April’s Top 50 Destinations list was released on Friday. It is dominated by beach resorts, but still includes TEN HouseTrip cities:

• London (7)
• New York (9)
• Amsterdam (10)
• Barcelona (12)
• Paris (17)
• Rome (21)
• Edinburgh (24)
• Prague (28)
• Berlin (29)
• Lisbon (39)

Expect to see more and more HouseTrip cities appearing in this list, as HouseTrip continues to add to our top destinations

View of the old city and the castle from Charles' bridge

A few words about Prague: undoubtedly one of Europe’s treasure, Prague has many wonderful highlights that one must see at least once in his lifetime. The castle is the city’s most impressive feature, certainly because one can see it from almost everywhere in the city: Franz Kafka’s famous book “The Castle” is for instance known to be inspired by the constant presence of Prague’s castle. Another fantastic – and fantastic is the word – sight of Prague is its old Jewish cemetery: when strolling around it, the chaotic entanglement of the tombstones always causes some sort of lugubrious feeling to the visitors. The alchemists’ street, right below the castle, is also a must-see: a lot of travelers still wonder if one alchemist ever found the “magnus opus” which supposedly grants immortality to its inventor as well as the ability to transform lead into gold…

This week, 2 hosts replied to the question “why would a guest stay in a rental rather than a hotel in Prague?”. Below are their answer.

Linda from Prestige Apartments

View on Prague's roofs from one of Linda's apartments

Linda is unequivocal about the fact that apartments are the way to stay in Prague: “I would definitely recommend guests to stay in an apartment rather than a hotel!”. Her apartments, located right in the city center – some only steps away from the castle – are decorated in a modern Prague style with a wooden floor. Her arguments – shared by HouseTrip – for staying in a short-term rental rather than a hotel are that the latter cannot provide the local lodging experience rentals have: the apartments’ “home-like atmosphere offers the opportunity to experience Prague as a local”. She goes further by advancing that rentals are better value for money than a hotel; especially for couples and groups. Lastly, and that is certainly a strong point for travelers, she remarks that her guests get unlimited assistance from her – a native Czech – regarding what they should visit and where they should go. If one is to stay at a rental in Prague, one is to make the most out of his stay but avoiding “tourists’ traps” – guided by well-intentioned locals – and by experiencing the local life…as a local!

Francesco from Atlante Residence

The corridor of your Atlante Residence flat

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Francesco emphasis the fact that a lot of people – falsely – believe that one can only get great service in hotels. He proudly responds by claiming that his goal is to “fulfil all the needs of the most demanding customer”. He goes on saying that he provides the same assistance one can find in good hotels but in a much more friendly – almost family-like – atmosphere. From his answer, and HouseTrip is in total agreement with him, he seems not too understand why would someone stay at a hotel: in addition to services, in our apartments you get “much more space and the possibility to cook” he says. He continues by mentioning that short-term rentals offer much more privacy than hotels: no cleaning lady waking you up at 7 in the morning! Important for Francesco as well is the degree of personalization he provides: he knows his customers by name, not by their room number like in hotels!

To sum up, to the persons who know and have experienced short-term rentals, it does not make sense to even consider hotels when traveling! You get personalized service, a real home, more amenities, a real local experience at much better prices! If one of you readers ever stays at Linda’s or Francesco’s flats, you will truly understand what we mean!