When your home becomes uninhabitable following a flood, fire, water leak or another insured event, finding somewhere else to stay is often one of the first priorities.
For a few nights, the obvious solution may be a hotel.
But what happens when those few nights turn into four weeks, three months or even longer?
For longer insurance stays, a serviced apartment can provide a very different experience from living in a hotel, particularly for families or anyone trying to maintain a normal day-to-day routine while their home is repaired.
Hotels work well for short stays
Hotels are designed to make short visits easy.
You arrive, check in and everything is ready.
If you suddenly have to leave your home following an emergency, a hotel can therefore be extremely useful as an immediate solution.
The difficulty comes when temporary accommodation stops being temporary in the everyday sense of the word.
A hotel stay that feels perfectly comfortable for three nights may feel considerably less practical after three months.
The kitchen makes a bigger difference than you might expect
One of the biggest advantages of a serviced apartment is having your own kitchen.
Eating in restaurants or ordering takeaway food for a few days can be convenient. Doing it every day for several weeks is another matter entirely.
A fully equipped kitchen allows you to:
- Cook normal family meals
- Prepare breakfast before work or school
- Store groceries
- Cater for children’s food preferences
- Manage dietary requirements
- Eat when you want rather than according to hotel restaurant hours
When you are already dealing with an insurance claim and repairs to your home, retaining simple parts of your normal routine can be surprisingly important.
More space for everyday living
The difference between staying somewhere and living somewhere becomes increasingly noticeable during a long insurance stay.
A family sharing one or two hotel rooms may have nowhere except a bedroom to relax.
A two-bedroom serviced apartment gives you separate spaces for different parts of the day.
Children can go to bed while adults remain in the living room. Someone working remotely can use the dining area while another member of the family watches television. You can have breakfast without sitting on the edge of a hotel bed.
That additional space becomes particularly valuable when the accommodation is being used for several months.
Laundry facilities
Laundry is another relatively minor consideration on a weekend away that becomes essential during a long-term stay.
Having access to a washing machine and other laundry facilities means you can manage clothes, school uniforms, workwear, towels and everyday washing exactly as you would at home.
It removes another piece of friction from what can already be a difficult period.
Working from temporary accommodation
Remote and hybrid working means that temporary accommodation increasingly needs to function as a workplace as well as somewhere to live.
Reliable high-speed Wi-Fi and sufficient space to use a laptop comfortably can therefore be important considerations.
At St Andrews Apartments, for example, our accommodation includes fast Wi-Fi and separate living and dining space, making the apartments practical for guests who need to continue working during an extended stay.
Parking and everyday travel
If you normally rely on a car, check parking arrangements before accepting long-term temporary accommodation.
Hotel parking can sometimes involve daily charges or shared public car parks.
For longer insurance stays, having an allocated parking space close to the accommodation can make day-to-day life considerably easier.
Location also matters.
If possible, you may want to remain within convenient reach of your home, workplace, schools and existing local commitments.
For people requiring temporary accommodation following an insurance claim in Maidstone, staying locally can reduce the amount of additional disruption caused by the move.
Privacy
Serviced apartments also provide a different level of independence.
Rather than repeatedly passing through hotel receptions, restaurants and communal corridors, guests have their own self-contained accommodation.
For someone effectively replacing their home for several months, that privacy can make the experience feel considerably more normal.
What if the repairs take longer than expected?
This is an important question to ask when choosing insurance accommodation.
Building projects do not always run precisely to schedule.
Drying work may take longer than anticipated. Additional damage may be discovered. Contractors may need to return. Materials can be delayed.
If you initially book accommodation for eight weeks but eventually need sixteen, moving again midway through the claim creates another layer of disruption.
Where availability permits, accommodation that can be extended beyond the initial booking period can therefore be particularly useful.
When does a serviced apartment make most sense?
There is no universal answer, but serviced accommodation tends to become increasingly attractive when:
- The stay is expected to last several weeks or months
- More than one person needs accommodation
- Children are involved
- You want to prepare your own meals
- You need laundry facilities
- Someone needs to work from the accommodation
- Parking is important
- You want separate bedrooms and living space
- You want accommodation that feels more like a home
Hotels still have an important role, particularly during the first few days after an emergency.
For longer stays, however, the priorities tend to change from simply having somewhere to sleep to having somewhere practical to live.
Serviced apartments for insurance stays in Maidstone
St Andrews Apartments provides furnished two-bedroom serviced apartments suitable for longer insurance stays in Maidstone.
Our apartments include fully equipped kitchens, washing facilities, separate living areas, fast Wi-Fi, two bathrooms and allocated parking.
We can accommodate stays of several weeks or months and welcome enquiries directly from guests as well as insurers, loss adjusters and relocation providers.
If you are currently arranging alternative accommodation following damage to your home, visit our insurance accommodation Maidstone page for further information or contact us directly to discuss availability.
The alternative accommodation provided under an insurance claim depends upon the circumstances and terms of the individual policy. Check the position with your insurer or claims representative before making a booking.
Need Insurance Accommodation in Maidstone?
Our fully furnished two-bedroom apartments are available for stays of several weeks or months while your home is being repaired.