Google Street View and serviced apartments

Thinking of renting serviced apartments? Check out your temporary home-from-home with Google Street View

I’ve been strangely drawn to Google Street View. The service – the first of its kind online – allows users to literally see any road (which has been mapped to date) in 25 UK cities through 360 degrees. Google spent the majority of 2008 collecting the images, with a fleet of specially-modified cars crawling along 22,369 miles of British roads.

Serviced apartments – use Google Street View for a clearer picture

I find the site compelling. And, fortunately, I’ve not been photographed in any compromising locations as other innocent pedestrians have found. But, last week, I discovered another relevance for Google Street View – beyond just being generally nosy. I used it to look up serviced apartments in Manchester to see the accommodation ‘in the flesh’ so to speak.

An unbiased perspective of serviced apartments

Fortunately, although various areas of South Manchester are yet to be mapped by Google, the majority of Manchester city centre is online to see in all its bustling urban glory. And rather than relying on advertising photographs which accompany the written spec of Manchester serviced apartments, I could get a realistic image of the accommodation – at least from the outside.

Serviced apartments and local amenities

It’s surprising how Google Street View had the power to influence my choice of accommodation. I like greenery and quiet-ish abodes so I was swayed by serviced apartments situated on scenic streets. Google Street View also revealed serviced apartments in walking distance of shops and various amenities. Both of these elements to Google Street View influenced my final decision.

Another decision-making tool when choosing serviced apartments

If anyone is about to book serviced apartments online – particularly if it’s in an unfamiliar city and is for a medium to long-term stay - take a few minutes to check out Google Street View service. It may prove a valuable tool in the decision making process.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 7th, 2009 at 9:13 am and is filed under Serviced Apartments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.