Best places for short stays – which cities are the best …

York – a hotspot for tourism

From historic city breaks to adventure tourism, walking breaks, business trips and family weekends, the UK has something for every style of traveler. One of those towns enjoying a boom in demand for temporary accommodation is the historic town of York in North Yorkshire, a permanent part of the UK. best places to live and buy property lists and attracting over seven million visitors from around the world each year.

According to the Sunday Times newspaper, herds are drawn to its cobbled streets with a perfect blend of “heritage and high technology.” Indeed, York offers a “mini-metropolis with cool cafes, destination restaurants and innovative businesses,” the newspaper adds.

Add to that its rich history as a Roman outpost, a home for the Vikings, its characterful streets of magnificent medieval houses and the Gothic York Minster and you are in dire need of varied accommodation options within these walls. from the 13th century.

If you are wondering why York is a good place to visit, families flock to bring history books to life for schoolchildren, with stories about the city’s infamous son Guy Fawkes, and to visit some of the UK’s top museums and attractions, including the National Railway Museum, Fairfax House, known as the best of Georgians. townhouse in England ‘and the York Army Museum.

Those with a thirst for history won’t be left out – York is also home to a fully restored two-story Cold War semi-underground bunker, built in 1961 to track nuclear explosions and fallout from nuclear war.

With so many attractive attributes, it’s no wonder that the temporary accommodation industry is on fire in the walled city. Developers are pouring in and large regeneration projects are poised to transform areas of the city into work / leisure places for business and leisure travelers.

One of those areas is the Old Layerthorpe, located just northeast of York city center, which has a number of top-notch sites already dedicated to large residential and commercial projects, including offers from popular serviced apartments.

Icona York on Redeness Street is one such development helping to transform the region into a cosmopolitan and much sought after area, which is expected to see real estate prices rise over the next few years.

Located less than ten minutes from the city’s main business districts and the facilities, restaurants and attractions of central York itself, Icona York has 32 one and two bedroom apartments spread over five floors, with a common roof, a gym and a dedicated concierge service.

Views of historic York Minster, Italian quartz kitchens, balconies, three penthouses with private terraces and resident parking, make Icona the perfect choice for accommodation in York.

Completed at the end of last year, everything is new and therefore offers a worry-free investment offering convenient low-maintenance accommodation and solid rental returns.

With prices starting at £ 255,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, Icona York compares favorably to other new build developments when it comes to price. While Icona’s price per square foot is £ 442, equivalent new builds have an average price per square foot of £ 475.

The historic town of Chester

Another historic town popular with staycation visitors is Chester, the county town of Cheshire, located in the north west of England near the border with Wales on the banks of the River Dee.

This fortified cathedral city is famous for its local red sandstone Roman walls – the most complete city walls of any historic city in England – which tell its story as a fortress in the 1st century AD

The city is also home to the country’s largest Roman amphitheater, oldest racecourse, and a 1,000-year-old cathedral housing some of the finest examples of medieval sculpture in Europe.

Visitors looking for a short weekend break in Chester are increasingly turning to serviced accommodation thanks to its flexibility for families and groups of friends traveling together. The savings this form of accommodation can offer – including providing self-catering accommodation in the fully equipped kitchen – will allow for more shopping at Chester’s famous 700-year-old Rows Galleries or a day at the zoo. of Chester, the most popular attraction outside the capital.

Chester is easily accessible from London with regular trains taking just two hours, making the city attractive to visitors and investors. Families of four should expect to pay around £ 560 for four nights for a one-bedroom serviced apartment in the city center during peak season in mid-August.

Coastal getaways in the UK

Coastal towns are also hugely popular getaway spots in the UK, with popularity peaking during the summer months and during school holidays as families flock to enjoy the sunny beaches.

Winter walkers also frequent these coastal resort areas, some of the most popular being the sandy shores of Bournemouth on the south coast of England, Southwold in Suffolk, Brighton in East Sussex and Newquay in Cornwall.

Days by the sea with fish and chips for lunch are a great British tradition, with brightly colored beach huts, jetties stretching out into the water and rock sticks just adding to the to allure.

Bournemouth

11 kilometers of sandy beaches and some of the warmest sea temperatures in the UK make Bournemouth, on the south coast of England, one of the country’s must-see destinations for a holiday in the sun, sand and at the sea.

