Best for ease of use
Only Apartments
Created in 2003 by two architects in Barcelona, who wanted to rent out their own flats in the city, the site now lists almost 20,000 apartments in 92 countries. The look of the site will not set design hearts racing but it is easy to use with fast maps allowing you to see the collection of properties in each destination at a glance – a simple function surprisingly few sites offer. Each property has a detailed description, comprehensive list of amenities and, unusually, a floor-plan of the apartment.
The site's instant-booking feature means clients don't have to wait for a response from the apartment owner: the booking is made through Only Apartments in real time and the client and host receive a confirmation email straightaway.
• Sample properties
Amsterdam: This modern one-bed apartment – complete with a shower/bath area featuring a wall of plants – is in the Jordaan area, and close to the city centre. From £241 a night
Barcelona: In the Barcelonetta district, this apartment sleeps up to four (one double and three singles), with prices starting at £85 a night. You're ideally placed for the best of the city's restaurants and nightlife
Best for variety
Airbnb
Launched in 2008, San Francisco-based Airbnb is now the largest site of its kind with 340,000 listings spanning the full range of private accommodation, from rooms in shared apartments to private islands, like this 10-acre Fijian island for up to 10 guests (yours for £338 a night), or an island escape on Spain's Costa Brava.
Airbnb's impact on the way we travel has been huge, so much so that city authorities are starting to clamp down on private rentals. In New York a law passed in 2010 to crack down on "bad actors that operate illegal hotels" recently lead to a ruling against a landlord who was fined $2,400 after his tenant Nigel Warren rented a bedroom in his East Village apartment for three days.
There was confusion at the time the law was introduced as to exactly what it meant for companies such as Airbnb, but as Airbnb has made clear, it's not illegal to rent out an apartment. Airbnb is now helping Warren and his landlord fight the ruling.
Airbnb's reach extends worldwide and it probably has more variety than any other site. The number of properties is overwhelming, especially when you search in popular cities but the clean look of the site makes sifting through them less daunting, and you can filter your search by price, neighbourhood, type of property and amenities..
Guests and hosts liaise directly with one another, and the time it takes to book depends on the hosts who either list their property as "Instant book or opt to respond within 24 hours". Bookings pass through Airbnb and the host does not receive payment for 24 hours giving guests time to call Airbnb should there be problems with their booking.
• Sample properties
Paris: A new studio apartment in Paris's atmospheric Saint Germain district, this recently redesigned property sleeps two, and costs from £512 a week;
Fiji: Not just any three-bedroom property, this is a private island escape in Fiji – on the 10-acre Nanuku Island to be precise. It offers accommodation for up to 10 people, and costs £2,106 a week
Best for stylish city breaks
Be My Guest
This site specialises in the rental of short-stay private apartments for up to a month, guesthouses and B&B rooms in Amsterdam, Berlin and Edinburgh. The site allows you to search by neighbourhood or accommodation type; or search the recommendations section by type of traveller including families, culture-lovers, LGBT, wheelchair users and "fashion finders" with a list of relevant tips for each category, although annoyingly none of the tips has an address or link to the websites.
It features suggestions for things to do and see – under the local tips section on the homepage – but again, with no useful detail (address/website) it's of limited use. Ironing out these glitches would improve the site but credit goes to the pick of apartments, which are smart, contemporary, "boutique-style" pads that will make a great base for exploring these cities.
• Sample properties
Berlin: Berlin's culturally rich Kreuzberg district is the location for this affordable family-orientated three-bedroom apartment, with balcony. The price, based on 5 guests, is from €175 a week
Edinburgh: If you like accommodation on the quirky side – this Edinburgh canal houseboat is suitable for up to 6 adults and two small children. It's static, so no danger of floating away as you doze, and is a short walk from Princes Street. Prices from £149, based on eight guests
Onefinestay.com
Another niche site, offering immaculate and stylish accommodation. One Fine Stay launched in 2010 with a selection of upmarket London homes. In 2012 it crossed the pond, adding a New York collection. Now it has a total of 1,000 properties, with an even split between houses and apartments. Its relatively small size makes it much easier to narrow down your search, though there are plans to add other destinations in future.
