Hotel or Holiday Apartment: An Honest Comparison with Cost Calculation and Checklist

By Daniel Schulz, residir GmbH · Last updated: 14 October 2026

Hotel or holiday apartment? For one or two nights as a couple, a hotel is usually the more convenient choice – and often no more expensive. From three nights upwards, with children, in a group or on a longer business trip, a holiday apartment with a kitchen makes more sense, because space, meals and the price per person then tip the balance. In between, there are hybrid options with hotel-style service.

We are currently fitting out a building with 54 apartments in Lehel, and the question „holiday apartment or hotel?“ comes up in many enquiries. That is why we compare both types of accommodation and the hybrids in between as neutrally as possible here, with a table, an example calculation and a checklist. The information refers to typical offers in Germany and to Munich, as of October 2026.

In this article:

• Hotel or holiday apartment: the comparison
• Holiday apartment vs hotel: pros and cons
• Holiday apartments with hotel service
• Which is cheaper? An example calculation
• Which suits whom?
• Kitchen and breakfast
• Hotel or holiday apartment in Munich
• Checklist to help you decide
• Our building in Lehel, honestly assessed
• Conclusion
• Frequently asked questions

Hotel or holiday apartment: the comparison table

The table shows how a hotel, a holiday apartment and the hybrid forms – aparthotel, serviced apartment and boarding house – differ in everyday use. These are typical values; no property is exactly like this. What ultimately counts is what the description of each individual offer says.

Criterion	Hotel	Holiday apartment	Aparthotel, serviced apartment, boarding house
Space	Room, usually 18–30 m², sleeping and living in one room	Your own flat, often with a separate bedroom	Apartment, usually 20–50 m², sometimes with a separate sleeping area
Kitchen	Rare, at most a minibar or kettle	Yes, usually fully equipped	Yes, from kitchenette to full kitchen
Cost per person per night (family, group)	Rises with every extra room you need	Usually cheaper, as the price is shared by more people	Usually somewhere in between
Cost for long stays	Discounts are rather rare	Weekly and monthly rates are common	Weekly and monthly rates are standard
Service	Reception, often a restaurant and bar	Little; contact with the host by phone or message	Lean; with or without reception depending on the property
Cleaning	Daily	Usually only final cleaning, often for a fee	At fixed intervals, e.g. weekly
Check-in	Reception, often around the clock	Key handover or key safe at agreed times	Reception or self check-in around the clock
Breakfast	Often included or available to book	Rare; you cater for yourself	Sometimes available to book, often not offered
Flexibility	From one night, often free cancellation	Sometimes a minimum stay, stricter cancellation rules	From one night up to several months
Invoices for companies	Standard	Yes with commercial providers, often not with private ones	Standard

Reading the table from top to bottom reveals the basic pattern: a hotel sells service, a holiday apartment sells space and independence. The question „hotel or apartment?“ is therefore less about price and more about what matters most to you on this particular trip.

Holiday apartment vs hotel: pros and cons

Advantages of a holiday apartment

• Space: a separate bedroom, a dining table and a sofa make a big difference, especially with children and on longer stays.
• Your own kitchen: breakfast, dinner and snacks cost only what you spend on groceries. Over several nights, that saves a noticeable amount.
• Price per person: four people in one flat usually pay less than for two hotel rooms.
• Everyday life like at home: washing machine, your own rhythm, no fixed breakfast times.

Disadvantages of a holiday apartment

• Less service: usually no reception, no breakfast, no daily cleaning.
• Fees: a final cleaning fee of a few dozen euros is common and makes short stays more expensive.
• Rules: minimum stays, stricter cancellation terms and fixed check-in times are more common than in hotels.
• Variable quality: there are no uniform standards for private offers.

Hotels, on the other hand, score with service and reliability: you arrive at midnight, someone is there, and breakfast is ready in the morning. For a short city break that is a real advantage; for two weeks with the family, a hotel room quickly feels cramped. Weigh up these pros and cons of a holiday apartment against the length of your trip. If you are staying for several months, you will find tips on long term holiday rental in a separate guide.

