Summer Tradition: Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen

                 If you checkout the hottest holiday destinations around Europe this year, Copenhagen will definitely be somewhere up there. For us, Copenhagen has always been one of the busiest spots especially during the summers. That is why Red Apple Apartments is a trusted name when it comes to the search for the perfect accommodation on very compatible prices.

                 This city is adorned with beautiful lakes and greeneries, embedded with Royal buildings and old streets, combined with spectacular modern architecture, which gives it a matchless balance of Nature, History and Modern Culture. It is up to you, you can either shop all day long in Strøget (longest shopping street in Europe) or amuse yourself with the best on-board views in one of the canal boats, or you can link with the history by visiting great palaces and castles located in different corners of the city. Choose your neighbourhood, Historic or Metropolitan, Red Apple Apartments can provide you with a suitable apartment near any of the major attractions in the City.

               Copenhagen is one of the safest places to take your family and kids with you. Danish people are considered friendly and the happiest people in the world according to some statistics. If you have family consisting of members of different age groups, then Tivoli Gardens should be your highlight destination in Copenhagen.

               Tivoli Gardens is one of the oldest theme parks in Europe and most visited in Scandinavia. Unlike other      amusement parks which are mostly aimed at youngsters only, Tivoli Gardens can prove to be entertaining for any age group. It has many fun rides for kids to make them feel like they are having the time of their life. If you are fond of performing arts and classical music then Tivoli Gardens is the best place for you. The Concert Hall in Tivoli Gardens is a famous venue for Classical and Jazz music concerts. You can also enjoy the amazing Ballet-dance and modern dance performances by great choreographers in The Pantomime Theatre. Or you can just choose to have a romantic stroll on the walkways enjoying the soulful scenery voiced by the jazz played in the background. At night Tivoli Gardens is all lit up and gives you a completely different look and feel.

                        The Tivoli Festival 2012 has already started and ends in August, you certainly don’t want to miss it. If you want to discover all the colours of Tivoli Gardens, we recommend you to give it at least couple of days to fully experience the true magic of this place. We offer many apartments within walking distance from Tivoli Gardens. You can for example, choose to stay in this chic apartment offering you the best view over the water. link here: Lake view apartment – CPH 3654 or a classy apartment like this one Apartment in the heart of Copenhagen- CPH 0226, out of hundreds of  apartments we have to offer you on our website which you are always welcomed to view by visiting our Copenhagen Apartments  Page.

10 reasons why you should rent a Red Apple Apartment rather than a hotel

1. Each apartment is totally unique; it’s like a home away from home!
2. Apartment rental is much cheaper than staying in a hotel of a similar class.
3. All our apartments have a kitchen. So you can shop the local produce and eat at home!
4. You will have significantly more space to enjoy your holiday.
5. Host a business meeting in the comforts of your own space.
6. Feel like a local! You’ll get the opportunity to know the area as a local rather than just as a tourist!
7. Apartments can be ideal for families as they are usually larger than a hotel and may have access to facilities for kids such as a garden or play equipment.
8. Many inner city apartments that are available have a parking space, street parking or are close by to parking houses.
9. Unlike homogenous hotels chains we have apartments that cater for all tastes, in all places. From cozy country retreats to slick inner-city apartments, we have it all!
10. Your key will be handed over with a personal introduction to the apartment upon arrival.

We are looking forward to welcome you in one of our apartments soon!
Or by using just a few simple steps sign up your apartment via our website.

www.redappleapartments.com

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

Hosted since 1925, the Nordic World Ski Championships is probably the most prestigious event of its kind. The contest, which includes cross country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined is hosted at Holmenkollen. The arena underwent major renovations last year, after an open architecture competition  Julien de Smedt Architects’ design was named the winner.   Now Holmenkollen is referred to as the World’s most modern ski jump. Some even say that it’s the 3rd best known sporting arena, following Wimbeldon and the Wembley Stadium

 

FIS Nordic World Ski Campionships will be hosted 22 February – 6 March 2011,  attracting 650 competitors participating  from 60 nations and the organzers are expecting more than 300 000 spectators to be cheering on the sidelines. A number of events and celebrations are planned for Holmenkollen as well as Oslo city centre, ensuring that this week long event is a memorable and exciting experience.  Conveniently, the organizers have arranged frequet public transport to and from the city centre and Holmenkollen Arena.  7500 spectator tickets have already been sold, which is a sure sign that the event (just over four months away) is going to be one of those can’t be missed happenings in the global sporting calendar!

 

Red Apple Apartments’  Special Events Department has the experience and expertise to cater for visitors attending major international events. Recently, we were the preferred providers of apartment accommodation for the thousands of fans that flocked to Oslo for the recent Eurovision Song Contest in May 2010. We represent a good selection of comfortable apartments in Oslo, mostly provided by private apartment owners that will  kindly trade a week in the snow for a week in the sun…

This means that if you’re headed to Holmenkollen and Oslo next year, we have a fantastic range of apartments that feel just like home waiting just for you!

 

 

Meet the team!

