Full Kitchen vs Kitchenette: What's Actually the Difference?

Book a room with a “kitchenette” and you might get a two-ring hob, a dishwasher and a proper fridge, or a kettle, a microwave and a minibar. “Full kitchen” is more dependable, but it doesn't promise an oven. We list 1,109 hotels and apartments with kitchens in 175 cities and record the stove, oven, fridge and dishwasher of each one from the property's own website and photos. Here is what the two labels actually get you.

What we found in 1,100+ stays

The share of stays where the property's own website or photos show each appliance. “Not confirmed” is not the same as missing: many sites simply don't say.

1. The oven is the real dividing line

We confirmed an oven in 61% of full kitchens but only 25% of kitchenettes. If you want to roast vegetables, bake or cook a family dinner, this is the appliance to check. Where a kitchenette does list an “oven”, it can be a combination microwave, so look at the photos.

2. Most kitchenettes can cook

77% of the kitchenettes we list have a confirmed hob, so pasta, eggs or a stir-fry are usually fine. Some have none: Home2 Suites by Hilton Philadelphia Convention Center has a fridge and a dishwasher but no hob. A kitchenette without a hob is a place to keep food, not to cook it.

3. Dishwashers follow the region more than the label

Among full kitchens, we confirmed a dishwasher in 90% of stays in the US and Canada, 68% in Europe and 36% in Asia and the Middle East. North American extended-stay brands such as Residence Inn, Homewood Suites and Hyatt House fit them as standard.

4. The labels overlap

Some “kitchenettes” are full kitchens in all but name. Líbere Valencia Ruzafa and Macflats Ayuntamiento in Valencia, Locke at Liberdade in Lisbon, S. Bento Residences in Porto and Duquesa Suites in Barcelona are sold as kitchenettes but have an oven and a dishwasher. It works the other way too: Hyatt House Santa Clara and Citadines Toison d'Or in Brussels have full kitchens with no oven. Read the appliance list, not the label.

Which one do you need?

• A weekend or a work trip: breakfast, snacks and leftovers. A kitchenette with a fridge and a microwave is enough.
• A week or more, cooking most evenings: a full kitchen, or a kitchenette with a confirmed hob and a full-size fridge.
• Roasting, baking, family dinners: filter for an oven, and check it is a real oven rather than a combination microwave.
• Families and long stays: a dishwasher and laundry save hours. Most US extended-stay hotels have both.

City by city

The mix changes a lot between cities. US cities are mostly full kitchens, because extended-stay chains dominate (all 15 of our Dallas stays have one). In Valencia and Porto kitchenettes outnumber full kitchens, but many of them come with an oven and a dishwasher.

What to check before you book

1. The hob: one ring or two to four? One ring means one pan at a time.
2. The oven: a conventional oven, a combination microwave, or none.
3. The fridge: a full-size fridge with a freezer, or a minibar-sized one.
4. Cookware: pans, a sharp knife, a chopping board. Most aparthotels list them; hotels often don't.
5. Every unit or some: “suites with kitchenettes” can mean only the top room types. Where we know only some suites have one, our cards say “in select suites only”.
6. Cleaning up: a dishwasher, or washing up by hand, and how often housekeeping comes.

On KitchenIncluded every stay card shows the stove, oven, fridge and dishwasher. A tick means the property's own website or photos show it; a question mark means we couldn't confirm it either way. The filters at the top of each city page show only the stays with an oven or a dishwasher. For which cities and chains are most likely to have each one, see hotels with a dishwasher, oven or stove.

Frequently asked questions