the heck I tried Craigslist. Lots of scams, but also alot of good sites to check out apts or flats. Good luck | Number of Users: 7 | Number of Posts: 8 | ||||||||||||||||