Since Red Apple Apartments started, there’s been some big changes at Head Quarters here in Lund. This weekend will see the office space expand as the team grows larger. It’s all very exciting for Red Apples new and old so until our website About Us section is fully updated over the coming weeks, you will have to make do with our very own home made family photograph:

From left to right we have Ragnar and Sesselia the founding members, Janine our fantastic Events Manager, then our City Managers and Customer Service team, Rhian, Suzanne and Sylvie, Finance Man Olof and the man who makes all of our online activity happen, Badar.

We would like to think that skills in taking care of apartment owners and clients are much stronger than our artistic ones…

It’s still sunny in congress Cannes!

There are a number of good reasons to head to the French Riveria in the next few weeks.  Well for starters, it’s still mostly sunny and the peak summer season crowds have all gone home and back to business, so you can have all the beautiful beaches and Rue d’Antibes for your pleasure.  But you may just as well be going to Cannes on business – lucky you – to attend one of the congresses staged at Palais des Festivals.

And the good news is that Red Apple Apartments has a fantastic selection of short term appartments in Cannes!

The line up of events for October 2010 includes the trade show for the global entertainment and media industry, MIPCOM 4 – 8 Oct. They say this special event  is unmissable! It attracts 12 000 participants from 102 countries. Next up is the Duty & Travel Retail World Exhibition After long days and nights of networking, we know that there’s nothing better than returning to the comforts of home. And Red Apple offers apartment accommodation that is unmissable too.

We recently added this Cannes apartment, located in Le Suquet with a slendid ocean and harbour view. It also happens to be just five minute’s walk to the congress venue!

Easily come home to this apartment after a long congress day!

Sea views in Le Suquet

We have more apartments which we’re sure you’ll appreciate. They’re all ideally situated, comfortable, fully equipped and well priced. Red Apple Apartments offers a range  to choose from luxury penthouses to this humble (price starts at 87€ a night!), sunny studio in Cannes Old Town:

Practical space to cook and dine

Sweet sunshine dreams

We think a pre-winter break is a pretty good idea and Cannes, a pretty sunny destination! Why not combine your business and leisure travel? Cannes is the kind of city you can do that in.

And remember to book an apartment that feels like home soon, because they’re in hot demand.

Room Service

We’ve been thinking a lot about writing a little something for all of our wonderful apartment owners, just like our handy how to photograph your apartment guide. It’s true that pictures say a thousand words – that’s why it was your apartment they chose – but once the potential client becomes a guest it’s not just the pictures they remember, but the little details. Those extras that they’d never even thought about but when they see them, they’re eternally grateful.

So now it’s time to talk hospitality! We’re not saying you need to rush out and employ a butler and Michelin starred chef for each apartment (although this would be fabulous). Things as simple as a map with a green dot indicating where the nearest supermarket to the apartment is, or fastest walking route into town can have the same impact to the tired traveller who’s just arrived.

At Red Apple HQ we deal with a wide range of people, from single business travellers or large groups of friends to small families with new born babies. Diverse as they all may be they have one thing in common: they saw your apartment on our site and loved it so much they booked it! When they arrive they will no doubt be curious and once the coats have been hung up and the suitcases dumped, the cupboard crawl will begin. Therefore it’s important to ask…

What can we find in your cupboards?!

Each apartment owner gets a copy of the Owner’s Handbook as soon as their apartment goes live. In here is the usual blurb suggesting that kitchen equipment, cleaning supplies and so forth should be included but have you thought about the following?

- coffee and tea. It’s an international phenomenon, a warm cup of either liquid is always welcome first thing in the morning, especially if the previous day was spent travelling. Most of our apartments come with coffee makers or kettles so some coffee granules and tea bags would complement these perfectly. (However if your guests are British you can probably save yourself a few Euros as we guarantee they’ll be travelling with their own boxes of Tetley, PG or Typhoo)

- washing powder. If your apartment is favoured by the short term guest and also happens to come complete with washing machine,  invest in a large box of laundry detergent so if your guest gets caught short they don’t have to go out and buy a whole new box just for one wash. Large boxes of detergent last for ages – think of them as an investment!

-toilet roll. We’ll leave this item to speak for itself.

-tips and tricks. Where’s the best place to order take away from? How far is the nearest family friendly restaurant? Is there a bakery around the corner that your guests cannot afford to miss? Your local knowledge is worth so much more than what the guide books write about. Just think of the amount of people who include “oh and we found this great little place…” in their post-travel tales.

-local transport. We’re not suggesting you plan every single route from town to the apartment and back for the guests, but maybe a list of useful bus numbers, taxi companies and any other pointers about public transport or tickets can be worth more than gold.

-anything else? One of the Red Apple team came back from a long weekend  this morning and told us with great enthusiasm how the apartment owner had put little phrases in the city’s language (Hungarian in this case) around the place. Does your city have any special dialect words your guests could use to their advantage? Are there local recipes your guests should try? Can you think of the one thing you always love to do when you’re in the area?

When in Rome… (or Helsinki, Reykjavik, Stockholm…)

Wonderful, wonderful Ørestad!