Holiday apartments with hotel service: aparthotel, serviced apartment and boarding house

If you do not want to choose between a hotel and a holiday apartment, you will find the middle ground in properties that combine flats with hotel services. They have their own kitchen, bed linen and towels are provided, and electricity, Wi-Fi and cleaning at fixed intervals are included in the price. You book as you would a hotel, often from one night.

The terms overlap considerably. We explain in detail what lies behind the word in our guide what is an aparthotel. When searching for accommodation, it is enough to look at the services: is there a proper kitchen? How often is it cleaned? How does check-in work?

In Munich you will find such properties under search terms like aparthotel Munich, serviced apartments or boarding house. The model is also common in holiday regions: if you are looking for a holiday apartment with hotel service in Bavaria, for example, you will find many apartment houses with a reception and bread roll delivery in the Alps and on the Chiemsee.

For longer stays, boarding houses designed for weeks and months are widespread. How to recognise such a property and how the prices are structured is explained in our guide what is a boarding house.

Which is cheaper, a hotel or a holiday apartment? An example calculation

Flat-rate prices are of little help, because location, season and size vary greatly. A calculation with transparent assumptions is easier to follow. The figures below are deliberately rounded example values – not market prices and not our own rates. Plug in the real offers for your trip.

Example 1: family with two children, 4 nights

Assumptions: at the hotel you need two double rooms at 150 euros each per night, breakfast costs 20 euros per person per day, and everyone eats at a restaurant in the evening for 25 euros per person. The holiday apartment for four costs 220 euros per night plus 80 euros final cleaning; you make your own breakfast for 8 euros per person, cook on two evenings (40 euros) and go to a restaurant on the other two.

Item (4 nights, 4 people)	Hotel	Holiday apartment
Accommodation	2 × 150 € × 4 = 1,200 €	220 € × 4 = 880 €
Final cleaning	–	80 €
Breakfast	20 € × 4 people × 4 days = 320 €	8 € × 4 people × 4 days = 128 €
Dinner	4 × 4 people × 25 € = 400 €	2 × 100 € restaurant + 2 × 40 € groceries = 280 €
Total	1,920 €	1,368 €
Per person per night	120 €	approx. 86 €

Example 2: couple, 2 nights

Assumptions: hotel double room at 150 euros per night including breakfast, holiday apartment at 130 euros per night plus 60 euros final cleaning. The hotel costs 300 euros, the holiday apartment 320 euros – and breakfast comes on top. For short stays as a couple, the hotel therefore often comes out ahead.

Which is cheaper, a hotel or a holiday apartment, comes down to three factors: how many people share the accommodation, how many nights the final cleaning fee is spread over, and how often you cook for yourself. The higher these three values, the more clearly the flat wins. So always compare the cost of a holiday apartment as a total price including all fees, not as a nightly rate.

With private flats booked via platforms, there are often platform service fees that only become visible at the end of the booking process. What this means in practice and which rules apply to guests is summarised in our guide Airbnb Munich.

Which suits whom? Seven typical trips

City break for 2 nights

For two people and just a weekend, a hotel is usually the simpler choice. You will be out and about most of the time anyway, the kitchen stays unused, and a final cleaning fee is hardly worthwhile. A holiday apartment instead of a hotel makes sense here mainly if it is central and does not charge a cleaning fee.

Family with children

For families, the flat almost always has the edge. Children go to bed earlier, and afterwards the parents can sit in the living room rather than in the dark on the edge of the bed. A holiday apartment for families also offers space for the pushchair, toys and the six o’clock bottle. What to look out for before booking a holiday apartment with kids is covered in a separate guide.

Groups or friends

A holiday apartment for groups brings everyone under one roof, with a shared table instead of a hotel corridor. Pay attention to the number of real beds, not just the stated maximum occupancy, and to house rules on quiet hours.

