Paris apartment question - sofa beds
 

We are considering renting an apartment in Paris next May. Our party will be myself and my husband and our 2 college age kids. Many of the apartments I have looked at have a double bed and a sofa bed. I'm really dubious about the comfort of a sofa bed. We used to own one and it was not at all comfortable! Maybe ours was just poor quality. Anyone had personal experience sleeping on one in France, sharing with another adult?

Pat it's kind of a crap shoot. There are sofabeds that are actually comfortable, then there are the one that belong in a torture museum. The fold-out ones tend to be less comfortable, while the click-clack type are often better (no metal bar across the middle.) I'd ask specifically about the type before renting.
And if you do find a specific place you are interested in you can post a link here and ask if anyone has rented it previously. Some owners/agencies will also give you references from previous tenants, including an email where you can contact them to ask.

There are some good ones....Paris Perfect uses some from Italy..you don't remove the cushions and they open very differently..you pull the back forward and somehow it all works...they now have another one (I am presently sitting on it)that you lift from below in front..still do not remove the cushions. I have not opened it..

I would definitely question..some can certainly be miserable...

France uses mostly the "clic-clac" system where the back of the sofa folds down. This is better than the old system with the horizontal metal bar that kills your back in the middle of the night.

It seems weird to me to make 2 college age 'kids' share a bed. Haven't you found any apartments with a double and 2 single beds ?

Ditto CE

((I))

I agree. Can't you pony up for a 2BR (plus sofa bed in LR)???

Many of the Chez Vous apartments have king beds that can be converted to twins. Since I was traveling with 3 other women we looked at a lot of apartments with a wide variety of bed configurations before making our choice and that definitely figured into our decision. So if you can spring for a 2 BR, have a look at their offerings (I posted about the 2 BR apartment we rented frm them recently on the apartment thread).

Yes, some King size do convert..I think Paris Perfect has some of those..they also have some trundle bed types that are two twin beds. There are all kinds of things out there...........

Most sofa beds are OK for one adult but you'll be very lucky to find one that will sleep two comfortably.
We stayed in a Vacation in Paris apartment in April (Le Procope)that had a very new sofa bed which was from Ikea, I think. It was very comfortable for my daughter (11 years) but it was a tight squeeze when my son joined us for 2 nights. Two nights was more than enough!

The apartment was very small... OK for 3 but a very tight squeeze for 4 especially when the sofa bed was pulled out as this meant there was zero space left of the living room! We actually had to move the dining table and chairs into the tiny kitchen area to open the sofabed.

Do check on the photos regarding space around the sofa bed!

With some sofa beds the sleeping area is barely 4ft wide and the majority are 'doubles' so just 4ft 6in wide.

Try to find an apartment with at least an extra single bed so that your kids don't have to share a sofa bed especially if it's for more than 2 nights.

Lucky me got the sofa bed in our apartment rental a few years ago. I tried it open the first night but found that I was more comfortable just taking off the back cushions and sleeping on it in the "sofa" position. Using a sofa bed depends a lot on whether you or the sleeper has back problems, etc. I wouldn't have wanted to share this particular one with another body.

I wouldn't chance this during a vacation, especially not with "2 college age kids"! Why not look for an inexpensive two-bedroom apartment or two rooms at an inexpensive hotel?

Many guests, often couples and including my parents in the past, have slept on one of my 3 sofa beds. They have always found them quite comfortable.

Only people who thrash about require a king size bed.

Thanks for the responses. I'm still in the research phase and am considering all options. We are going to France for 2 weeks and I'm trying to keep the lodging budget to no more than $300 a night.

Any suggestions of 2 bedroom apartments would be gladly welcomed! We are also considering hotels, particularly Hotel Michelet Odeon and Grand Hotel Jeanne D'arc.

Pat, we stayed in a one bedroom apartment in 2007 that had two twin beds in the living room that were described as "sofas". The website is http://www.vrbo.com/79965. The price was very good at 800€ for the week. It is a large apartment - lots of space which would be good for four people. Several people who post here have stayed in this apartment, and all have liked it. The location is also great - one block to Metro, a bakery on one corner, a grocery store on another. Also, many good restaurants in the area. The owners live upstairs and are very nice and helpful. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here.

That looks like a great apartment, I'll look into it! It looks like it has a washer but no dryer. Is this correct?

Look at these. The agency is wonderful to work with. Highly recommended from many Fodorites - not just me. There are a variety of locations and sleepiong arrangements - you should just look through them.

http://www.vacationinparis.com/infop/two_br.htm

My Husband and I stayed in the Hotel Jeanne D'Arc last May and we loved it. It's quite basic, nothing fancy, but amazing location, spotlessly clean, helpful staff and a great value. I would recommend it without reservation... but do make a reservation as far in advance as possible as they book many, many months in advance. In fact, if you're considering this hotel, I'd reserve right away. Then continue your research and if you find an apartment you think will work better for your family, you can cancel the reservation at Jeanne d'Arc with no penalty (just give them plenty of notice.)

The booking site from their website (they don't actually have their own website) often shows they have no rooms when they actually do though, so I would email them directly or call them.

Pat, yes, a washer, but no dryer. There was a drying rack in the living room closet. Also, used the heated towel bars in the bathroom for drying small items. I try to pack fast drying clothes anyway. The washing machines in Europe take forever - you have to allow a couple of hours to do one rather small load. Also, get directions on how to work the washer (there were some English instructions in a drawer, I believe). They even furnished some detergent which was nice.

Your budget of $300pn is more than adequate for 2 bedrooms in an apartment or a modest hotel. Look at the Ibis hotel chain.

"Many guests, often couples and including my parents in the past, have slept on one of my 3 sofa beds. They have always found them quite comfortable."
Kerouac, maybe they were just being polite ? :-) After a couple of weekends when DH and I slept on our sofabed to let his APs have our bed, we gave it away and bought an airbed instead.

And even for a couple it was *very* intimate - I certainly wouldn't expect a non-couple to share one.

As I understand the concerns, having two college age kids sleeping in one bed is not acceptable. Have any of you been to a college recently and seen where the kids often sleep? Couches were our youngest sons preference, but he'd take a floor if the couch was full.

Setting aside the fact that college 'kids' - here, anyway - nowadays expect their own ensuite room... Yes, when I was a student I occasionally slept on the floor - for *one* night, after a party. But I wouldn't have shared a bed with my brother.

Well, that's how we have always traveled. My kids do not consider it a big deal or any kind of hardship to share a bed for a week or 2 on vacation. Our travel budget is limited and traveling with four people can be expensive.

ttt

I don't think there should be a problem with 2 college age kids sharing a bed.
Surely they could put up with it like adults and appreciate being taken to Paris by their parents.

Thanks travel_buzzing! Many on this board seem to consider it the ultimate horror to share a hotel room with older kids or to have them share a bed. Since we have always done it, we think nothing of it, especially if it allows us to take more or longer trips. We're probably nearing the end of the years of traveling with them, so these trips have become even more precious!

I often shared a room with my parents and loved it. It did cause quite a few extremely late nights, because we would laugh until we ached about some of the experiences of the day (often over a drink, of course) until the wee hours.

"Civilized" people who retire to their individual rooms often miss out on this.

there is also a lot of apartment info on Slow Travel:

http://slowtalk.com/groupee/