Self catering apartments allow visitors to live like a local

For a holiday vacation in Normandy, France, that will provide unexpected surprises and memorable experience, consider staying at a self catered apartment in this area of Europe.



Self catering apartments can reduce expenses on meals

Self catering apartments are like hotels that allow for a long term stay. Because the duration of the stay is longer, these apartments come with appliances, allowing boarders to buy and prepare their own food, allowing for an intimate home-away-from-home experience. At the same time, these self catering apartments, as they are located in the region of Normandy, France, an area of Europe that is rich in history and natural beauty and charm, allow the vacation traveler the experience of living in an building that may be centuries old, seeing up close the architecture of a castle or a chateau.



Time effeciency

Because self catering apartments have full kitchens, allowing for meals to be cooked on the premises, travelers do not have to spent their time making dinner reservations or spending exhorbitant sums of money for food they cannot pronounce. This saves them time, which they can use to explore an area, visiting local places like churches and coffeehouses, and purchasing their food at an open air market. In short, self catering apartments allow holiday vacation travelers the opportunity to live like a local, even if they do not know the language.



Architecture that surpasses even small luxury hotels

Most self catering apartments, especially those in the area of Normandy, France in Europe, are comprised of old stone buildings, chateaus, or even castles, some of which were built many centuries ago. For instance, a well known, highly rated chateau in Picauville, France (Normandy, France), the Chateau d' Isle Marie, has a guest chateau on the premises, a two story stone building, built centuries ago, that is comprised of 4 self catering apartments.



Most self catering apartments offer architecture that is rare to even small luxury hotels--items such as high ceilings with ancient wooden beams crisscrossing them for support, old stone fireplaces, large windows with glass that once reflected the wistful glance of someone who had once occupied the room hundreds of years earlier.



Drawbacks of self catering apartments

Some of the drawbacks of self catering apartments are the following. They are, usually, further away from the town or village in which a grocery store is located, meaning that a car is necessary, or calling a cab which can raise the daily expenditures allowed for or planned for the European vacation. Also, self catering apartments, because they include kitchen appliances, might mean more work for couples or families, since they may feel obligated to prepare food, although that is not necessary. One more thing to keep in mind with self catering apartments is the higher price, which may be a detriment for travelers who want to save money.



Questions to ask before booking a self catering apartment

Some questions to ask before booking a self catering apartment include the following.

1. Does the apartment come with dishes, knives, napkins, dishwashing detergent, sponges?

2. Is there an oven, a fridge, a microwave, a toaster, a coffeemaker?

3. How big is the fridge? Is it a mini? Often, rooms in Europe are small, thus the smaller appliances.

4. Does all of the kitchen equipment work?

5. Should you bring adapters for the plugs? (European outlets are different than American ones.) Click here to order a european outlet adapter and a new window will open.

6. Are the staff polite when answering your questions, even before booking the apartment? If they are polite before booking the apartment, chances are that they will be polite after the booking.

7. Research the internet for testimonials from others who have stayed at the apartments.



A recommended self catering apartment

One of the best self catering apartments available to stay at, for a short time or a longer duration, are the guest apartments at the chateau d' Isle Marie, a

highly rated luxury bed and breakfast hotel on 100 acres, with a guest house nearby. Click here to visit their website where you can book a reservation online.