Live in Hotel Temporary - Have You Done It?

Sounds great to me! My husband and I just talked about it and we would totally do it. No sheets or towels to wash...

A pool, workout center, and other perks...

Go for it!

When we relocated, we were in a hotel for about 3 months - extended stay hotel. Did the room cleaning thing weekly. It was a 1 bedroom with a pullout couch. It was quite nice. Pretty much like living in an apartment, except someone else cleaned for you :)

We lived in a Hotel for about 4 months while our house was being built and it is one of the happiest memories of my life as a kid... I was about 11 and my sister was 4. We had a little kitchenette and a pool. I think my parents budgeted dinner out into their grocery budget and we ate breakfast and lunch in our hotel.
Of course I was the kid so I am not looking at it from the shoes of an adult but you get maid service everyday and I am sure there is a cut rate for extended time... My hints would be to get a ground floor closer to the amenities you wish to be close to such as the lobby or parking or the pool or laundry facilities, ice machine etc..

No, not crazy. Very very good idea. It will save you money and effort in the long run.

My friend did this when her house burned down and she had 4 kids, 2 boys and 2 girls. They lived in a kitchenette with 2 Queen beds for about 6 months. She found it was the least stressful time of her life. She had zero bills to worry about, she could have it as warm or as cool as she wanted and didn't have to worry about high utilities, didn't have to worry about the phone bill having long distance calls on it to make it outrageous, no housework other than doing the laundry due to housekeeping changing the bedding and cleaning the room, no worries whatsoever. There was a truck stop with full amenities right next door so they basically had a 24 hour grocery store next door within walking distance, and they all went to school and she worked full time.

She said it was a bit cramped but since they came home all at one time, went and played in the pool and hot tubs, game room, etc...that they felt like they had plenty of room.

I think that is was actually less per week than even renting a house without the utilities would be. If you guys can do this I think even if it is tough that you will adjust and it will work out for you.

If you do the kitchenette room you will be able to do some cooking too. They usually have a small fridge so you can keep milk and fresh fruit/veggies in it and the tiny freezer can hold some goodies too.

Good luck finding the right house! I know that it may take time but wait and do it right!

I've done it - just me and my husband for 1.5 months. I had the same thoughts as you. It was an extended stay.

It had a Full bed, pull out couch, coffee table, office area, bathroom, and a kitchenette (microwave, two burner stove, refridgerator, and sink). It was fun at first but grew very old after about the third week. We even moved a shelf in there for a pantry, a dresser, and our full computer (printer and all).

We were both working and it was annoying because he worked nights and I worked days. It was hard to be quiet enough for each other when the other was off (we had some weekdays off at seperate times) and get away. He ended up driving around alot. We finally moved to a temporary rental and life was MUCH easier.

I can say this if you do it: Your crockpot is your best friend (splurge and buy the crockpot liners for super fast clean up) as well as paper plates and utensils. It's a nightmare trying to do dishes and clean up on such little counter space. On the weekends I would do my best to cook for most of the week. Boiled eggs, make rice, etc.

It is doable though and we did the same as you and kept all our stuff in storage.

CONGRATS on selling your home!!!

My girlfriend who lost her house to a fire in May lived in a Temporary Hotel - The Spring Suites - two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, etc. of course the insurance paid for it for 3 weeks - but it worked for her.

I would talk to an apartment complex. When Bob and I moved here from Germany - we set up a month to month with a fully furnished apartment for less than the temp hotel. We had a two-bed - two bath apartment fully furnished that we did month to month. I don't know what the options are in KS. But it's something to look into. The kids would have a play ground and you would be able to have some space!

I don't think you're crazy at all. Leaving stuff in storage and only having to pack and unpack your life ONCE sounds perfect to me!

Look into like a Mariott Residence Inn or some of the other extended stay type hotels. They'll have the fun hotel stuff you're talking about but also could be a little more comfortable than a hotel geared for a weekend. Just a thought.. or an all suites place like Embassy Suites could be comfortable too.

I have friends that are living in a hotel - all 4 boys plus the two parents. They basically stay there to sleep and shower. They are at their office the rest of the day. But it is the same price or cheaper for them to all sleep there in one room. Mom is happy b/c she doesn't have to wash sheets and towels or scrub a bathroom.

So I say go for it! The kids will likely need more room to run around, so check out the local playgrounds and make a plan to go there once or twice a week. Make them a little play area by bringing in your own rug maybe and setting up a little play nook in a corner of the hotel room. A lot of places will give you a discount if you pay cash (green money) as opposed to using a credit card. Ask about that, on top of asking about a 'monthly price' instead of a 'daily price.'

Look for what Cheryl said. Some apartments call them 'corporate' units.
We (wife, myself, 2 kids, 1 cat, 2 dogs) lived in an RV for 2.5 months before we found our house. You will have a new found respect for SPACE after your new living arrangement ;) Congrats on selling the house.

it gets old fast, and you will find yourself rushing a purchase on buying a home, just to get out of the situation faster. I would try a furnished efficiency or 1 bedroom. Try getting one with a pool and play ground. you will find the outdoor space more suitable for keeping kids in a small apartment. My husband worked a consultant job for 2 years before launching his own. We moved on average every 7 months. After the 3rd move with a 1 year old, I put everything in storage except clothes. Which I bought large totes for. We finally started looking for efficiency's vs staying hotels, or large apartments. On his last one we knew he was going to work only 6 months, and at this point we had 3 kids. So for 6 months we had to live with a 1 bedroom 800sqt furnished apt. (which by the way is illegal since occupancy was 2 only) and the only saving thing about that was the pool and playground. So depending on the number of kids you might get away with efficiencies or not. Depends how honest you want to be.

