When was the last time you made proper use of a hotel concierge? Or ordered a meal from room service? Or needed a porter to help you wheel your luggage across the lobby?

If city hotels sometimes seem overstaffed and overpriced, it may be time to check out for good and rent an apartment instead. Not only will you save money, you’ll also connect with your destination in new and interesting ways – living in a real neighbourhood, shopping at food markets and mingling with the locals.

Until recently, city-apartment rentals were aimed squarely at business travellers and available only on long lets.

Now, the industry is turning towards leisure travellers and, in particular, families looking for the kind of freedom and space not offered at most hotels.

With rental periods getting shorter – a minimum of two or three nights is typical – it’s easier than ever to escape the grip of the hotel chains. You’ll find apartments to rent in most popular European cities – from an artist’s garret in Paris to a four-bedroom palazzo on the Grand Canal in Venice. Outside Europe, the main destination is America – particularly New York – but there are increasing numbers of properties popping up in Australia, South Africa, South America and Dubai.

There are two broad types of rental apartment. The first is a private, furnished home. This could be a pied-à-terre, or the owner’s main residence (they might be travelling or working abroad), and is likely to be in a residential area and decorated in an individual style. The second is a condominium or serviced apartment. This could be a timeshare, or one of several similar units owned by a rental company. Typically, it will be furnished and maintained to a high standard, without the personal clutter – or, indeed, the character – of a private home.

But where to find the best apartment? Your first instinct might be to run to Google. Don’t: you’re likely to spend hours running around in virtual circles, unsure whether you’re being ripped off. Instead, we’ve done the hard work and outlined the best ways to search out the perfect pad.

THE SPECIALISTS

The least risky way to find an apartment – and first choice if you’re technophobic – is through a specialist tour operator. Interhome (020 8891 1294, www.interhome.co.uk ) is one of the best. It’s been around for more than 40 years, deals only with private homes and gives each an inspection and star rating.

Although it has a website with live booking, Interhome also publishes brochures. Its Cities brochure features more than 35 destinations, mostly in Europe, including Florence, where it has a spacious three-bedroom apartment in the centre that sleeps six and costs £1,177 a week, or £528 for three nights.

For a more quirky and stylish selection, try i-escape.com . It also inspects all its properties, which include a spacious boathouse in Amsterdam, a loft in the Marais district of Paris and a two-bedroom penthouse in Ipanema. In the trendy El Born district of Barcelona, it has a modern studio that sleeps four from £78 a night.

Some UK operators focus on single destinations. Venetian Apartments (020 8878 1130, www.venice-rentals.com ) has more than 100 properties in Venice and Giudecca, from studios to palatial family homes, many available for short lets. A one-bedroom apartment with canal views in Dorsodoro (ref v20) costs £770 per week.

Other operators include America As You Like It (020 8742 8299, www.americaasyoulikeit.com ), for Chicago, New York, Boston and Washington, DC; Travelbag (0870 814 6544, www.travelbag.co.uk ), for New York, Sydney, Cape Town and Dubai; and Trailfinders (0845 050 5871, www.trailfinders.com ), for New York, Sydney and Auckland. Fleewinter (020 7112 0019, www.fleewinter.co.uk ) has a large selection of houses and flats in Cape Town.

PROPERTY-LISTINGS WEBSITES

At least half a dozen websites now offer self-catering accommodation abroad, some with a good selection in cities. Holiday-Rentals.co.uk, which has been in business for more than a decade, lists more than 29,000 properties, of which about 1,600 are in city centres.

The key difference with sites like this is that you are not dealing with an agency but with individual owners. There is an element of risk to this, but there are advantages. Prices tend to be lower and it’s often possible to question the owner in detail by e-mail or phone, allowing you to find out about the neighbours, surrounding area, transport and so on.

Holiday-Rentals.co.uk is easy to use and packed with photos, detailed descriptions, prices and availability charts. Although it doesn’t inspect properties, it has a “three strikes and you’re out” policy – after a third complaint, a property is deleted from the site. We liked the look of a two-bedroom apartment in Rome (ref 62802), located on a quiet road near the Colosseum. It costs from £85 per night for a family of four, with a two-night minimum stay.

