All Suite Hotels: The Ultimate Guide for Families

Discover the best all suite hotels for spacious stays, comfort, great amenities, and unforgettable travel experiences at top destinations.

The trip that forever spoiled standard hotels for me is still fresh in my memory.

It was a reunion with my in-laws and my two kids in Orlando with a ridiculous amount of suitcases in the one minuscule hotel room with two queen size beds crammed against the walls. The younger two went to sleep at 8PM and so the three of us spent hours tiptoeing around in the dark with our cell phones on for light trying not to wake my little one up while we planned our days. Night two and my husband and I were having full blown conversations in the bathroom so that we could get some time alone. It was a nightmare.

The next year I impulsively reserved a hotel suite. Same city, same family, same anarchy – but there was a door. A physical barrier between the bedroom and living area. My in-laws were allowed to watch TV while the kids slept. I could respond to e-mails on the futon without feeling I was waking the children by just breathing. It was such a tiny change but made the trip feel totally different.

That’s where I got a little bit addicted to all suite hotels and so if you’re here wondering if they are really worth it, what’s the difference between one and the other and where your money would be best spent, grab yourself a coffee, as I have done all the work for you!

The Truth About Hotels With Free Breakfast So, you’ve been looking for all suite hotels and you’ve been a bit overwhelmed. You’re definitely not the only one. This was me a year ago.

A Suite hotel: definition: what is it really?

The clarification of confusion is necessary since I really had it myself.

An all-suite hotel is exactly as it sounds. All but a select few, in this case rooms at the establishment are suites (no longer reserved for only wedding anniversaries and corporate fat cats). This indicates that each guest will receive at least a divided living area, such as a bedroom and living room separated (in addition to being divided by walls), with perhaps a fold-out sofa, and usually a miniature dining area or kitchenettes.

Now consider a typical (normal) hotel. They typically have a few suite-style rooms but not much else. You usually pay an extortionate premium to get into one of the half-dozen or so suites out of two hundred normal rooms. An all-suite property reverses this: the suite is the norm.

Here’s an analogy that may help. If you consider a typical hotel a cinema with a couple of premium recliner chairs mixed within rows of regular seats; you need to pay more, and hope one is free. Then, consider a suite-only hotel or a cinema where all the chairs are recliners you’re not competing against others to get the better deal.

This, really, is the one distinctive feature that separates all suite hotels from the rest of the market.

Why Searchers (Like Past-Me) Actually Want This

I did some research on why people were searching for “all suite hotels” and found a few distinct trends that frankly, I’ve experienced almost all of them:

Space to breathe. This is crucial. If you have ever travelled with children you will no doubt agree that a single hotel room by the second day is like a pressure cooker. This will give you both the advantage of different bed times and different noise levels.

Long-term stays. I have my cousin who moved for a three month contract to an area last year. She stayed at a suite hotel the entire time. She had a kitchenette and laundry facilities within her unit and enough space that it did not feel like she was camping in a hotel room. Anything more than a week stay, a suite hotel is a must and not a luxury.

The business traveler who requires the ability to ‘leave the office.’ It is the psychological component that allows them to shut down the computer, leave the room, and be “off duty”. Where a standard room places their bed 6 feet away, a suite actually places it away from the work space.

Individuals who simply seek more space for space’s sake. It doesn’t always boil down to a greater level of detail; in some cases, travellers merely want to feel a sense of freedom and will pay a bit more (or be a smarter shopper) to achieve this.

Best All-Suite Hotel Brands (And what sets each apart)

I’ve had more of these than is strictly healthy to admit, through “research” (i.e. finding reasons for this obsession). Here are how the main competitors compare.

A few famous all-suite hotel brands own most of the category and you will notice that there are distinct personalities that exist beneath all the marketing spiel.

Embassy Suites by Hilton

This was the lifesaver in Orlando, and quite possibly the most famous name in the category. Embassy Suites hotels are distinctive by the atriums, a large, open plant-filled atrium that all rooms look out over, which I found extremely comforting. All suites have two separate rooms, one with a bed, the other with a living room, and typically also a wet bar or small refrigerator/microwave area.

Perfect for: families or vacationers looking for an affordable mid-range stay with a made-to-order breakfast (really, you can’t beat the omelet bar).

Homewood Suites by Hilton

Embassy Suites is the family-reunion destination; Homewood Suites is the working-man’s extended stay. Full kitchens, no kitchenettes. The hotels offer, in many locations, a complimentary grocery-shopping service, and they have such a homey feel that you forget you’re not at home at all.

Good for: Moving, long business trips, or anyone spending over five nights.

Staybridge Suites (IHG)

Homewood’s closest competition; I’m not ashamed to admit, they’re pretty much equal on either side depending on the specific location. Staybridge has a marginally more modern décor and it typically includes social evenings some nights of the week free dinner and drink for example is something which works out great if you’re traveling alone for business and want company with your evening meal every night.

Ideal for: Solo business travelers on extended trips with the need for some company.

Residence Inn by Marriott

One could say Residence Inn created the extended stay suite, and their rooms reflect that. They come in studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom models and all feature full kitchens.

