My husband and I prefer to stay in a vacation rental than a hotel.  We like the privacy and exclusion that a rental provides over a hotel.  Truthfully, when I stay in a hotel I keep the "do not disturb" sign on the door the entire time.  When we got married, we rented a huge house in Los Olivos and invited our friends and family to stay, drink wine, and hang out.

Now there are many vacation rental options and more people are dipping their toes in.  My friend regularly lists her Santa Monica apartment (with cat) on airbnb.com.  Or you can stay in a Snow Dome outside of Moscow.

We've had good experience with the original and old stand-by vrbo.com, where Nate rented a cabin in the North Georgia Mountains and proposed.  Or choose a beach villa in Maui.

While I may never remove the "do not disturb" sign from my door, I will be taking others up on their offer.

Do you prefer to stay in a hotel with all the amenities or live like a local in a vacation rental?