When we were building our first house and our current home sold earlier than expected, YEAH!, we moved into a 1 bedroom apt.

At the time, we did not have our daughter but we did have 2 dogs. It was 600 SQ FT ... we expected to be there 3 months max and we were there 6 months.

We stored the majority of our furniture in a storage unit, close to the area where we were building.

This worked out well for us, cramped, oh yes but like someone else said, you'll have respect for your space when you do get it.

I guess the beauty of the hotel aspect is you have someone cleaning for you which is a plus.

I've known several people that have, and I did stay in one for a week. We have also stayed in nice, furnished, corporate housing for 6 months. I can stay anyplace so long as it doesn't displace my animals. But unfortunately, I have 5 cats and 2 dogs right now in addition to 8 birds. Some hotels do allow a couple of animals.

What do you plan on doing with the pod, and how much is that per month? I know someone living out of a pod and she says that's 1000 a month. Seems like putting it into longer storage would be better.

We stayed in a bed and breakfast apartment for 6 months. Parts of it were ideal, parts were hard. We ended up there much longer than the 6 weeks expected. Space is an issue. Having holidays there gets pretty hard. It was nice to have less house and groundwork. We had no maid but there were still issues with other people having access to our personal space. I didn't like that. You also have to be SUPER organized with your stuff, ie what gets packed, what stuff goes to the apartment what stays in the house for staging. When it ends up being months the issues get difficult as seasons change and needs change. My kids still have fond memories of a time that was very traumatic for me. Good luck!

Well, I thought you were nuts, but at the right hotel this might be okay. You will have maids daily!!!!

There are many places that specialize in this. They come in efficiencies all the way up to 3 bedrooms.

Look around at the options in your area.. also ask around about furnished condos or apts. Some are all inclusive..

The most important part for me, would be the kitchen.. Some of them just have a 2 part electric cook top and a microwave, If I were going to be there a while, I would want to save my money by cooking as much as possible. It is easy to start picking up things and eating out.. It can eat up that extra money.

Why would you think this is nuts ? It would be much more convenient for your family - and you don't have to clean (the housekeepers will do it for you). We did this many times and it worked out great. The kids will love the pool and its going to be an adventure they will look back on in years to come. Why would you rent a place and deal with moving any of your stuff ! What a hassle, its enough of a pain to pack up a house and unload it at the new house, let alone have to 'unpack' however much (a lot) to rent a home in between. Forget the renting a home - go for the hotel, it makes total sense in your situation. Have fun, your kids will love it.

I've done it many times, mostly as a kid -great fun-, and a couple times as an adult.

We've always stayed in places LIKE the Residence Inn. Full kitchen, and at least 1 bedroom.

EXACTLY like living in an apartment (meaning you need to take the kids out and about more often), except you have a maid that comes every day.

It's doable but I think you'd be happier leasing a short term furnished apartment. My sister has a friend that works for a company called Corporate Suites that specializes in helping people find furnished short term housing. You might try contacting them to see what's available.

I personally haven't lived in one, but my dad did when he worked in Omaha and then in Houston. It was cheaper and easier than renting an apartment since he wasn't exactly sure if he'd be there 3, 6 months or a year. I say do it, especially if it has a kitchenette and you don't have to eat out all the time. Bring some of your pots and pans (get one with a two burner stove or a four burner if you can find one). Like you said the kids will love to use the pool and it will give you something else to do. You know it is for a short time and honestly, people do it all the time. I know people that had to because they had a house fire and had to wait for insurance but couldn't live in their house. So go for it! And congrats on selling your house! Good luck and God Bless.

Personally, I would let your realtor look for a short term unit with the amenities you are looking for (pool, furnished, etc.) but a run-of-the-mill hotel room? No way could I do that. Too restricting. There are lots of furnished apartments out there for month-to-month renting...but a realtor can better help you find them.

We did it. We stayed at a hotel for a month that had a separate bedroom and a combined kitchenette living area. The hotel we were at had breakfast daily and a light dinner with drinks Monday thru Friday. I think it was a Homewoods Suites or something by Hilton. My kids loved it. The staff knew them and having the daily maid service was very nice. We were able to keep our cat there too. We would go sit in the lobby and the kids could run around down there when the hotel room got too cramped. After that we moved into a corporate furnished apartment for 3 months. It was 2 bedrooms with weekly maid service and a fitness center. I liked it and the kids still talk about when we lived in the apartment even though they were all 3 cramped in one room. Our biggest decision was deciding what we needed for temporary living and what could go in storage because we didn't have access to our storage. You can get by on a lot less than you think you can.

Get a suite with a bedroom seperate from the living room or two connecting rooms. Make sure it is a fullsized fridge and stove.We lived in various hotels for 6 weeks last summer while traveling across country.
Six months is crazy to me. I would rent an apartment. They are not filled and you can do a month to month.