The purpose of this article is to help people not familiar with the Florida accommodation market to better understand the variations between the different types of accommodation available throughout the state.

Florida Hotels

Hotels traditionally provde a guest suite equipped with basic furniture and a combined bathroom and toilet. There are no facilities or equipment for food preparation. Cheaper hotels may only provide the basic accommodation. Higher rated hotels may offer facilities such as gymnasiums, pools, spas, saunas, internet connection and office facilities etc .  

To meet current market demands, it’s becoming commonplace for Florida hotels to provide both traditional hotel rooms as well as suites complete with a fully equipped kitchen for self catering .

Florida Resorts

While it’s usual to find hotels in almost every town, resorts are usually only located at or near the most popular vacation spots . They cater to a holiday market. Resorts are a mix of high-rise and low rise complexes, often sharing the same brand names as hotel chains. Names such as Westin, Holiday Inn, Sheraton etc are commonplace on both resorts and hotels.

Resorts usually offer a more extensive range of guest facilities than hotels . Swimming pools, games rooms, water sports equipment, tennis courts, theatrettes and kids clubs are typical of the features and facilities that are included with resort accommodation.

Many resorts now offer a mix of  accommodation types with a choice of either room only and eat in the restaurant, or fully equipped kitchen suites .

Themed resorts are very common, with golf resorts seemingly around every corner throughout Florida . The influence of Walt Disney World in the Orlando area is very evident with several Disney themed resorts in the area.

Florida Townhouses & Condominiums (aka apartments)

This style of lodging is described as multi-family housing complexes sharing common facilities such as recreation areas, sidewalks, parking lots etc. Condos and townhouses will be fully self contained and have kitchens equipped for self catering, a private laundry with washer and dryer and include all linen, bedding and towels . Off-street parking is usually available and cable TV is normally installed .

This type of lodging is generally best suited to holiday makers who prefer their accommodation away from the high traffic areas , have little need of in-house guest facilities and prefer to manage their own meals.

Florida Vacation Rentals

The term “vacation rentals” has been used as a catch-all to include all and any type of lodgings rented for vacation purposes.  The term is actually meant to be associated with any lodging that has self-catering facilities including a wet bar, refrigerator, microwave, etc. It is now commonplace to associate the term with private dwellings, either stand-alone or in a vacation complex.

Florida vacation rentals will usually have separate bedrooms, fully equipped kitchens , one or more bathrooms and a laundry with a washer and dryer. Towels and linens are usually provided and daily maid services and other hotel conveniences are often available. Note: When the property is a domestic dwelling and not part of a vacation complex, maid services and conveniences are unlikely to be available

Vacation rentals usually have a fixed price for the rental period with a maximum number of occupants . Extra person charges may apply to additional guests accepted at time of booking .

One-bedroom units usually sleep a maximum of four persons, making use of a sofa in the living room. Two-bedroom configurations usually sleep up to six persons and most three-bedroom rentals sleep up to eight. The sleeping configurations will vary in domestic dwellings where sleep-outs, verandahs and individual layout determine the allowable occupancy. Viewers are advised to read the details carefully to see exactly what each property offers.