Why rent a holiday/vacation home instead of a hotel for your next holiday to Lake Como?

Why rent a holiday/vacation home instead of a hotel for your next holiday to Lake Como?
Given the current economic climate, renting a holiday home for your next vacation could be the answer. You can still get to your perfect destination in Italy, whether that be Lake Como, Rome, the Amalfi coast or Liguria. But instead of forking out for a posh hotel, save up to 50% of your accommodation budget and splash out on a dream vacation home instead.

Self catering vacation rentals are becoming more and more popular for many reasons:

There is such a wide range of accommodation types available – something to suit every pocket and style requirement – minimalist chic, log cabin, mountain chalet, country florals, hi-tech glass and steel, even a boat house!

You have your own privacy, even your own pool, if you want one. You get your home comforts – washer, dryer, fridge, freezer, WIFI, open fires to name but a few. As well as gardens, pools and other luxuries, should you want them.

Cheap holiday vacation rentals also save you a lot of money. You can buy food from the local market - fresh locally produced vegetables, instead of plastic supermarket ones and you can cook up your own delicious meals instead of having to eat the same old buffet every night at the hotel or eat out in expensive tourist-resort restaurants.

And you get to choose the food that you eat, because you are in charge. A take away pizza in Italy costs nothing like the exorbitant charges in the UK. You should pay as little as 4 euro for a pizza margherita.

You can bring less luggage, as you have the facilities to wash and dry your own clothes (if you want to). A great advantage if you have small children or infants and are flying with Ryan Air or Easyjet!

There are no restrictive hotel rules (i.e. not using the pool at 'siesta' time – just when you need it most - in the middle of the day – now that is a daft rule!). Many holiday homes will even let you bring your pets.

Thanks to the internet, there is a vast array of choice – either through rental agents or direct from the owners, through sites such as Lake Como Properties, Holiday Italia, Flipkey (Trip Advisor), Owners Direct , to name just a few. All you have to do is decide where you want to go and what your criteria are – how many bedrooms, private pool, close to village etc.

You can see a host of pictures to help you select the perfect holiday rental property. You can even read reviews from previous holiday makers.

But, with this wealth of information, it is easy to get confused, so follow a few simple tips to make sure you get the most out of these holiday rental web sites..........

Do not pay to join a web site. There are enough free ones. There is no need to pay a fee.

Decide whether you prefer to rent from a private owner or from a property manager or an agency. Dealing direct with the owner can have more risks involved and response times are often longer. Whereas a good property manager makes it his/her business to respond in a timely manner and as they manage more than one property, they can direct you to the ones that best meet your requirements, without the possible bias of an owner with only one property to sell you. Of course he's going to tell you it's just perfect for you.

A long established reputable company is usually the best choice when it comes to finding cheap vacation rentals and don't be afraid to ask how long the company has been doing vacation rental properties in that area. If you are looking at Lake Como for example check out Lake Como Properties and Holiday Italia, who have both been around for about 15 years. When you go directly to individual owners, you never know whether the property really exists and whether the pictures are genuine. A reputed company will verify these for you before they list the rental.

So, don't delay, start looking today. Especially if you want a villa with a private pool or an apartment with a shared pool, as these properties always get booked up first, particularly in areas like Lake Como, where they are few and far between!


If you hate sharing large hotel swimming pool with rowdy holiday makers or hate sun-bed bagging Germans, this could be the holiday for you. But hurry, the best properties get bagged very early!



Photographs courtesy of http://www.lakecomoproperties.com/ -
Panoramic view of Colonno from Bella Vista apartments, Colonno, Lake Como
Internal shots of Villa Lilla, Argegno, Lake Como
Swimming pool at Villa Lilla, Argegno, Lake Como
View from Villa Lilla, Argegno, Lake Como


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