Business trip

For one night with an early appointment, a hotel is practical. From three or four nights, many business travellers appreciate a table to work at, a kitchen and more peace and quiet. Check in advance whether the provider will issue an invoice to your company and whether the Wi-Fi is good enough for video calls. If you want to combine work and a stay over several weeks, you will find tips in our guide to a workation in a holiday apartment.

Trade fair

During major trade fairs, hotels in Munich are booked up early and expensive. Teams travelling together often share a larger flat or several apartments in one building. Short distances to the underground and flexible check-in times after long days at the fair are important.

Long stay

From a few weeks onwards, for example for projects, internships or a relocation, a hotel becomes expensive and impractical. That is when weekly and monthly rates come into play. If you are looking for somewhere to stay for several months, temporary housing in Munich is a good option: furnished apartments with a kitchen, washing machine and regular cleaning, designed precisely for stays like these.

With a dog

Many hotels accept dogs, but charge a fee per night and do not allow the dog in the restaurant. In a holiday apartment, your dog has more space and you have more peace. If you want to travel with a dog, always ask before booking. What matters in Munich with a dog is covered on our page about dog friendly apartments in Munich.

Kitchen and breakfast: what you really need when travelling

Many people specifically search for a hotel with a kitchen or a hotel room with a kitchen. That shows what it is often really about: the freedom to eat what you want, when you want. A hotel with a kitchen in the room is rare, however. Usually there is an aparthotel or serviced apartment behind it.

Watch out for the word „kitchenette“. That can mean just a microwave and a kettle. If you really want to cook, you need a hob, pots and pans, a fridge and a sink. A genuine holiday apartment with a kitchen will usually have all of these. What else belongs in the kitchen is shown in our guide to holiday apartment essentials.

Conversely, many people look for a holiday apartment with breakfast because they do not want to go shopping in the morning. These do exist, especially in holiday regions with bread roll delivery, but they are rare in cities. In Munich this is easy to work around: bakeries and cafés open early, and a small shop on your first evening is enough for the next morning.

Hotel or holiday apartment in Munich: Wiesn, trade fairs and location

In Munich, the answer depends heavily on when you travel. For Oktoberfest 2027, which according to the city runs from 18 September to 3 October, accommodation prices rise sharply across the whole city, and central hotels are often fully booked a year in advance. If you are looking for a holiday apartment for Oktoberfest, you should enquire just as early, as flats are also scarce and more expensive then.

It is a similar story during major trade fairs such as BAU, bauma or EXPO REAL. Hotels near the exhibition centre and in the city centre are booked up quickly. For groups, a flat or an apartment building with several units may even be the only affordable option at these times.

City centre or outskirts?

A holiday apartment in central Munich saves travel time: if you stay in the old town, Lehel or Maxvorstadt, you can walk to most of the sights. In return, a holiday apartment in Munich’s city centre costs more than a flat on the outskirts.

If you want to find a cheap holiday apartment in Munich, you have three levers: travel outside the Wiesn and trade fair periods, book early, and accept being a little further from the old town as long as the underground or S-Bahn is close by. Cheap accommodation in Munich within walking distance of Marienplatz is rare at peak times; with good rail connections, you usually lose only 15 to 20 minutes each way.

You will find a hotel with a kitchen in Munich mainly among aparthotels and serviced apartments. For guests staying several nights, these are worth a look, as they combine hotel comfort with your own kitchen.

Checklist: holiday apartment or hotel – which is better for you?

Answer the following questions with yes or no. The more yes answers in the first list, the more likely a holiday apartment suits you; in the second list, the more likely a hotel does.

More of a holiday apartment person

• ☐ You are staying three nights or longer.
• ☐ You are travelling as three or more people.
• ☐ You want to cook for yourself or have children with fixed mealtimes.
• ☐ You need a table to work at.
• ☐ You are travelling with a dog.
• ☐ A washing machine and space for luggage are important to you.

