Florida hotels are usually located at the major vacation destinations. They offer accommodation comprising a serviced room (aka suite) with bed, TV, essential furniture plus an ensuite bathroom and toilet. Private laundry facilities are not available in the room. Meals are usually in the hotel restaurant or eat-out at local restaurants.

The more expensive and higher rated hotels usually have guest facilities such as gymnasiums, pools, spas and saunas. Cheaper hotels may only offer the basic accommodation without any guest facilities. To keep abreast of current vacation demands, many hotels now provide both traditional hotel suites as well as fully equipped units with kitchen facilities for self catering. In effect they are offering serviced apartments within the hotel complex.

Hotel tariffs are per room per night with extra person charges for persons that exceed the standard occupancy.

It is often the case that there is little difference between resorts and hotels. Most resorts, like hotels, are located at the most popular locations. Many resorts are multi-room, high-rise complexes and operate under the same brand-names of the better known hotel chains such as Westin, Sheraton, Holiday Inn etc. Resorts usually offer a range of guest facilities and entertainment that surpasses hotel accommodation.

Tennis courts, water sports equipment, swimming pools, games rooms and kids clubs are all typical of the inclusions that come with resort accommodation although there are variations between different resorts and different locations.

Themed resorts are common, especially in the Orlando, Kissimmee and Lake Buena Vista entertainment park areas in central Florida. Golf resorts vacation packages are everywhere throughout Florida; not surprising given there is over 1100 golf courses throughout the state. Like hotels, resorts can often provide a mix of either room only or fully equipped suites with kitchen and laundry facilities.

Resort tariffs are per room per night with extra person charges for persons that exceed the standard occupancy.

These are multifamily housing complexes with common facilities such as recreation areas, sidewalks, parking lots, etc. Whereas the condo (aka apartment) owner owns the inside of their unit, a townhouse owner owns the complete unit, including exterior surfaces and the land on which the unit is built.

Condos are often located within a high rise property although that is not always the case. There are a lot of coastal areas where high rise development is not allowed. A condo in a low rise will usually involve a walk-up from the entrance or garage via a communal staircase.

That is something that needs to be considered if anyone in your party has mobility problems. Townhouses are usually two or three levels above the entrance at ground level and have stairs internal within the unit.

Townhouses and condos all have kitchens fully equipped for self catering, an equipped laundry and will include all linen and bedding. They are generally suited for vacationers who prefer their accommodation away from high rise complexes, have little or no need of in-house guest facilities and prefer to manage their own provisioning and meals.

This is where the most confusion occurs. If "vacation rental" is interpreted as intended as having "self-catering facilities including a wet area (sink etc), refrigerator, microwave, etc." then the term stretches across some units within hotels and resorts, serviced apartments, condos, townhouses as well as detached private dwellings.

One vacation rental might be a fully equipped apartment in the Sheraton while another vacation rental might be a 2 bedroom beach shack 5 miles from town. Same description but very different properties.

Most vacation rentals will have separate bedrooms, fully equipped kitchens, one or more bathrooms plus laundry facilities including washer and dryer. All linen and towels are usually provided. Daily maid services and other hotel conveniences are often available although maid services and conveniences are unlikely detached domestic dwellings not part of a vacation complex.

Vacation rentals usually have a set price for an entire rental with a specified maximum number of persons allowed. Extra person charges apply to additional guests accepted at time of booking.

Most one-bedroom apartments sleep a maximum of four when there is a sleeper/sofa in the living room. Two-bedroom apartments sleep a maximum of six, and most three-bedroom apartments sleep up to eight.

The sleeping configurations will vary in domestic dwellings where sleep-outs, verandahs and individual layout determine the allowable occupancy. Viewers are advised to read the details carefully to see exactly what each property offers.