For many of us, familiarity is secure and comforting. Take my parents for instance. Undeniably creatures of habit, they insist on booking into the same hotel every summer for their annual theatre-and-shopping weekend in Manchester.

While I’m delighted they’re having fun, I’m forever trying to encourage them to take advantage of serviced apartments – of which Manchester boasts an excellent variety.

Serviced apartments – are baby boomers missing out?

My friends in their twenties and thirties have expressed a similar reluctance among their parents to try serviced apartments – largely because it’s a relatively modern concept which some of the ‘baby boomer’ generation may be unfamiliar with. Even among retired couples who are more adventurous than my parents, many aren’t aware that serviced apartments exist. The opportunity of well-priced luxurious accommodation, akin to a hotel suite, therefore goes unnoticed.

The benefits of serviced apartments for my parents would include:

• Increased space (their usual hotel room tends to be rather cramped)
• Modern living (their ‘favourite’ hotel is old-fashioned in design)
• The ability to self cater (my father gets grumpy without his breakfast of beans and sausages)
• Financial savings (increasingly important as they’re now retired)
• A change of scene (always good)

Serviced apartments – convincing my parents to step out of their comfort zone

My challenge is to convince my wonderful parents to broaden their slightly limited horizons, and to try serviced apartments when they visit Manchester in summer 2009. I’m convinced a couple of nights in a serviced apartment with a plasma TV, superb kitchen facilities and even the luxury of two separate bedrooms – an ideal solution should Dad’s snoring and Mum’s hot flushes all get too much – would set the scene for a perfect weekend.

There are many advantages to serviced apartments, not least the ability to entertain friends and guests in a warm, safe and relaxed environment.

Space to mingle in serviced apartments
Mingling is an important element of casual social occasions, and having plenty of room is an essential requirement. Serviced apartments offer the luxury of space to entertain your friends, relatives and business colleagues as if in the privacy of your own home. Most hotel rooms are smaller and more restricted than serviced apartments, and certainly not designed for mingling.

Kitchen facilities to prepare and cook in serviced apartments
Entertaining with any level of sophistication is virtually impossible in a hotel room. Quite often the glamour goes as far as a plasma TV, a few complimentary biscuits and an over-priced mini-bar. Serviced apartments, however, can take entertaining away from home to a whole new level. With a fully-equipped kitchen and cooking facilities, the entertaining possibilities – whether it’s delicate canapés and wine, or a lavish four-course meal – are limited only by the imagination.

Serviced apartments and freedom from time constraints
If you’re living in a serviced apartment for several months, it’s highly likely you’ll want to invite friends round at some stage. Where bars, restaurants and hotel dining facilities will create time restrictions on entertainment, serviced apartments leave the schedule entirely up to you. Guests can drop in at 5pm say, and stay for a few drinks; others may want to stay sipping cocktails until the early hours. This level of flexibility and freedom created by serviced apartments is rarely found in other forms of temporary accommodation.

Serviced apartments: Freedom to drink in a safe environment
There is now considerable awareness of the dangers of drinking in an unfamiliar environment. From drink-spiking to vulnerability when intoxicated, the dangers are well-documented. When in the comfy and safe surroundings of serviced apartments, you can feel secure in the knowledge that you can take more control of your drinking. With familiar faces to keep an eye on each other, drinking in serviced apartments is undoubtedly less risky than being under the influence on the city’s streets.