ladylyn915

We are 5 adult female family members traveling together. This is not our first trip, but our first trip all together.
We are trying to decide between an apartment or a B & B.
We are planning our trip for April 08 and price is an issue-- I would like to keep the cost for accomodations under $500 per person for the week.
Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of "Alcôve & Agapes" ? Some accomodations look nice.

Thanks in advance for any info you can share with me.

Linda

janisj

You posted this twice . . .

Not familiar w/ Alcôve & Agapes, but w/ as generous a budget as you have, I'd be looking for a 2 or 3 bdrm, 2 bath apartment.

ladylyn915

Yes. Sorry. I was trying to post in "Paris" I'm a little rusty on this board.
The budget seems good, but it seems every apartment I look at has a bed in the kitchen or bunk beds or some detriment. The only site that appears to take $$ rather than euros is Vacation in Paris. There was one other but it was way out of our price range. With the rates in euros,at 43 - 45% above the dollar the price inches up. Plus it seems many of the apartments with 2 bedrooms don't have 2 baths.I think with 5 women we need 2 baths or we will never get out of the aprtment!LOL Therefore, I've started to look at B & Bs. I didn't mention our dates are 4/19/08 - 4/26/08 which appear to be high season.

janisj

I don't understand the logic of needing to pay in $. Unless a $ rate was set many months ago when the exchange was better - the $ and € rates should come out the same net amount.

Don't think I've ever seen an apartment w/ a bed in the kitchen.

I'd start w/ vrbo.com and homelidays.com - and don't worry too much which currency is quoted. Just do the calculation. Both of these websites, you deal w/ the owners so save a bit w/o agency management fees.

ladylyn915

thanks. will take a look

Gretchen

Two hotel rooms would work nicely. I am so not a fan ofan apartment in a lot of ways.

tomboy

We stayed in a Paris B&B under Alcove etc in September. Very nice home and hostess, Alcove very thorough in its instructions and descriptions. I recommend it.

ladylyn915

thanks.
Our party has now grown to 6. I don't think we can afford a three bedroom apartment and I don't see anyone agreeing to sleep -two people- on a pullout sofa.
I did see a B & B in the 13th-- La Villa Paris. Perhaps we could get three double rooms. I don't know very much about this area. Is it difficult to travel from?

hejno

I would recommend finding something directly from owners:
www.abritel.fr

scatcat

I think you will definitely need two bathrooms. I've been in a room with two others and it's not good with one bathroom. You're right, it will take forever for all of you to get ready.

sandypaws3

ladylyn915,
La Villa Paris gets great reviews on Trip Advisor. Looks like the #67 bus goes right near it. I have never stayed in that area, but it's probably closest to the 5th arrondissement. Looks like it's located off the rue Bobillot, which goes right off the Place d'Italie. You could walk straight down from there -- according to www.viamichelin.com, it's about a half hour walk from 134, rue Mouffetard. That's the address of the Androuet cheese shop on rue Mouffetard, which is further than the Place d'Italie. The #67 bus goes from Place d'Italie to Rungis in 6 minutes, and it's a 1 minute walk from there to the B&B.

Sandy

sandypaws3

ladylyn915,
According to the La Villa Paris website, I was right about the #67 bus. It's stops right by La Villa Paris and goes to Notre Dame and the Louvre, so not difficult to get from there to where you'd want to go. Good luck!

Sandy

Travelnut

Check my math, but $500/week per person comes to $1000/week for a twin room, which averages out to a 110Euro/twin. That isn't too difficult if you act fast. These all sound like acceptable budget hotels on Tripadvisor.

Hotel Familia - 5th arr. 111E/twin
http://www.hotel-paris-familia.com/

Hotel Louvre Forum - 1st arr. 105E/twin
http://www.paris-hotel-louvre-forum.com/

Hotel Madeleine Opera - 8th arr. 92E/twin
http://www.hotel-madeleine-opera.com/us/p1.html

ladylyn915

Thanks for all the replies. I will look at the website. If at all possible, I was looking for an alternative to a hotel room. Part of the appeal of this trip was to hang out together--mothers and daughters etc before my daughter's wedding.
I'm thinking that a budget hotel room would not afford us this.
I really like the B & B; I'm just concerned we are going to spend a lot of time getting to various points of interest.

And if course,if an apartment with only one bathroom would be impossible-- we'd never get out of the dwelling with Four twenty something girls.

Gretchen

We travelled as a family to Paris--3 children, spouses/girl friend, and parents. Each couple had their own room and we were quite able to get together and visit--either in a room, or in the lobby and breakfast room of the small hotel.

Travelnut

Not sure how a B&B would provide more room for gatherings... they are usually rooms in homes, or apartment-type places. If you are picturing an American-style B&B, with a garden, patio, lounge or such, I don't think you'll find that in Paris B&Bs. But I could be wrong.

Small hotels may permit you to gather in the breakfast room in off-hours.

sandypaws3

Travelnut,
One B&B that ladylyn was talking about is inspired by a Cape Cod B&B. It does appear to have a room where guests can get together -- La Villa Paris. One of the reviews on tripadvisor had photos.

Sandy

Christina

Paris doesn't have hardly any B&Bs, but if you've found one that had some common room where you can all hang out, that's good if you like it.

I think any agency headquartered in the US accepts USD as payment, there are certainly more than vacationinparis. But that is really irrelevant in terms of it making things cheaper, it doesn't. It's just math to convert one rate to another. As someone else said, unless the owner set a rate a year ago and must stick to it for a long period, it really doesn't matter how the exchange rate is going as any agency can just change the USD price for the rental to accommodate the owner.

I've seen an apt. with a bed in the kitchen, I thought it was tacky as I commented on another post (it is one of Vacationinparis' apts). But other folks thought it was useful for teens (or maybe Cinderella).

Travelnut

'La Villa Paris' does look nice and is in a charming area, although you will be traveling from there to anywhere you want to sightsee, since it's quite a bit 'south' of center. The room rates put you over your budget though... 130E/night for a week puts you at about $650 per person.

janisj

OK - 1 apartment w/ a bed in the kitchen

But there are hundreds of others w/ no beds in the kitchen.

ladylyn915: I would not stay in a B&B in Paris unless it is in a very convenient location and saves money. Most will not meet both of those criteria (or either one). In country villages, B&Bs are a whole different thing. Houses/cottages/villas w/ gardens, etc. In Paris they are mostly just rooms in apartments. For the money I'd reather stay in a centrally located hotel. Many hotels also have residents lounges BTW.

But for a group that size I'd really rather rent a nice flat w/ a living room, a kitchen (even if you don't plan on cooking, a kitchen is a real convenience), and 1.5 or 2 baths.