5 reasons to choose a hotel room with a kitchen: who is it right for?

On a one-night business trip, a room with a kitchen may make little difference; stay for several days or a few weeks, though, and even a small kitchen changes both your budget and the way your day runs. If you have seen ‘room with kitchen’ in a hotel search and wondered whether it is really worth it, here are five concrete reasons to choose one, an honest comparison with a standard room and practical tips for preparing food in a kitchenette.

1. Keeping to a budget: how does a room with a kitchen cut food costs?

A kitchen cuts food costs because you no longer have to eat every meal out. You don’t have to make every meal yourself, either: preparing your morning meal and light dinners in the room and eating out the rest of the time already makes a noticeable difference to your budget. Food is often the least noticed cost of a stay; eating out for every meal may not feel like much on a short trip, but within a few days it can become a significant share of your total spending.

• Buying groceries is usually cheaper than eating in restaurants or ordering takeaways.
• You can keep leftovers in the fridge and have them the next day.
• You can buy snacks and drinks at a supermarket and keep them in the room, cutting down on small purchases during the day.

A practical approach is to decide roughly, at the start of your stay, which meals you will have in the room and which you will eat out. A light plate in the room in the morning, lunch out and a simple meal in the room in the evening, for example, balances your budget with the pleasure of exploring the city.

To plan your whole budget for a longer stay, item by item, take a look at our guide to weekly and monthly stays in Izmir.

2. Healthy eating and special diets: would you rather decide what you eat?

With a kitchen in your room, you choose the ingredients and decide how much goes on your plate. That matters, because eating habits are among the first things to slip when you travel, and with restaurant meals it is hard to keep fat, salt and portion sizes in check. A kitchen makes a particular difference for:

• People with food allergies or intolerances: If you need to be careful about things like gluten or lactose, you can stick to dishes whose ingredients you know.
• People with particular dietary preferences: Vegetarians and vegans don’t have to hunt for a suitable menu at every meal.
• People following a diet recommended by their doctor: A kitchen makes it easier to keep up the eating routine you are used to at home while you travel.
• People who exercise regularly: If you plan the timing and content of your meals, you won’t have to drop your routine just because you are in a different city.

Having a kitchen doesn’t mean giving up eating out. It simply means you decide when and what you eat, and there is still room to explore the city’s flavours.

3. Why does a room with a kitchen make life easier for families with children?

A room with a kitchen makes family trips easier because, when you travel with children, mealtimes are not up for negotiation. A child’s hunger doesn’t always line up with a restaurant’s opening hours, and heading out for dinner with a sleepy child isn’t always possible. This is where a kitchen gives the whole family some breathing space:

• You can keep the food your child is used to, along with milk and fruit, ready in the fridge.
• Thanks to the electric kettle, hot water is on hand in the room whenever you want it – something families with young children often need.
• Once the children are asleep, parents can have a quiet dinner in the room.
• The trip feels less hectic, as you don’t have to get ready and go out for every meal.

Travelling with children? Browse our rooms and apartments to find one that works for your family.

4. Why does setting up a home routine matter on a long stay?

On stays of more than a few days, a classic hotel room soon starts to feel ‘temporary’, and a kitchen is what turns it into a space you actually live in. Making your morning coffee when it suits you, preparing a simple evening meal and putting the weekly shop in the fridge bring back the rhythm of everyday life.

The difference is especially clear for people working on a project in the city, remote workers, people between homes and families who stay for weeks during a course of treatment. A seating area next to the kitchen matters too: on a long stay, not having to eat, work and relax on the edge of the bed has a direct effect on your comfort.

A few small habits are all it takes to make the kitchen part of a home routine: buy the basics once a week, give everything its own place in the fridge, keep the things you use most within easy reach and set aside a few evenings a week for simple dishes you enjoy.

If you are trying to decide between a boutique hotel and an aparthotel, our comparison of aparthotels and boutique hotels in Buca may also point you in the right direction.

5. Flexible hours: do you have to be tied to restaurant opening times?

Not if your room has a kitchen. If your flight lands at night, you have an early meeting, you work shifts or your day revolves around hospital visiting hours, your mealtimes need to be flexible, and a room with a kitchen gives you exactly that:

• When you arrive late at night, you can end the day with a light bite you bought earlier instead of searching for somewhere that is still open.
• On days when you have to leave early, you can prepare your morning meal in the room in a few minutes.
• Students in exam season and people working at a demanding pace can take their breaks on their own timetable.
• During Ramadan, timing suhoor and iftar around your own routine is much easier in a room with a kitchen.