Good for: Groups or families wanting a true sense of space particularly those needing one of the two bedroom units.

Sonesta ES Suites / Candlewood Suites

They are at the less expensive end of the scale without skimping on the suite layout itself. There is no daily complimentary breakfast buffet or evening wine and cheese but the suite is there – at a noticeably better rate.

Good for: the value conscious, long term traveler. Function over frills.

All-Suite Hotels vs. Regular Hotels: A Quick Comparison

Feature	All-Suite Hotel	Regular Hotel
Plan of room	Separate living/sleeping area standard	Suites are few, all upgrade-only
Entrance to the kitchen	Most are kitchenette and some have a full kitchen	Occasionally, and except during upgrade
Price	Fairly to fairly high per night	The rate may be lower in a standard room
Ideal for	3 days or more	1–2 nights
Family/groupliness	High	Low to moderate
Space sense	Housing spacious, domestic	Compact, economical

Does the All-Suite Hotel Cost More?

Okay, here is the truth because I detest articles that never address it directly: it varies.

You’re buying extra square footage you may not need, and if you are traveling solo, an all suite hotel on a one-night stay will likely be more expensive than the least expensive room around the corner.

It is fair to say that all suites are more expensive than basic rooms, but the discrepancy tends to be smaller, or in many cases vanishes altogether, with longer stays.

However, and this was the real shocker, once you take into account a couple of other variables, it actually ends up being a savings. If you are a diner-outer that would normally eat at a restaurant for all of your meals, the kitchenettes in the suites will actually save you money on extended stays. If you are with a group and you know you’d normally have to get two hotel rooms in order for there to be enough space for all of you, then one suite will be less expensive than two normal hotel rooms. This is how our Orlando trip was. The two of us paying one suite was actually less expensive than we had paid for the cramped room that we had been assigned the year before.

Do All-Suite Hotels have kitchens?

Most of them do and again, to a different extent than the rest of them, and this got me on a few of my initial bookings.

The full kitchen. Burners, full size fridge, possibly a dishwasher and enough counter space that you can actually cook there. Standard at Homewood Suites, Residence Inn, Staybridge Suites, etc.
Kitchenette: Mini fridge and microwave, perhaps a two burner stove. Frequent in places like Embassy Suites.
No kitchen at all – a few boutique hotels (in the style of suites) omit cooking facilities and concentrate only on the separate living space.

My recommendation: if a kitchen is important to you (and it really is if it has cooking facilities), don’t assume — always confirm in the particular property’s amenities section before booking. I was sadly disappointed with a ‘kitchen suite’ which was just a room with a microwave. We got takeaway for much of the week.

So what is a suite, and how is it different from a normal hotel room?

Really, at its base, it’s a single word: separation.

A standard hotel room is one space. Your bed, your television, your desk, can all be seen from every point of the room. A suite breaks up that space, usually using a door, or at the least a partial wall, to separate different “rooms” within the room. You could have a bedroom, a sitting room with a sofa (often a fold-out so two more can sleep), and maybe a small eat-in kitchen area.

Take a minute at my house. I don’t sleep in the living room of my house. And I wouldn’t really want to work at a desk three feet from my bed if I could help it. A suite attempts to emulate that simple daily logic, in a smaller, travel-ready package.

What’s Actually Done when Selecting The Perfect All-suite Hotel for Your Needs

After all my trial and error, here’s the process I actually use now:

Decide on the duration of your stay initially. One or two nights? Basic all-suites would be a plus. For five or more nights? You may be getting close to a necessity, assuming laundry and/or kitchen usage is important.
Clarify what the property understands by “suite”. Don’t believe their description blindly; find out the layout or the photographs and study them carefully. Some “suites” are just rooms that have been divided by a curtain.
The Brand is your priority. If your priority is breakfast and a buzzing, active feel, go with Embassy Suites. If you prioritize a full kitchen and a more home-like, quiet feel, choose Homewood Suites. If saving money is your only consideration and you can live without a few frills, go with Candlewood or Sonesta ES.
Check for new reviews specifically relating to space. Amenity lists can be misleading, but they will undoubtedly bring up a point if a “suite” was, indeed, not spacious.
Compare the total cost to booking two rooms if traveling as part of a larger group. It is often the one step overlooked by people and where most of the savings can be made.

The Bottom Line

I’m not going to claim an all-suite hotel is appropriate for every trip. When you are just crashing for the night during a long road trip and are going to be asleep within twenty minutes of reaching the room, just a regular room will do, so don’t waste your cash. But for a family trip, or an extended work assignment, or any case where you will be living in the room as opposed to merely sleeping in it, that added bit of division makes a real difference.

I do still think about the Orlando trip less the drama of the reality and more the mundanity of the good-time scenario. No hushed conversations in the bathroom; no frustrated glares; no awkward silence. Just comfort. Which honestly can not be overrated when your entire objective for vacation is to relax and not just “endure” it.

Therefore next time you plan a break of more than 2 nights, or travel with company, the all-suite choice is certainly something to be considered. In the future you will be eternally grateful.

Also, If you are still choosing between a suite and a standard room, believe me – if you try the space available there is no turning back.