"Are most of you saying you only go to Europe for a week?"

Hi Patrick,

Yes. Some examples: Working people with limited vacation time. I had to change jobs a few years ago when the company I worked for (and got three weeks vacation) closed our branch office and then I had to work 12 months for five days vacation, which is not unusual in the U.S. I took my five days and went to Paris.

Parents who have children staying with relatives. Self-employed people who can't stay away too long. Heads of companies who can't stay away too long. One parent traveling with a friend whose spouse is home taking care of the kids ...
I'm meeting a friend in Paris in October who can stay only five days. Her husband has no interest in Europe and will stay home with the kids.

Luisah, I agree with what you say. I get a max. of 10 days vacation yearly. I wish I could stay for at least a month in Paris, but five days is about the most.

Forest168,
If you decide an apartment is right for you, but the 16th isn't for a first visit, do a search here for Paris apartments and/or check out the reviews on slowtrav.com.

I never cook while on vacation, but I still much prefer apartments to hotels. Not sure why--I just don't really like being in hotels very much. Never have.

And re: shorter trips. If something suddenly comes up and I find I can get away for only a week or less and I discover some extra $$ burning a hole in my pocket, why of course I find a flight (to Paris, to Rome) and an apartment and go, go, go.

Enjoy Paris. It's wonderful.

We rented an apartment for Thanksgiving week from vacationinparis.com. I used them for a rental last year and was pleased that they took US dollars and I could use a credit card. They mailed the keys to us so no need to meet up with someone once we got there to get keys.

Why don't you guys look at Apartment ID2 and give me your opinions. We stayed in the Louvre Loft last year and found it was very nice but I prefer the 7th and this was the only apartment they had availble that did not involve climbing alot of stairs that was in the 7th.

<either they are packing too much, or they are doing laundry by hand, or sending it out, or they smell>

This comes up time & time again here on Fodors and we simply disagree. Yes I wear items more than once and air them out in between. And do a tiny bit of washing up of little things in the hotel sink. I take lots of showers myself. And pack in a single 22-24" suitcase for 2-3 weeks.

But we're supposed to be talking about apartments in Paris here, non?

Well this is certainly a controversial post!

I have been to Paris about 8 times, I think, and this will be my 9th or 10th trip. I no longer go to museums and tourist attractions and mosty go out to eat, shop and hang out. The thought of having a place other than a small closet hotel room sounds good to me whether or not I cookor wash clothes...

For the same price as a small shoebox hotel room (such as in the Jeanne d'arc, Relais de Louvre or Axial Beaubourg) I can get a studio with a kitchenette, sitting area and a full size bathroom.

As far as the washer goes, I love to have clean clothes and love to wear whatever I feel like wearing. Unlike most, I travel heavy and like to bring 2 changes of clothing a day. I also never wear anything twice. I am also traveling to Paris from London so I will have to clean some clothes. Have you ever used a laundry in Paris? They charge as much as $15 to clean a pair of jeans.

Oh yes, I will wear my jeans in Paris!!!!

As far as cooking goes, it not like I am going to whip up a "Coq au Vin" but it woould be nice to keep chilled white wine, yogurt or cheeses in the frig, not to mention a pastry or two... (maybe three).

For a concierge, I don't think that I usually use them. I always think they give really bad touristy advise anyway. I would never let a concierge pick a restaurant for me. If you need a cab, go out in the street like a New Yorker and wave your arm!

So that my opinion. I am a real independant traveler and like the freedom of an apartment. I have been to Paris so many times that I know my way around and would love to loive like a local, if even for a week.

I will misss having the bed made and fresh towels everyday....

That's fine for you, suze, but for some of us men it is a different matter. I don't have "little things" to wash out in a sink. And I refuse to wear jockey shorts a second day, or even the same evening, after "airing them out". The same goes for socks I've worn all day. That ain't gonna fly for me!!!!

And we ARE talking about apartments and whether having a washer is an advantage. That seems to be a pretty major point of disagreement -- not that disagreement is a bad thing. Some of us NEED to do laundry, so a washer in the apartment is a major advantage. Others don't NEED to do laundry, so it isn't a consideration.

If somebody really wants to make their own coffee, an apt. would be the way to go. I agree that apt. was very small, although I just would never stay on a sofabed for that rate. There are others around that are cheaper than Parisperfect places, but you do get into a whole thing once you start apt. searching and comparing rates and what you get, and trying to make sure the owner/agency is reputable and someone has dealt with them. It's still a gamble, as many posts on here have testified. I guess I'm willing to gamble more on a budget hotel room than an expensive apt. you are locked into.