More of a hotel person

• ☐ You are staying one or two nights.
• ☐ You want breakfast in the morning without having to shop.
• ☐ You value daily cleaning and an on-site reception.
• ☐ You need free cancellation until shortly before arrival.
• ☐ You will be out almost all the time and only need the room to sleep.

If both lists come out even, a hybrid with a kitchen and lean service is often the best compromise. Before booking, compare the total price, the cancellation terms and, for flats, the amount of the holiday rental cleaning fee.

Our building in Lehel, honestly assessed

The building at Ländstraße 6 is operated by residir GmbH – you can find out more about the team and concept on our about us page. From autumn 2027 we will be letting 54 apartments there, from 25 to 50 m², in the categories Business, Comfort, Family, Deluxe, Superior and Penthouse. This means we are not a hotel, but sit somewhere between a holiday apartment and an aparthotel.

What you get: your own kitchen in every apartment, fast Wi-Fi, bed linen and towels, 24-hour self check-in via a key safe, luggage lockers, washing machines and tumble dryers in the building, and an outdoor sauna. What we do not offer: breakfast, a reception or a gym. If you need these services, a hotel will suit you better.

The location is central: Lehel underground station (U4/U5) and the S-Bahn at Isartor are a few minutes’ walk away; Marienplatz is about 12 minutes on foot and the Hofbräuhaus 7 (approximate times). How our building works as a boarding house in Munich for stays of several weeks is explained on the relevant page. We will give you prices, cleaning arrangements and cancellation terms when you enquire.

Our author Daniel Schulz has looked after more than 80,000 guest stays in eight years of running serviced apartments. This experience is the source of this article’s rule of thumb: from three nights or with several travellers, a flat is usually worthwhile; for short stays as a couple, often a hotel.

Conclusion

Hotel or holiday apartment comes down to the length of your trip, the size of your group and how much service you want: for short trips as a couple, a hotel is often the simpler choice; from three nights or with a family, a flat with a kitchen; and if you are looking for central accommodation in Munich for a longer period, the hybrids with hotel service offer a good middle way.

Frequently asked questions: hotel or holiday apartment

Which is better, a hotel or a holiday apartment?

That depends on the length of your trip and the size of your group. For one or two nights as a couple, a hotel is usually more convenient and often no more expensive. From three nights, with a family, in a group or on longer business trips, a holiday apartment with a kitchen makes more sense.

Which is cheaper, a hotel or a holiday apartment?

Per person per night, a holiday apartment is usually cheaper as soon as more than two people travel or you stay several nights. For short stays as a couple, a hotel can be cheaper, because a holiday apartment often adds a final cleaning fee. Always calculate the total price including fees and meals.

What are the disadvantages of a holiday apartment?

Typical disadvantages are no reception, no breakfast, infrequent mid-stay cleaning, sometimes a minimum stay and a final cleaning fee. With private flats, there are also less uniform standards and stricter cancellation terms.

Are there holiday apartments with hotel service?

Yes. Aparthotels, serviced apartments and boarding houses combine a flat with its own kitchen with services such as bed linen, towels, cleaning and fixed check-in arrangements. How much service is included varies from property to property.

Are there holiday apartments with breakfast?

Some holiday apartments and aparthotels offer breakfast for an extra charge, but most do not. Usually you have breakfast in your own kitchen or go to a nearby café.

Where can I find a hotel with a kitchen in Munich?

You will find a hotel with a kitchen in Munich mainly under the terms aparthotel, serviced apartment and boarding house. Check the description to see whether there is a full kitchen with a hob or just a kitchenette with a microwave.

Is a holiday apartment worthwhile for business trips?

From a few nights, often yes: you have a table to work at, a kitchen and more peace than in a hotel room. It is important that the provider issues a proper invoice to your company, which is standard with commercial providers.

When should you book accommodation for Oktoberfest?

As early as possible – many people book a year in advance. During the Wiesn, accommodation prices rise significantly across Munich, for hotels and holiday apartments alike.