Guest houses are widely different: some of them are two- or three-storey mansions, others wooden homes or modern modular buildings.
Rates vary, depending on the season and the services offered. For example, many guest houses have swimming pools, playgrounds, covered patios for quiet dinners or BBQ parties, massage parlours, saunas and billiards. The guests can take part in various guided tours, rent recreation equipment, fishing boats and even cars. The hospitable hotel owners often meet their lodgers at the airport and also take them there.
While choosing this type of accommodation, you should note each hotel's distinguishing features: a hotel may have a diving centre or specialise in family holidays. Some hotels employ entertainers or have hunting houses, boat ramps or even rural estates.
Much depends on the guest house location. For example, towns on the peninsula's western coast, such as Yevpatoria, Saki and Chernomorskoye, are ideally suited for families with children.
Southern Crimea never sleeps and is famous for its night life. Its clubs and beach parties attract jet-setters and playboys.
Kerch, Feodosia, Sudak and Koktebel are highly popular with motorists who move from town to town and explore the peninsula. The same can be said of the Bakhchysarai, Leninsky and Chernomorsky districts.
Today, small Crimean hotels are among the most rapidly developing sectors. According to preliminary estimates, Crimea has over 4,500 guest houses meeting special standards and requirements, guaranteeing the safety of lodgers.
At the same time, there is a number of uncertified private accommodation whose owners seek to attract tourists with marketing tricks and special offers. The Ministry of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea is trying hard to legalise this segment. Additionally, the Association of Crimea Guest Houses operates in the republic, bringing together honest tourist business operators and monitoring service quality.