A lot of hotels will have minibars that you can use for your own stuff. I always do. I think I've seen some posts about hotels where they don't allow you to use it yourself, but I've never stayed in a place like that. There are some, though. Coffee makers are not common, though, in budget hotels.

I don't use concierges at all, but still think there are advantages of what just normal staff in hotels do for people (like call a taxi, make reservations, etc.). They do that even in modest hotels.

It's just personal preference about a lot of these things. Even the cafe thing, some don't understand that, yes, you can sit in a cafe any time all day, but it isn't the same as the early morning breakfast experience, when the city is waking up and people are just starting out, and you are there with your breakfast coffee reading the paper for the day. I really like that time of day, and breakfast isn't the same as sitting in a cafe late afternoon with a drink. I just enjoy it a lot.

Anyway, I'm completely with Suze on the laundry thing. I don't do laundry when I travel for two weeks, either (other than underwear or lightweight socks or Tshirts). No, I do not smell at all. I don't wash a pair of slacks or sweater at home after I wear them once or twice, either. Lots of my clothes can't be done in a washer/dryer anyway, they would get ruined (like linen or silk blends). I don't get things that dirty, bathe regularly and use deodorant. How dirty can pants get walking around a little?

People just have different habits and it's not right or wrong. For example, someone on here recently said her husband refused to use a bathtowel more than once without it being washed. Well, given you use it after bathing, that really seems wasteful to me.

A first timer might find a "good" concierge helpful. I don't need one to tell me where I want to dine..I am well aware of the restaurants that I want to go to. A concierge can be helpful for making those reservations in advance for you. Once when staying at L'Abbaye I sent my list of dining reservations and dates wanted to them and they did take care of them...which included Guy Savoy, Lasserre, The Bristol and many other fine dining experiences. It is a hotel that I definitely have a fondness for. Nice people.

I still prefer a hotel and will go find a laundry service should some terrible catastrophe befall all my clothing.

If a hotel is bad you can move the next day to a different one (been there done that in Paris in fact) but if an apartment is bad you are stuck.

Christina, thanks for your kind post. Good to know I am not alone in how I treat my wardrobe at home or on the road.

Patrick, yes I understand men have different needs -LOL.

richardab, the taxi situation I was remembering was the hotel front desk giving us an early AM wake up call and arranging a taxi to the airport for our flight home.

When I was in Australia I washed my jeans in the tub then hung them to "drip dry".

It took 3 days!

Also....

I agree with Patrick about the jockey situation. What if you meet a "new friend" and go on a dtae. You'll want to have clean undies on. I wouldn't want the French to think us Americans are dirty!

This is just hysterical. I started this post to ask opinions about apartment vacation rental versus hotel rooms in Paris and it turned into a discussion on who does what laundry on vacation. I've had more fun reading these posts. So I'm on the record here...laudry facilities are not a concern at all for me. Probably wouldn't use them at all. I'm one of those people who WAY over pack. We're going camping (in a tent..me...tenting), to Lake Superior this weekend and you wouldn't believe the stuff that is sitting in my kitchen waiting to be loaded in the van...just for two days. Thank goodness my husband is low maintenance...more room in the suitcases for ME.

Jocelyn...I'll check out those websites, thanks.

Suzanne, I have been in touch with vacationinparis but the apt. I inquired about was booked so they suggested #79, #38, #28
I would only rent from a few that I've read about here, who have had favourable reviews from several people.

Thanks for the info and the entertainment. You folks are great!
Kim

For us, renting an apartment made the most sense because we have two teenage sons, so basically four adults. We would have had to rent two hotel rooms.

We found a two bedroom apartment on the oustskirts of Paris (but with the ease of the metro, who cares) that slept six. The coffee thing was also a big consideration, because hubby & I like to have our first coffee the minute our feet hit the floor. We also had cereal and toast for breakfast, which saved us money, and more importantly the kids could have something they were familiar with. A couple of nights we ate simple dinners in the apt. like bake at home pizza and take-out. Sometimes we would make up some sandwiches for the day and take those. There was a dishwasher in the apt., so washing up wasn't a problem.

We probably had the most easy-going and trusting landlady ever. No security deposit. We paid half when we rented it and the other half a couple of weeks before we went. Here is the kicker - it was only $100 U.S. per night. Quite a bargain. When you are travelling on a budget, those considerations all add up.

We also liked having the washer/dryer since we were gone for 12 days. We took clothes for six days and did one wash. That really cut down on the luggage we had to haul.

