I rented an apartment on VRBO as well as stayed in a couple of Marriott hotels in the UK late last year and I definitely preferred the former for several reasons:
- The apartment was in Vauxhall, which is much closer to the tourist stuff in Central London than the Marriott property by LCY that I stayed at the couple of days before leaving the UK.
- The apartment ended up working out to be not much more than the London Marriott property, making it a pretty good value.
- The "living like a local" experience, which I didn't realize I was that much into. (Though thinking about it more, I guess it's a natural extension to my usual "no chain restaurant" rule.)
The apartment was such a nice experience that it actually makes me wonder if I should try for re-upping Marriott status this year. Of course, renting an apartment isn't ideal for every trip; hotels still have their uses for shorter trips. Not to mention that the Airbnb/VRBO route has pitfalls of its own.