When my house was sold and I ready to move on to the next phase of my career, I didn't expect it to be such a long stretch. Until I knew where I would be, I opted for an extended stay hotel.
I wasn't willing to commit to a lease, knowing that once I was contracted for this next work, I would be out of state.
I learned a lot about living in an extended stay over the past two years. There are some pro's and some con's.
1. Consider seasonal changes in pricing. I'm in the Phoenix area and the price for hotels from November to April is more than double the usual.
2. See if the hotel has a policy that the longer you stay, the more they give you reductions in pricing. I know Extended Stay America does this and some have a "club" you join for free that racks up your points.
3. Be aware that many sites make you pay for laundry anywhere from 2-4 bucks for wash and 2-4 bucks for drying. One location (InTown Suites) makes you wash your own towels and they don't even give you hand towels!
4. These locations know that with people residing in them and cooking, there can be pest problems. It is likely that once a month you have to follow exact instructions for piling your belongings onto the bed and into the tub and covering with a plastic sheet. Anything left out and about and instructions not heeded, you get fined (InTown Suites).
5. Sofas and office chairs in the rooms are often uncomfortable, so consider getting a comfy foldable chair and using it. You might also want to get extra pillows or a mattress topper pad.
6. Luxury locations like Drury Inn and Staybridge offer hot breakfasts and happy hours (you pay for that in the room fee) Places like Extended Stay America claim a "healthy" breakfast which is coffee, packets of oatmeal, muffins, granola bars, boiled eggs, and maybe some tangerines. It's not even worth getting up early for and so I was paying for a year for items I didn't even utilize.
7. If you cook in your room, some locations like Extended Stay America offer you plates, pans, pots, and utensils. Be ready, as it's just a flat top and no oven. You can get a coffee maker (cheap) or a toaster from them. I highly recommend a crockpot. It is your saving grace!
8. As time went on, I put a couple plants in the window to feel like home, and at Christmas time, I opened up my storage unit and brought in a tiny tree and ornaments. There is no reason to feel you aren't at home.
9. Periodically, you will get notices they are turning off the water to work on it or the alarms in the entire place go off when someone cooks bacon without a fan.
10. The more budget-friendly locations have no outdoor seating or they may have chairs just outside the building that the smokers use.
11. Housekeeping arrives once a week, but if you turn them away more than twice, you get fined (InTown Suites).
12. At any time, they can knock on the door and want to come in the room and do a "safety check" of the alarm system and clean the air filters on the air conditioner.
Pro's
Furnished, wifi, cable, hot water galore, cooking area.
Con's
Expensive. In the wintertime at Extended Stay America, I was paying 3600 a month. Even the cheapest place (InTown Suites) It was 2200 a month.
I'd say, if you're on a business trip fr an extended time, moving from one location to another, just got separated, these locations are swell. Beware that the monthly rate can change depending on seasonal demand.
You get what you pay for. The InTown Suites was such a horrifying experience, that I had to get the manager fired for harassing the tenants and making bogus charges. They don't wash your towels, but expect you to wash them (2 dollars a load for washer and 2 dollars a load for dryer). They randomly come beating on the door to enter whether you like it or not. It was a traumatizing experience, but during the winter season in Phoenix, it was the most affordable (still about 2200 a month) to stay there.
Nomadic life sucks. It's true. The hardest one is having no real address.
You can have your mail sent to that address and room and it is in an envelope with your room number at the desk. You can have packages mailed to you there too. I'd suggest if you have a long-term stay you consider a p.o. box, a virtual mailbox, or a local friend or family member to use their address.
The East Valley in the Greater Phoenix Area, I'd say if you had about 6k or so a month to pay, use Drury Inn or Staybridge and enjoy all the perks. Between breakfast and happy hour, you're good to go!
If you have to budget, you can try Casablanca Inn and Suites, but honestly during that stay, the shower filled with sewage twice. Finally, they gave me another room without a kitchen and did not offer an apology, a reduction, or even help me move my stuff. The owners are Indian and only speak their language in front of you, are not polite, and generally have no idea what they are doing. The facility has locked gates so deliveries are awkward. It is on a noisy busy street.
The very worst on the list is InTown Suites. I don't even know where to begin, but it is like being in a prison facility cell, a dark room, uncomfortable furnishings, noise, and intrusions as if they suspect you're a human smuggler. After I got the manager fired, the staff thanked me profusely. The new manager there is a real human being, polite, friendly, and upbeat, but the general situation of pricing versus quality is crap. The pool gates were locked most of the time and it was the only location you could sit outdoors. The only saving grace was the security guy - he was a real good human being. The rooms open to the outdoors so it's noisy. I went into a bit of a depression here, with no comfortable place to sit and do my work (virtually) and no place to sit outside. It often smelled like pot - not supposed to smoke it there, but they blantantly smelled up the place instead of going to the parking lot. The rooms have a small window but it opens to an overhang and people walk by. You find that you need the lights on in the daytime and it gets depressing as hell. They also have damper problems on the fridges so the freezer ices up and the fridge gets hot. They know this, but they unplug and take away the fridge to let it thaw while giving you one that was thawed out. Weeks later, same issue. You lose groceries, but no one asks to replace them.
I hope I never ever have to do this option again. Had I known things would take this long for me to be contracted to my job, I would have gotten an apartment, but then I would be stucking having to furnish it and then move my belongings. I don't think it was worth 2-3 times what you pay for an apartment to stay in a hotel, but for a few weeks to a couple months, it's an option.
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