Both hubby and I speak a smattering of french, so that helped. We didn't need much help with transportation, etc.

Forest, Hey thanks for the funny afternoon. You never know around here where an amusing thread's gonna to come from!

Well, we absolutely love the neighborhood where "Kir" is located, and stay in the 7th on every trip to Paris.

After always having stayed in hotels, we booked with ParisPerfect this past May and just loved the experience.

I thought we'd miss many aspects of hotel service, but we did not.

We're those who head for the coffee maker immediately upon arising (and hate having to get dressed and go out for it, and delivered to your room coffee is just not as good).

ParisPerfect apartments have a fabulous Nespresso machine, along with a regular drip coffee maker.

It was wonderful to have a refrigerator for our water, juice, etc., which was conveniently picked up nearby. Just being able to buy and store a six pack of water (or four pack of litres) was a big plus!

Ahead of time, ParisPerfect sends you a "Fun Things to Do" booklet, chock full of food shopping recommendations nearby. Amazing everything - bread, pastries, pre-prepared (wonderful) meals even.

We loved being able to actually pick up food items, so appealing all about, and bring them "home" where we could easily store them, and enjoy them with table and chairs and a lovely view out the window.

It was actually very nice NOT to need the front desk. Or, have housekeeping in and out every day. (Plenty of fresh linens and towels were included.)

Awesome was a trip to Grand Epicurie at Bon Marche (you can easily get there and back on the #87 bus) where we filled bags with breads, cheeses, wonderful pre-prepared items, to enjoy at our leisure. Every other trip we've only been able to "look" and pick up a few non-perishable items (awesome individually packaged tiny vials of saffron, for example) to take home with us.

We find, while traveling, our meal times are quite different. It's really nice to be able to "dine" at "home" (without much preparation or cleanup required) late in the evening without having to go out when you're tired, or worry what's open that late.

And, it was nice to have other furniture besides a bed and desk for relaxing, dining, enjoying cocktails.

With all the resources at the RATP website, and online dining resources, we didn't need front desk assistance. I made the "important" dining reservations from home. Once in Paris, we either dropped in to make reservations, or just phoned. There was no place that wasn't able to take a reservation in my half bad French/and English. (If you think the line's gone dead, they've probably gone for someone who speaks better English.)

Quite the pleasure to actually be able to pick up one of those heavenly roast chickens with the roasted potatoes, take it home to enjoy, and reheat the left-overs for breakfast!

We didn't use the washer or dryer, as the cycle is very, very long and you still need to hang the clothes to dry after. Though, having an iron and board was a terrific plus. I did do a bit of hand laundry.

Also nice to have were the CD and DVD players (a movie is great when you're half dead from walking all day).

It was fabulous to be able to properly store all our belongings (with our bags out of sight), compared to hotel rooms with inadequate closets, no drawers, and no place to get the bags out of the way.

The ParisPerfect apartment was a huge splurge for us, and now we're totally spoiled and have booked the same one for next September.

If you decide on staying in a hotel, check out Hotel Langlois. We stayed there for three nights (ahead of our apartment stay, as those nights were not available for the apartment) and loved the place. HUGE, really HUGE room (with a view of Sacre Coeur from our large windows!). Delightful decor throughout and very friendly and helpful staff. Larger than mini (and empty) fridge. Room service menu (low prices). Table and chairs in room. Lots of storage space. New and spotless bathroom (with lots of hot water and pressure). We enjoyed the location much more than we anticipated. All sorts of wonderful dining nearby (didn't have enough opportunities to enjoy more than a few). This neighborhood is fabulous compared to several years ago. Gare St-Lazare has been restored to it's former gorgeous glory. And, there's a lovely indoor/outdoor (nicely done) several levels mall sort of place nearby with a fabulous courtyard/garden surrounded by a sort of food court (excellent offerings). Convenient bus and metro routes all about. Close to Montmartre and the Grand Magazins.

I like having an apartment so I don't have to dress up and have people wait on me. In the morning, I like to have cereal with fresh fruit, and lots of coffee. After being out and about all day, I like to fix a simple dinner, which I can eat barefoot and in a T shirt, and just realax.
I will only rent an apartment with a dishwasher, as well as fridge/freezer, washer and dryer, plus a balcony of some kind with a view, so I can sit and watch the world go by.
I have rented the Charles Nodier 1 BR from Parisvacationapartments.com. They provide a concierge service. Also from ParisPerfect. Hard to beat, with amazing views of the Eiffel Tower, and elegance and charm.