In short, a kitchen lets you fit your mealtimes around your schedule, rather than your schedule around mealtimes.

Room with a kitchen or standard hotel room?

Put simply, a room with a kitchen gives you more control over food, budget and mealtimes in return for doing your own washing-up, while a standard room is often all you need for one or two nights. The table below summarises the main differences. Facilities vary from one property to another, so we recommend asking about the details before you book.

Who doesn’t need a room with a kitchen?

To be honest, a room with a kitchen isn’t essential for everyone. A standard room may suit you just as well if:

• You are staying just one or two nights and plan to eat every meal out.
• You don’t want to deal with preparing meals or washing up at all while you travel.
• You expect an oven, a large worktop and a fully equipped kitchen – a kitchenette can’t fully replace a home kitchen and is suited to simple meals.
• You will be out all day and only use the room to sleep.

Otherwise – and especially on stays of more than a few nights – a kitchen usually becomes indispensable very quickly.

What should you keep in mind when preparing food in a kitchenette?

Kitchenettes are ideal for simple, quick meals. As facilities vary from one property to another, start by finding out what you have to work with, then plan around it:

• Get to know the kitchen on day one: Check which pots, pans, plates and cutlery are there and what you can use for cooking; if anything is missing, ask reception.
• Choose one-pot dishes: If you have cooking facilities, dishes with only a few ingredients, such as pasta, menemen (Turkish eggs scrambled with tomatoes and peppers) or bulgur pilaf with vegetables, are the easiest to make in a kitchenette.
• Don’t forget no-cook plates: A plate of cheese, olives, tomatoes and cucumber, fruit with yoghurt, or kisir – a salad of fine bulgur soaked in water boiled in the kettle – are all practical options.
• Shop little and often: The fridge may be smaller than the one at home; buying two or three days’ worth of fresh food at a time avoids waste.
• Mind the smells: Fried food and strong-smelling dishes linger in a small space. Save those for eating out, and air the room while you cook.
• Plan your leftovers: Cooking a little extra in the evening and keeping it for the next day’s lunch saves both time and money; a storage container with a lid is all you need.
• Don’t let the washing-up pile up: In a small space, the easiest way to keep things tidy is to wash up straight after every meal.

A simple shopping list for a stay of a few days:

• Basics: salt, black pepper, chilli flakes, olive oil, tomato paste.
• Dry goods: pasta, fine bulgur, rice, oats.
• For the mornings: eggs, cheese, olives, bread, honey or jam.
• Fresh produce: tomatoes, cucumbers, salad leaves, seasonal fruit.
• For the fridge: yoghurt, milk, ayran (a salty yoghurt drink).
• Snacks: nuts, breadsticks, dried fruit.
• Kitchen supplies: a sponge, washing-up liquid and food bags, if the room doesn’t already have them.

If the place you are staying offers free water, tea and coffee, you can cross those off the list.

Apartments with kitchenettes at Royal Palace Boutique Hotel

At Royal Palace Boutique Hotel in Buca, which combines a boutique hotel with serviced apartments, every one of the 16 apartments has a kitchenette. With a choice of studios and one-bedroom suites (1+1), you can enjoy all the advantages described above on daily, weekly and monthly stays. In the apartments you will find:

• Kitchenette equipped with kitchenware
• Fridge, electric kettle, coffee machine and minibar
• Seating area with a corner sofa and armchair
• Air conditioning, TV, hairdryer, shampoo and shower gel, disposable slippers
• Free drinking water (large bottles), tea and coffee

On top of this, the hotel offers daily housekeeping, fresh bed linen and towels, 1000 Mbps fibre Wi-Fi, 24-hour reception and free covered parking with valet service. It is approx. 3 min from Dokuz Eylül University Tınaztepe Campus (DEÜ) and approx. 20 min from Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport (ADB). Browse the apartments on our rooms and apartments page and compare the studio and one-bedroom suite options for an aparthotel stay in Buca. To find out exactly what equipment the kitchenette has, ask us before you book through any of the channels on our contact page.

Choose your dates on the booking page to see availability and the price. Fill in the short form and, once you have your request number, send the prepared message from your own WhatsApp account to the hotel’s WhatsApp number. Your request becomes valid once this message is sent, and reception replies on WhatsApp to confirm your booking.