What we love about Ørestad is its location close to the Bella Center. We get many email requests from people looking to rent somewhere close to Scandinavia’s largest exhibition and conference venue and it is with great joy we can say “Ørestad! It’s on your doorstep!”

Ok, the Bella Center may not be the most attractive of buildings, but why not take a look inside one of our favourite Ørestad apartments instead? You’ll soon forget any conference room settings once you pour yourself a glass of wine in this kitchen.

As well as this beautifully designed, fully equipped kitchen, that’s not all our CPH0168 apartment has to offer.

Perhaps the reason why Copenhagen is one of our most popular destinations is the fact that Danes just know how to please when it comes to providing luxury and style hand in hand.

If Ørestad couldn’t get any better, we’ll let you in to a not so well kept secret. It’s perfectly sandwiched between Copenhagen and most of Southern Sweden so if corporate activities get too much, in less than an hour you can be in Ystad, home of Mankell’s Wallander or better still Lund, home of Red Apple Apartments.

Come to think of it, in less than an hour the Red Apple team could be in this apartment…

Last Minute Copenhagen Deal

It could be because of the hit TV series Danish Hollywood Wives, or the fact that two the Red Apple team spent last weekend in one of our amazing inner-city apartments, but Copenhagen Fever has hit the office hard this week.

As someone who has been to Copenhagen many a time but rarely ventured from Strøget – Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping street – spending the weekend in a Vesterbro apartment opened up a whole new side to Copenhagen that otherwise would have remained untouched. Tell me now if you can think of anything more wonderful than a freshly brewed cup of coffee and a still warm pastry from one of the many street cafes non-tourist Copenhagen has to offer. Or how about the finest Smørrebrød money can buy and not a novelty viking hat in sight? Still not convinced? Then why not experience it for yourself! Red Apple Apartments is now offering you a last minute deal to Copenhagen between 12th and 16th September.

We’re taking 30% off the price of our beautiful CPH1508 apartment, so for €364 you could spend four nights with one other person,  in Copenhagen centre having it all. Do the tourist trail whilst living like a local.

To book all four nights of this last minute deal (warm pastry and freshly brewed coffee sadly not included) just email us at bookings@redappleapartments.com with the subject line: CPH1508 Offer – but remember, it’s first come first served.

Keeping You Safe

We recently read this Washington Post article about vacation rental scams and we thought it would be a good idea to remind our guests and our owners about what makes a Red Apple Apartment one of the safest bookings you can make on the Internet.

One of the things that makes us unique is that our customers pay for their entire stay at the time of booking with a credit card (or occasionally by bank wire transfer). The intention of our website is to bring guests and apartment owners together in a place where they can make safe transactions. For customers, this means that their money is always coming to a registered company and not just some property owner (or someone pretending to be a property owner). If there is a change in plans, the money can safely be refunded or applied to a new reservation. It also means that guests don’t have to deal with cash or local currency upon arrival in a new city.

Another reason that we are a safe company to do business with is that we are real people working in a real office ready to answer your real phone calls and emails. You can see all of our smiling faces on our website and one of us will personally answer the phone when you call or if we are busy assisting other customers, we will return your call as soon as possible. We know that many people feel that purchasing something through the Internet is risky, so we do everything we can to earn your trust by being as real as we can. We also get to know all of our owners personally either on the phone or face-to-face at the apartment if we can. If any owner is unreachable by phone or email, we will refuse to do business with them.

Of course we’d like to offer apartments on our website that seem too good to be true–all companies should. But we want the quality of our service and the selection of apartments we chose to list to seem too good to be true. The old advice remains true…if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. We strive to be that good, but we encourage all our customers to take the guess-work out of apartment booking and use our website to find the best properties with the best service in the cities we operate in. If you are ever in doubt about an apartment offering, feel free to call us for re-assurance. We also like to remind our customers to never ever send money through Western Union or other transfer services directly to a property owner.

Use our website and use our dedicated staff and book your next apartment with confidence!

A Very Large Toddler.

Red Apple Apartments turned 2 years old this month and we were so busy listing new apartments and booking people into comfortable summer apartments that we hardly had time to look back and see how far we come.

We’re still too busy to celebrate properly but we can all enjoy these milestones:

• Red Apple Apartments currently offers 817 apartments in 33 cities throughout Europe.
• Red Apple Apartments employs a staff of 8 highly qualified professionals representing 6 different countries.
• Red Apple Apartments has the biggest supply of privately owned self-catering apartments in Copenhagen and Reykjavik and we’re on our way to being the biggest in all the Nordic capitals.
• Red Apple Apartments helped hundreds of guests find accommodation during some of the biggest events in Europe, like the COP15 Climate Conference, the World Outgames,  and the Eurovision Song Contest

We can’t even count how many thousands of guests we’ve served or how many phone calls and emails we’ve personally responded to in the past 24 months, but believe us when we say it’s a lot. And we’ve also been having  a lot of fun!

Thanks for your continued support as we grow into the very best apartment booking and service company on the web. We think we’re pretty big now but just wait until we’re all grown up!