Our Charleston Honeymoon: Renting a House versus Booking a Resort

Mr. Lemur and I rented a house for our honeymoon. From the beginning we were looking for a house—we never really considered one of the many hotels and resorts in the area. There are obviously benefits on both sides. Personally, we loved the privacy and uniqueness of renting a house, but then again we missed out on the extra luxuries of being on a resort. So here we go with renting a house versus booking a resort...

Renting a House

1. The biggest advantage to us was privacy. We had the whole house to ourselves—two floors and three decks! There was no bumping into other visitors in the hallways or fighting for parking.

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2. The house we stayed in was incredibly unique. The floors, walls, and ceilings were covered in reclaimed wood from an old Charleston house. The man who built the house did it as a hobby—he was more of a hobbyist than a craftsman, so the uniqueness came through. None of the windows were the same size and the stair treads were slightly uneven, for example. Personally I felt like it added to the character of the house!

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3. For us, renting a house was also more cost effective. Obviously, this wouldn't be true in every situation! We did a lot of research online and looked at a lot of different house rentals. We had a huge advantage because the first week of May falls right before the busy season, meaning discounted rates were still applicable.

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Booking a Resort

1. Resorts generally offer significantly more food options than renting a house—we were responsible for all our own meals and there was obviously no room service! This could be good or bad. We loved cooking some of our own meals, although we were coming off months of long distance so those kinds of things weren't mundane yet!

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2. Resorts also usually have a pool, hot tub, and other amenities. We had a few extra little bonuses, for example the man who owns the house offered up the use of two bikes to ride around the island for no charge. We also had our own washer and dryer—something you may or may not see at a hotel or resort! But we definitely didn't have a hot tub, which is something I wouldn't have minded since the ocean was way too cold to swim in all week.

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3. When it comes to feeling secure in your transactions, resorts and hotels definitely give you an edge. Most people renting their house on their own—the way we went—accept only cash or checks. If you go through a larger company, they may accept credit or debit, but you have to be willing to be flexible and more trusting. We went off of dozens of positive reviews on HomeAway and VRBO and loved our stay, but we could just as well had a negative experience!

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Whew, I think that exhausts everything I have to say about this topic! Mr. Lemur and I absolutely loved our stay and wouldn't have done anything differently. What about you? Did you rent a house? Book a resort?