When travelling around Europe you need to realize that, unlike the US mainland, from north to south, you are not travelling through a series of contiguous states.  In Europe, each state-sized country is – well, what it says – a country.  Each country has its own government, its own legislation, its own borders and cultures and, until recently, its own individual currency. The currency is now Euros throughout Europe and the Republic of Ireland and is accepted as a dual currency on the Isle of Man.  In the United Kingdom, however, Euros need to be exchanged for pounds sterling which, at the present time, do not have a particularly good exchange rate.

In every country throughout Europe, however, you can live the high life or you can travel around inconspicuously, living like the local people do and spending far less money with little compromise to lowering standards.  Naturally, you can stay in hotels which could work out expensive, or you can stay in youth hostels with varying degrees of comfort, although long-term, this is not a particularly cost-effective option either.  However, you can also consider renting apartments while travelling.  This is much more feasible and is an option many European families consider themselves when they are travelling.  Europeans call this kind of holiday ‘self-catering’ for obvious reasons.

Many websites are devoted to real estate rentals.  If you are in Holland [the Netherlands] try the website Kamermet.nl, for France the website devoted to rental options is PAP.fr, in Italy there is VivaStreet.it. These are just the tip of the iceberg.  There are many more.  It would help, however, to understand the language so that you can read the advertisements on those websites.  As an example, in most European countries, you can expect to pay around Euros 350 per week although, in some major cities like Madrid, the rents can be considerably more.

One excellent way of finding short-term rental apartments to let on a weekly or monthly basis is to look in the English language newspapers such as The Costa Times which is published online by British ex-pats living in Spain.  Similar English language newspapers in other countries are also available online and all of them feature a classifieds’ section with apartments to let [usually called flats to let]. 

These are owned by Brits returning to the UK for a few months or who own them as holiday homes and want to rent them out when they return home in order to make a bit of money to help with maintenance costs.  British holiday homes are available throughout the European continent, as are holiday homes owned by Scandinavians and Spanish, Italian and French holiday homes owned by professional people who usually live in Madrid, Rome and Paris respectively.

The beauty of renting holiday homes is that they are all furnished, even down to the pots and pans, refrigerator, cooker and all the electrical appliances.  All you really need to do to make yourself comfortable is purchase your food, buy a bottle of wine or two, pay your rent [usually with a deposit equaling one month’s rent which is returnable at the end of your tenure] and then settle down to enjoy the country you are now a temporary citizen of and get to know the culture and meet your neighbors.

     Odessa: the scene of ‘Battleship Potemkin’, the Vorontsov Palace, shopping in the Deribasovskaya or exploring the sandstone catacombs and looking out over the beauty of the Black Sea.  Odessa presents many faces to the world and, for a short break, many of the city’s hotels are delightful, from the large 4-star with nightclub, casino, swimming pool and bar to the cheaper end of the market.  Some are located near to the Opera and Ballet Theatre and the scene of the Potemkin uprising of 1905, which was later portrayed in Sergei Eisenstein’s film, of the same name, made in 1925.

The area of Sadovaya Street is within close walking distance of the shopping district of Deribasovskaya, shaded by the lovely linden trees in summer, found within the centre of Odessa.  Fully serviced, furnished apartment complexes are available for rental, each having full air-conditioning, Jacuzzi hot tubs and all the modern amenities, including a fully stocked kitchen.  All Odessa apartments are available in different sizes, from single rooms to as many as three bedrooms, providing ample room for you to work and entertain.

    If you are looking for history, there is the elegance of Hotel Londonskaya which was built in 1827, although it now features air-conditioning, satellite TV, integral safe in all the 53 rooms and facilities for making tea and coffee in each room.  In the summer you can eat breakfast on the courtyard and, in the evenings an elaborate restaurant and casino are available.  Similar features are provided in the Hotel Mozart’s bedrooms, all 40 displaying chic grandeur.  Additional features offered are a fully appointed health club, together with sauna and swimming pool.

   If you want to be closer to the coast, the modern Grand Pettine overlooks the Black Sea, on the Odessa Rivera, in Bolshoy Fontan. It offers a quieter location than its city centre counterparts.  Each of the 90 air-conditioned bedrooms feature satellite TV and Internet access, together with telephone facilities, a safe and a mini bar.  A single room classed as ‘business style’ measures just 16sq.m while a ‘superior standard’ which has two beds, measures a mere 20sq.m.  To obtain a similar amount of space considered as standard in an apartment, you would have to book into the top range of the spectrum and reserve a ‘presidential suite’, a condo consisting of two reception rooms, two bedrooms, three bathrooms with WC and two furnished balconies, all covering an area of 150sq.m.

Our Paradis apartments on Sadovaya street have been designed for complete independence and provide the traveller with a sense of safety in a strange city.  Enter your apartment, lock the door and you will instantly feel at home.  Each apartment is completely open-plan, designed in an elegant but contemporary fashion and completely renovated in 2008.  The kitchens are fully equipped and each apartment has the benefit of a hot tub for additional comfort and relaxation.   Each apartment is provided with hot and cold running water, high-speed Internet access, and local telephone service.

While each of the hotels offer sumptuous dining experiences, indoor swimming pools, health facilities, bars and other communal comforts, these are all still available for non-residents and, to obtain the best of both worlds you can take out a rental on a short term apartment and still have full access to all the communal facilities available at any one of the most opulent hotels, while knowing you are not emptying your company’s financial coffers!