For most holidaymakers the big attraction with renting is that it's cheaper than staying in a hotel. That is not the case with One Fine Stay. Living in the lap of luxury doesn't come cheap. In London prices range from £150 a night to over £1,000 a night for a stately apartment overlooking Hyde Park; in New York prices start from $200 a night and go up to $2,699 a night. One Fine Stay also offers service levels above and beyond the majority of players in the market, managing everything from the booking (which you can do instantly online or by phone through the 24/7 reservations team) to supplying linens and meeting guests on arrival. Once there guests are given an iPhone for free local calls, and apartments are cleaned weekly.
Your apartment in Lisbon
Compared with some of the giants on this list, Your apartment in Lisbon is a tiddler – a bijou collection of seven gorgeous apartments across the Portuguese capital. Located in historic buildings in various attractive neighbourhoods, each apartment has been meticulously decorated and features covetable flea-market finds such as mid-century furniture and chic objets d'art. In addition to these seven, sister site Baixa House is a set of 13 apartments with high ceilings and big windows flooding the spaces with light in an 18th-century building in the buzzy Baixa district. The apartment building is right on the route of the classic Tram 28, which trundles along the narrow, busy road below.
• Sample properties
Vila Berta: This is a cosy apartment on a narrow, backstreet protected by the Portuguese Architectural Heritage Institute. Sleeps up to four (two on a sofa bed) from €140 per night (based on four staying)
Jeronimos: A light airy apartment in Baixa House, with wide wooden floorboards, a wall of beautiful pale green and blue print wallpaper and a good-sized double bedroom with super comfy bed. Sleeps four (with two on a living room sofa bed). Prices from €57.50 a night.
Best for families
Housetrip
Frenchman Arnaud Bertrand was fresh out of Swiss hotel school when he set up this holiday rentals site with his wife in 2009. Today, the company has swish offices in London, features 206,629 properties in 26,000 destinations, and is growing – by about 2,500 properties a week. Over 50% of guests travel as part of a family holiday.
Bertrand was inspired to create Housetrip after he tried to book an apartment in Edinburgh and found the experience so frustrating, so he prides himself on Housetrip's service and ease of use: highlighting that it is six clicks from "looking to booking". Bookings are with the company rather than the owner, who isn't paid until two days after your stay. If you do have problems, the Lisbon-based customer service line is available round the clock.
Housetrip is the only rental site to offer a loyalty programme where, if you buy 10 nights, you get one night of your next booking free.
• Sample properties
Lisbon: In the heart of the Baixa area and offering views of Rossio Square and Bairro Alto, this family-aimed apartment in the Portuguese capital has two bedrooms and costs from £113 a night
Dubrovnik: If you're planning a group getaway then the six en suite bedrooms of Villa Gradi may fit the bill. It's on the seafront but you may opt to make use of its pool and Jacuzzi instead. From £424 a night
Best for holiday pads
Sawday's
Sawday's started off life as a guidebook to French hotels and B&Bs, but now covers the whole gamut of accommodation – including posh camping through its glamping website Canopy and Stars – in the UK, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Among its 5,000 places to stay there are just 300 apartments in Europe, a mix of pure self-catering and apartments that are part of hotels or B&Bs. A smattering of them are city pads but most are in the countryside so are good options for a summer holiday, as opposed to a city break.
