My favorite difference between a hotel/resort and a vacation rental? A kitchen. I like being in control of my meals (especially with a picky young family), and sitting down in the privacy of your own space for a meal adds to the vacation experience. There are also greater and more private gathering spaces. In my first vacation rental, my husband and I put the kids to bed and curled up with a book together in front of the fireplace while the season's first snowflakes covered the Colorado slopes just outside the door. It was serene. And not possible in most hotel rooms.

(editiert)