We are going to Paris in March.
We have been to Paris many times and stay in hotels. Mostly on the Left Bank in the 6th.
This year, to make things more interesting, we are going to stay somewhere else and rent an apartment.
I was curious, how many people rent apartments on their travels?
I know people do this for more room when there are children involved, but how often do couples stay in apts instead of hotels?

When you rent in another country, are you happy with your choice?
Or do you wish you had just gone to a big hotel?
We are excited about it, considering it another adventure but I would love to hear stories from other travelers about their experiences.
Thanks

Scarlett, as you know I have never been to France.

I have not stayed in an apartment or rental house for years either. And never in Italy.

When my daughter was growing up we use to rent a wonderful cottage at Bodego Bay (N Ca). Part of the fun was buying seafood from the fishing boats coming in and cooking a few meals. Also having coffee and some nibbles out on the deck while watching the ocean.

And in Matzalan we always got a suite that had a kitchen and it was wonderful to have coffee and than bloody mary's and something for breakfast on the terrace.

Have never done this in Italy although I have the opportunity to cook in friends kitchen but it is not quite the same.

IMHO an apartment would be wonderful, especially with all the yummy goodies you could bring back home. Plus more space to move about is always nice although I do love a good hotel room.

Have fun exploring all your options.

We are a middle aged couple who much prefer an apartment over a hotel. We have stayed at two different hotels in Paris. One was nice, the other not so nice. We have stayed in two apartments, both great. We are planning a trip in Feb. and will be staying in an apartment for 4 nights. We like the Marais and always stay there. This time we are in a different part of the Marais and using a different apartment rental. Previously we used rentparis and were happy, but wanted to try something different. This time we are renting from a website owned by an american and paying in dollars. (something to consider. We enjoy the informality of an apartment; the convenience and comfort; the kitchen and usually washer/dryer; feeling as though we are actually living in a neighborhood, using all the small shops nearby for food. In short it has been a much better experience for us than a hotel room. We always stay short term on our visits, as we don't have alot of time from work, but there are places out there that will rent on a daily basis; rentparis.com being one of them. Good Luck.

Thanks ! LoveItaly and Opaldog,
We sent out inquiries to a couple of apts last night, already finding that our dates in early March are filling up fast!
I found a couple that are so beautiful, I was tempted to stay there, even though I would be waay out of the usual area we stay, one apt is in the 16 but amazing!
One of the hotels we tried has only twin beds that they do NOT push together, I wonder why they are so adamant about that which is making the privacy of an apt more appealing.
We are looking in the 7th.
If anyone has seen the French film, The Dinner Game, I was inspired by this film to have an apt in Paris with the Eiffel Tower as my view from my window~

Just got back from Paris. I rented an apartment from RentParis.com and all went well. (It was my mother and I)

One thinkg to keep in mind is that a lot of these apartments have MUCH smaller kitchens then Americans are used to.

Scarlett, If you are looking for an apartment with a view you may want to check www.parisperfect.com We have stayed with them for three years and most of their apartments have spectacular views. The owners are great to work with. These apartments look like the website shows and yes I admit they are too expensive for some, but if they are in your budget you will have a wonderful experience. We are very partial to the 7th.

<i> Thank you, Laidback!! I will go look right now ~</i>

http://www.parisperfect.com/montrach...apartment.html

I will have to dip into Pups savings to pay for this one, but how beautiful and how about that view??

Hi Scarlett!

A Fodorite names Lauren posted this not too long ago:

I rented a lovely studio from Pascal Zytomirski last summer. He acts as a rental agent for the people who own the apartments and handles a number of them.

I was very well satisfied. You can email him at [email protected]

Pascal speaks fluent English (he worked in the US at one time) and is totally reputable.

They seemed to have apartments in many different neighborhoods, not just the 7th arr. People seem to like working with Pascal. I e-mailed him about renting a Marais apartment. Haven't heard back yet.

Good Luck!
--Betty

So as not to confuse everyone, Betty wrote the last paragraph of the previous post (not Lauren).