Indeed, the flagship beach of the city of Dorset was named best beach in the United Kingdom and sixth best in Europe at the TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards 2019. Bournemouth has five Blue Flag beaches, Alum Chine, Manor Steps, Southbourne, Fisherman’s Walk and Durley China, which means they have all met high standards for water quality and safety.

The city, which is close to London and Gatwick Airport for international visitors, enjoys its own microclimate, as well as a magnificent line of cliffs. These factors, coupled with views of the Purbecks and the Isle of Wight, attract visitors year after year.

One of the great traditions of a British seaside holiday is to hire a brightly colored beach hut on the sand. Bournemouth and nearby Poole have over 250 beach huts to hire, while Boscombe Beach offers stylish beach huts architecturally exclusive to Bournemouth, featuring private balconies with views of the Isle of Wight and the coast of Purbeck.

Sporty visitors will also enjoy the range of water sports on offer at Poole Harbor, including windsurfing, sailing and kitesurfing, as well as a walk around the marina.

Families may want to visit the Oceanarium, Bournemouth’s popular aquarium, as well as the iconic pier, which has plenty of game rooms and ice cream stalls to suit all tastes. Stroll along the pretty promenade and admire the ‘Millionaire’s Row’ houses on the waterfront at Sandbanks to the west, which is known to have the ‘most expensive seaside in the world’ .

Art lovers and culture vultures will want to visit one of the UK’s finest art museums, the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum at East Cliff Promenade, just a short walk from Bournemouth.

Built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this cliffside mansion, which once housed art collector Sir Merton Russell-Cotes and his wife Annie, today houses a collection of world-renowned Pre-Raphaelite works.

Such is the enduring appeal of Bournemouth as one of the UK’s most beloved seaside resorts, that accommodation in the area is in high demand, especially during peak periods. A one-bedroom serviced apartment-style offering designed to accommodate a family of four would cost around £ 710 for four nights over a weekend during peak season in mid-August.

Newquay

Another seaside resort that never goes out of style is Newquay on the north Cornish coast in the southwest of England. Easily accessible with its own small airport and daily train service from London, Newquay has been a mecca for surf enthusiasts from across the UK and beyond who have loved Cornwall’s ‘Atlantic coast’ for decades. for its beating waves and its superb sandy beaches Fistral and Watergate Bay.

Voted one of the UK’s ‘Favorite Beach Towns’ in the Which? Vacation survey, Newquay also won the title of Best Family Vacation Destination in COAST Magazine and Best Beach Town for Families 2019.

Away from famous surfing, Newquay offers an impressive zoo with beautiful tropical gardens and the Blue Reef Aquarium, which is sure to delight children with its underwater tunnel loaded with pufferfish, sharks and stingrays.

Newquay is also a gateway to the South West of England, known for its popular South West Coast Path, a 630 mile National Trail coastal path starting at Somerset’s Minehead and delighting walkers throughout Devon and Cornwall. A family of four are said to be looking to pay around £ 695 for a one-bedroom serviced apartment for four nights during the peak season in August.

The future of serviced hosting

The serviced accommodation industry weathered last year’s storm much better than many other hospitality offerings, highlighting its continued agility and resilience.

Indeed, a follow-up study conducted by the UK Short Term Accommodation Association trade body and data company STR, confirmed: “Over the past five years we have seen a proliferation of demand for the experience” at home ‘that short-term rentals offer guests but now, with the added requirement of social distancing and high standards of cleanliness and safety, it seems that guests are recognizing that short-term rentals are better placed to deliver. that than other types of accommodation.

As a wide range of clients continue to opt for this style of hosting, unable to look past the flexibility and convenience it offers, the industry is expected to see growing investor confidence as we are moving away from the demand shocks caused by recent events.

A gateway city like the aforementioned York, which will always be in demand and not subject to seasonal peaks and troughs, could see net returns of over 7% on an investment in serviced apartments.

Indeed, these strong numbers, when paired with profitable vacation homes and run like a business to make it even more tax efficient, could make the asset a much stronger investment than a traditional investment. property for rent.

*One Touch Real Estate Investment is a real estate investment company that seeks rental real estate investments including investments in student housing, high yield properties such as hotel rooms and rental investments for people looking for productive investments