• Sample properties
Catania: Designed by its architect-owner, this two double-bedroom (both en suite) apartment is next to Catania's 13th-century castle and close to its city centre restaurants and bars. Prices start at £685 a week
Collioure, Pyrénées-Orientales: This is an old anchovy factory that has been converted into sweet, colourful seaside apartments between Perpignan and the Spanish border. There are three apartments, sleeping two-six, with prices from £400 a week
One Off Places
One Off Places has just under 1,000 properties on the site, only 9% (83 properties) of which are apartments. Most of those are in rural, rather than city locations, but they are all interesting properties. Each property has general description and a list of amenities, both local and in the property itself, and customer comments are included too. Customers book directly with the owners and One Off Places takes an arm's length approach to any problems that might arise. While it will take down any properties that are advertising themselves fraudulently, or where service is not up to scratch, it takes no responsibility for problems with the booking and offers no guarantees or protection once you have booked the property.
• Sample properties
Rio de Janeiro: The views from this 13th-floor apartment take in the whole of Copacabana, and if you need more convincing it has its own hot tub on the terrace. It costs from £1,795 a week and is a three-bedroom property, sleeping up to six
Andalucia: A rural farmhouse next to the lake "Embalse de Guadalhorce", this property has a private beach 100 metres from the apartment. It's a one-bedroom affair and costs from £255 a week
The big companies
Wimdu
Founded in March 2011, Wimdu is a collection of 150,000 homes in more than 100 countries, 65% of which are apartments. Customers are connected to the hosts of each property through the Wimdu website, interacting with each other on this portal and making bookings. The site looks fresh, listing key city and holiday destinations on the homepage, as well as popular apartments. Wimdu holds onto your money for the first 24 hours of your stay, ensuring that the property meets the guest's expectations. If it differs drastically from the description the customer service team will source an alternative property in the area and recoup payment from the original host.
• Sample properties
Chania, Crete: On the promenade of Crete's second largest city, this one-bed apartment's balcony offers sea and mountain views. Sleeping two, it is available from £457 a week
Santa Cruz, Canary Islands: This "bioclimatic" house in Santa Cruz, Canary Islands, sleeps up to four and comes with a twist: it's "a glass cube that is open and harmonises with the environment". Prices are from £19 per person a night
Holiday Lettings
Tripadvisor-owned Holidaylettings.co.uk is another giant with over 120,000 properties in 149 countries, including thousands of apartments in popular holiday destinations, such as Spain, France, Italy, Croatia and Greece. The site's Be Inspired section allows you to search easily among nearly 50 different categories, including beach and seaside holidays, pet-friendly, UK, city, ski and long-haul breaks, while its deals section lists savings on hundreds of properties.
How you book, whether through Holiday Lettings, or direct to the owner by Paypal or credit card varies by property, but each listing features either a payment-protection badge, meaning hosts are only paid 48 hours after travellers have checked in, or a verified-owner badge, meaning owners have been vetted and checked by Holiday Lettings.
• Sample properties
Islington, London: From £58 a night, this urban-cool flat in Angel, Islington, is good for couples or families – with a cot and highchair available. The location has good transport links for all of London. Sleeps up to four (two bedrooms)
Trastevere, Rome: A cosy, first-floor apartment in a small building dating back to 1400, this is in one of Rome's most characteristic neighbourhoods, Trastevere. It costs from £68 a night and has two (double) bedrooms
Owners Direct
Another biggie, with 50,000 holiday homes globally, including thousands of apartments in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. The site is uninspiring to look at but easy to navigate. Owners Direct says its USP is in its name: users deal directly with the owner. This also means the booking is made directly with the owner, and while the company has a basic rental guarantee, there is no online-booking facility or 24-hour customer service (office hours are 9am-5.30pm).
• Sample properties
Praia del Rey, Portugal: There's a communal pool, a private balcony and a golf course five minutes away; enough to keep most families and groups entertained. The apartment has three bedrooms: one double and two single and prices from £590 a week
La Maddalena Island, Sardinia: The beach, five minutes away, may be a big draw but then so is actually staying in a historic fortress. Take your pick from three apartments, sleeping up to four people, and prices from £360 a week
• Have you stayed in an holiday apartment? Which sites would you recommend? Tell us about your experiences of renting an apartment in the comments below.
