Let’s be honest, living out of a suitcase gets old fast. Whether you’re away for two weeks or three months, that sense of transience can wear thin pretty quickly.

That’s exactly why Urban Rest was built around the idea of real homes, not just rooms. There’s a world of difference between perching in a hotel room and settling into a thoughtfully designed apartment. With a few personal touches, your space can feel less like “accommodation” and more like your own place in the city.

Here are four easy ways to feel like you’re at home—even when you're not.

It doesn’t take much to shift the energy and make somewhere temporary feel more like home. Focus on the senses to make a space feel more like you with some of our guest-approved favourite tips:

• Sight: a framed photo or little piece of decor from home.

• Smell: a scented candle, essential oil blend, or room spray.

• Sound: a playlist of your favourites for waking up, or winding down.

Never underestimate the power of your senses. Familiarity, whether it's your daily fragrance or favourite coffee mug, can instantly ground you.

When every dinner is a takeaway box, it starts to feel a bit more like surviving rather than living. One of the biggest perks of staying in a corporate apartment? A fully equipped kitchen ready for all of your favourite meals.

We’ve got the essentials covered — from pots to pans, salt to pepper, and olive oil to paper towels — all that’s left to do is a quick shop for your staples:

• Your usual breakfast bits (bonus: the coffee’s already waiting)

• Ingredients for your comfort meal of choice

• Fruit and snacks for when you’re feeling peckish

• A cheeky tipple to go with your Friday evening takeaway

We love cooking as a way to settle into your home-away-from-home and make it your own.

Any trip can be a bit intense without good rest. Once the day has ended and the meetings have wrapped up, you need more than just a bed to collapse onto. Urban Rest apartments are designed with your unwind in mind, giving you space to properly switch off. Set up an evening routine that works for you to help you unwind and rest well:

• Pack your comfiest loungewear and get out of your workwear

• Queue up your latest Netflix obsession or turn some pages

• Open up your space to let in some air and natural light

• Dim the lights and turn the volume down on the day

The effort you take into your workday should be put into your evening routine, create one that works for you and sets you up for a night of good rest.

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as finding your rhythm in a new neighbourhood. Urban Rest apartments are placed in real neighbourhoods with real heart and soul, so it’s easy to feel part of the scene, even for a short stay. Get out of the tourist traps and into:

• Explore cafés for your perfect cup (or one that serves your iced latte with a flat lid)

• Get off the main street and explore different routes to and from your day-to-day

• Try local markets or grocers rather than supermarket chains

• Go offline and ask the locals where to find the best cheap eats

Little interactions make a big difference to how at-home you feel. It’s the simple things like a smile from the barista or the nod from a neighbour that make you feel like you belong.

There’s a real difference between staying and living, even if it’s just for a while. At Urban Rest, we provide curated corporate apartments that give you the foundation. From there, it’s the small things that make it yours.

Every Urban Rest apartment comes fully stocked with the details that matter, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, paper towels, and a full-sized washer/dryer, just to name a few.

So the next time you’re heading off for a longer trip, remember: a suitcase on the floor won’t make it feel like home, but a place you can unpack more than just your clothes? Well, that’s a different story.