Based in France, Homelidays.com, based in France, claims to have more than 34,000 properties in 95 countries. Although written in broken English, the site is well designed and allows you to view testimonials from previous renters. In Prague, it has a two-bedroom apartment in a historic building in Mala Strana (ref 46647) from £374 per week.

Similar sites worth a look include Ownersdirect.co.uk, Holidaylettings.co.uk and Holidaylets.net. Despite its name, Apartmentsabroad.co.uk deals mainly with hotels where cities are concerned. It is a reputable company, though, and does offer apartments in resort areas.

LOCAL AGENCIES

For a wider selection of properties, it’s worth trying an agency based in your chosen destination. By paying in local currency, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the strong pound, particularly in America.

New York Habitat (00 1 212 255 8018, www.nyhabitat.com) represents 1,800 apartments in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens available for lets from three nights. A SoHo duplex that sleeps six in a brownstone off Hudson Street (ref 11836) costs £155 per night. In Boston, try Bed & Breakfast Associates Bay Colony (00 1 781 449 5302, www.bnbboston.com). For destinations across America, see HomeAway.com or VRBO.com.

One of Australia’s biggest agencies, Ozstays.com , has six years’ experience and 10,000 properties. Here, you deal direct with owners, and prices can be keen. In Sydney, a large three-bedroom apartment above Darling Harbour (ref 13406) costs £160 per night (minimum five-night stay). Also try Rent-a-home.com.au and, in Melbourne, Shortstayapartments.com .

CLASSIFIED ADS

One tried-and-tested way to find a rental property is through the classified ads of a newspaper. The best place to look, of course, is The Sunday Times Travel section; visit timesonline.holiday-rentals.co.uk/index.cfm .

You’ll also find ads at sites such as Craigslist (www.craigslist.org ), which began life as a collection of adverts for community events in San Francisco and has since grown to become a global marketplace. On it you’ll find hundreds of ads for apartments, some from private individuals, others from landlords and agencies – but unlike rental-listings websites, the directories are not searchable. We found a modern apartment sleeping four on Ocean Drive, Miami, for £104 per night, with a five-night minimum stay.

Many people report happy experiences using Craigslist, but there are risks involved, some of which are outlined on the site itself (www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html).

SERVICED APARTMENTS

If you want the guarantee of a hotel-spec pad close to the city centre, and you’re happy to pay for the privilege, you’ll find plenty of companies that will rent you a serviced apartment. Many have appeared in London in recent years, some aimed at families.

Citadines (0800 376 3898, www.citadines.com) features 47 cities across Europe, including London, where an apartment sleeping four on Northumberland Avenue costs from £205 per night. Studios in Paris start at £75 per night.

The Serviced Apartment Company (0845 122 0405, www.sacoapartments.co.uk) promises central locations, plus modern kitchens, DVD players and broadband internet. In the Jordaan district of Amsterdam, it has two-bedroom apartments in a 17th-century building for £188 a night. Also try The Apartment Service (020 8944 1444, www.apartmentservice.com), which has more than 700 locations worldwide.

Money matters

IF YOU’RE renting from an individual owner, you don’t have any of the usual security that goes with booking through a tour operator, so exercise caution.

In most cases, you’ll be asked to pay an initial deposit of 10%-20%, then the balance about eight weeks before arrival. Credit card is the best way to pay – if you are ripped off, you can go back to the card issuer to request a refund – but most private individuals won’t be able to take them: common alternatives include the online payment system PayPal, electronic bank transfer, personal cheque and banker’s draft. Avoid wire transfers – these don’t allow you to trace where your money has gone. If an owner insists on a wire transfer, it may be wise to pull out of the deal.

If you’re dealing with a tour operator or agent rather than the owner of the property, check its credentials. If it’s UK-based, it should be bonded with an organisation such as Abta. Always pay by credit card.

However you book, you are likely to have to pay a deposit against any damage, which should be returned to you on departure.

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