Pascal's apartment rental website is:
www.rentalfrance.com

(Gee, can you tell that it is absolutely dead at work today?)

Thank you Betty! I am checking into one of the apts, on rue de Grenelle!

Scarlett, I'm following your post with much interest. I researched apartments for our last Paris visit, but we were 2 couples traveling and finding a *true* 2-bedroom was a bit of a challenge. I just couldn't see traveling thousands of miles to sleep on a couch (even a French one!) Keep us updates on your findings - good luck!

ParisPerfect was Paris perfect. $$$$, alas yes. We rented Bordeaux for 6 (2 children incl.) of us June 2003. A grand adventure.

Scarlett, after staying at many hotels over the years in the 5th and 6th, we have been delighted with our apartment we've rented the last two years. Facing St. Germain, right between Rue Buci, and Rue Seine (and facing Rue du Four) the location couldn't be better. It does have a quirky tiny elevator and we have never met a single neighbor in the building -- but we don't mind.
You can see it at www.sant.com

Scarlett,

We have used guestapartment.com--found them through a guidebook (I forget which). They have beautiful, and I mean beautiful, apartments, mainly on Ile Saint Louis.

The quality of service is very, very high. I wasn't paying for it, lucky me, because the prices match the quality. Worth the splurge, in my opinion.

I love staying in apartments. I never cook in them, but I do keep goodies in the fridge and wine in the cupboards. I'm just not really a hotel person, I guess.

Good luck!

My husband and I rented a one bedroom apartment once in the 8th arrond. It was in a very elegant Haussman building. I was surprised at how much I liked the neighborhood as our hotel stays were usually in the more popular tourist 6th and 7th arrondissements. But we hardly used the kitchen except for late night snacks or making coffee or tea so it didn't save us any money overall. And I missed having daily maid service. But the extra space was nice, so was having a washing machine, and I loved pretending I lived in Paris, even for only two weeks. Looking back, I think playing make believe Parisienne was the best part of the apartment experience!

Scarlett-
I have let apartments in Paris, Prague, and Berlin. Having stayed at many hotels of varying classification, the apartment experience in Paris provided a different (mostly in a nice way) experience. To dispense first with the few downsides: no daily maid service (without addd'l fee) and no room service (save local delivery) The list of positives is IMHO much more voluminous, includes being able to make coffee in the morning without having to get sufficiently presentable so as to not frighten children and small animals encountered en route to the cafe; kitchen for stashing comestibles, preparing midnight (or whenever) snacks; more space than in a hotel of equivalent price; often a washer dryer that lets you get away with packing less.
There are a range of options at all prices, and shopping for a flat can indeed become a full time obsession! In Paris we rented and enjoyed, I believe, a flat mentioned above by Opaldog posted at www.paris-vacation-rental.com/neighbor2.html Not posh, but certaily no dump, it has two little terraces with great 7th floor views excellent for morning coffee and evening wine, full kitchen, good size bathroom, and the location was good (quiet residential neighborhood close to two Metro stops, few minute stroll along the canal to Bastille area, cafe/brasserie, grocery store) The same owner has another property on Ile St Louis but that looks great, but it was smaller than we wanted for 3 people and already rented anyway.
I probably should stop telling folks about this place - it may be rented the next time we want it! - but it's all in the Fodorite spirit of sharing.

Hi Scarlett-

I just rented an apartment in the 3rd for my first trip to Paris in the spring. I went through www.vrbo.com and had no problems...the owner was very prompt in returning my e-mails and I contacted him on Crhistmas Eve! By Christmas morning I had my stay confirmed and a receipt sent to me! I have used vrbo in the past to rent places in Lake Tahoe &amp; San Diego and have always been happy. It is nice because you are dealing with individual owners, not rental companies. Let us know what you decide!

Patrick,
Wow! I wish I had seen that apt. before my last trip - a great price for that size &amp; location. I'll keep it in my file for next time.