French Connections?
 

Has anyone used French Connections for a rental in France - some of the properties look good - some not so much. I know it is by owner so the quality probably varies greatly but I was wondering if anyone had any first hand experience with this site or any of its listings. Thanks.

You might try asking this question on www.slowtrav.com

Best wishes,

Rex

topping to see if anyone has used. They seem to have lots of properties in the Dordogne and would love a few words of feedback. Many thanks.

Take care,
Robyn France

Hi,

We just returned from a trip to France where we rented an apartment in a chateau from Frenchconnections. I used the email address on the property we wanted to rent. It was the email address of the owner. He requested a check for about 1/3 of the rent (in USD) and then we paid him the rest in Euros during our stay. It turned out to be a wonderful apartment in a great location and the owner was very nice. The furnishing were fine, but a little worn. The kitchen was big enough for a table with 5 chairs and the rooms were a nice size. I was told by a French friend that gites are great but very basic. The owner of our apartment did not speak or write English and I do not know a lot of French, but I wrote in English and he in French and we undertood each other. Our experience was positive, but I agree each place is different and you take a chance.

French Connections, like Holiday Rentals and VRBO, is a rental by owner site. We've used the first two extensively, and for the most part we've been very pleased.
You do have to use some judgement--the description, the pictures, the correspondance (and in some cases telephone conversations) with the owners give you a pretty good idea of their personalities and what the place is like. In my experience, most of the people listing properties on the first two sites are British (with a few Americans and Canadians), so that eliminates the language barrier. Many of the properties are their vacation homes, so they are what you would expect if you borrowed a cottage from someone. Some are nicer than others, but generally they have more personality than a place that is used purely as an income property. You do get what you pay for (the lower the rent, the more basic the accommodation).

One thing I do when I find a place that interests me is to do a Google search with the name of the town and of the owner. Many places are listed on more than one site, so you get a bit more information on which to base your decision.

We're going to a French Connections property in September, so I can't report on how things have turned out yet. But in regards to the arrangements, the owner has been very friendly and accommodating. We asked for a reference and he sent me the email address of a family in Chicago (I think??) who were happy to discuss the property with me. They raved about the house and the location. I always ask for references before renting. One place we considered kept stalling about references, so we crossed that one off the list.
QueenMab