Why Serviced Apartments Beat Hotels for Festival Season

festival season in Cheltenham is unlike anywhere else in England. From the races to the Science and Music Festivals, the town fills up, prices rise, and the question of where to stay becomes the difference between a trip you remember for the right reasons and one you’d rather forget.

Here’s an honest answer to why our guests consistently choose serviced apartments over hotels — and why, once they’ve tried it, most don’t go back.

Space That Hotels Simply Can’t Match

A hotel room, even a good one, gives you a bed, a bathroom, and a small desk. For a single night that’s fine. For a long weekend at the races or a fortnight at the Music Festival, it starts to feel constraining.

A serviced apartment gives you a full living space — a proper kitchen, a separate sitting room, bedrooms with actual wardrobes, and a bathroom that isn’t shared with the corridor. If you’re travelling with friends or family, you can actually spend time together rather than perching on the end of a bed. If you’re travelling for work, you have a desk, a fast connection, and a kitchen for proper meals rather than hotel breakfasts at inflated prices.

A Kitchen Changes Everything

This might sound mundane, but it isn’t. Having a proper kitchen during festival season means:

• Breakfast when you want it, how you want it — not at 8am in a crowded dining room
• Pre-race or pre-concert suppers from the excellent local delis, markets, and Whole Foods on the High Street
• A glass of wine in your sitting room rather than hotel bar prices for everything you drink
• The ability to cater for dietary requirements without relying on restaurant menus

Our welcome hamper — included with every stay — is stocked with local produce, coffee, and treats that make that first evening feel genuinely celebratory rather than transactional.

Value That Hotels Can’t Match at Peak Season

During Gold Cup week, the Cheltenham Music Festival, or a packed summer events calendar, hotel prices in town rise sharply. A standard double in a decent hotel can reach several hundred pounds per night.

A serviced apartment, priced per property rather than per head, becomes considerably more cost-effective for groups. Two couples sharing a two-bedroom apartment typically spend far less per person than four individuals booking hotel rooms — and get dramatically more space and privacy in return.

The Local Feel That Hotels Can’t Provide

Our apartments are in Cheltenham’s finest residential streets — Montpellier, Lansdown, Pittville, and the town centre. You’re not in a hotel corridor: you’re in the kind of property that Cheltenham residents actually live in. The Regency architecture, the tree-lined avenues, the morning walk to a real cafe rather than a hotel dining room — these things matter for how a trip feels.

Our guest app gives you our team’s insider knowledge of the town: the best breakfast spots, the restaurants worth booking, the walks, the hidden gems. The kind of recommendations you’d get from a well-connected local friend.

Housekeeping Included

We offer weekly housekeeping as standard — so for longer stays, you have the comfort and space of a home with the service of a hotel. Fresh linen, towels, and a properly cleaned apartment, without the daily intrusion of housekeeping knocking at 9am.

Book Direct for the Best Rate

We don’t charge platform fees and we don’t add booking surcharges. Our best rate is always available directly — online or by phone. For festival season, we’d recommend booking as early as possible: our most popular properties go months in advance.

Browse our apartments and check availability — or call us on 01242 371818. We’re always happy to help find the right property for your stay.

Luxury Apartments is Cheltenham’s leading provider of serviced apartment accommodation. Our handpicked apartments are available for short breaks, extended stays, corporate travel, and relocation. View all apartments.

See for yourself why guests choose us. Browse our serviced apartments in Cheltenham — available for short stays, corporate bookings, and everything in between.