Rental housing in Alanya: where to live, if not in apartments

I was repeatedly contacted in various social networks on the topic of apartments in Alanya. Although our first two-month experience was not the most successful: yes, we managed to find the apartments, and it was very nice to live in them, but the total living expenses, together with electricity and water, amounted to $ 500 per month, i.e. half of all expenses. And it’s not so cheap. Of course, the following factors played a role here: it was quite a tourist season (May-June), these were apartments, short-term (and up to a year this is the most short-term) rent, which always flies in a pretty penny. In addition, we rashly spent a lot of electricity on constant heating of the water, although the boiler could and should be turned on an hour before washing, and that’s all.

But let's look at other accommodation options for those who are not so fundamentally living in Alanya in apartments, on the most beautiful beach or in the season.

The best time to visit Alanya (unless, of course, you are a fan of tourist hordes and heat) is mid and late autumn. The weather is still warm in summer, but there are no tourists anymore and prices are falling. We arrived here for two months, that is, from the end of October until the end of December, and it seems that we did not fail. At night, of course, it’s already cool, and it’s cold to swim, but it makes no difference to us. There are warm blankets, and we are not bathers. In the afternoon, it’s even hot and you can walk in shorts and a T-shirt, while in Moscow everyone is wrapped in down jackets.

As for accommodation, this time we decided to test the apart-hotel lifestyle and settled for two months in one pretty decent apart-hotel. Not on Cleopatra beach, but generally on the other side of the mountain on which the fortress is. When booking you need to be extremely careful. Prices start at $ 250 per month for two. Only somewhere in the money does not include the use of air conditioning, somewhere the laundry will be paid, but somewhere you generally find yourself outside the city. Of course, most of the apartment hotels in the lower price category are quite old and ushatannye. But with luck, you can find very decent options.

We were lucky. For $ 400 a little per month, we rented a beautiful room in a new apart-hotel. By the way, to remind why only apart-hotels and not hotels? Because hotels usually have tiny rooms and no cooking facilities. Apart hotels, in fact, provide you with the same apartments, although you do not pay for electricity and water, but also get free cleaning and a change of linen. I didn’t take photos from the hotel’s website or take my photos right after cleaning, because I want to show the already lived-in version of how it looks in everyday life, and not in sleek pictures.

In a separate room there is a bedroom with access to the balcony. I was lucky with the bed - the mattress is quite hard, but in old hotels it will most likely be pretty pushed. Once every three days, aunts come in to clean their clothes. True, we usually start them once a week, because we do not have time to make enough mess in three days. The cleaning, which is included in the price, is wonderful!

The bathroom is combined, as always. There is a shower cabin, a toilet with a bidet and a sink. Towels are changed every three days, and we ourselves do not need to wash them. As for things, then everything is thought out: we were given a laundry basket and a huge dryer, which now stands on the balcony. There are washing machines on the ground floor, and all you have to do is buy some powder. And that’s all (except powder) for free.

The apartment has a balcony, and it is truly huge. There is a table where you can dine. But with a view it’s not very - the sea can be seen only if you look outside, and only the mountains are visible (on the right, they did not fall into the frame) and the houses are opposite. For Alanya, this is a much more common species than the sea or anything else. Soundproofing is a disaster, and in low-cost buildings you can hear everything that happens on the street and in the common corridor. Therefore, it is important to choose a hotel in a quiet side street, and not on Ataturk Boulevard, for example. In this regard, we are still good.

In the living room, combined with the kitchen, there is a sofa, a table, a wardrobe and a TV (they did not fit into the frame). There are a lot of places. True, there are stone tiles on the floor (as almost everywhere), and therefore in the cool season it is best to stock up with slippers or woolen socks.

So, apart-hotels: cleaning is included (not everywhere), no need to pay for electricity (also not everywhere, but for the most part). Apartments: more amenities, but more hemorrhoids: paying bills, talking with an agent, security deposit and all other amenities. Personally, I’m more likely to live in an apart-hotel, albeit without an oven. Of course, this is of fundamental importance only for those who have arrived for a long time. You can relax for a week anywhere, although at the hotel.