Paris in May 2026 - Hotel or VRBO

I'm a solo traveler and I like knowing there is someone on the front desk all the time in the hotels I choose. I'm going this spring for 3 weeks and will stay in hotels. I also do not want to cook when I travel although I know many do. I cook at home every day and want a break!

Even if your hotel is smaller and doesn't have a concierge the front desk folks are usually very helpful!

Editing to add: You do need to be cautious of apartment rentals in Paris. Make sure your rental unit has the appropriate Paris licensing number to know that it is a legal rental.

Like everything in life, it depends. Are you the type of people who want to be taken care of or left alone? Do you want to stay in the heart of the city or in a more residential area (not that there aren't both types of places in both types of places)? Apartment vs hotel is more than just cooking facilities. In Paris, a lot of folks on the Forum prefer the Citadines aparthotels to VRBO or AirBnB.
As far as being first timers, I recommend the LesFrenchies channel on YouTube. They have dozens (maybe hundreds) of videos with great advice on visiting Paris, which could be a replacement for the concierge. Of course, this is lots of other information available on this site, in Rick's guidebook and all over the internet on what to see and how to see it in Paris.

MJo,
Paris has fewer VRBOs and AirBandBs, compared to large cities in the US, IMO, because they are very strict about the rules. There are tons and tons of hotels in the city. I recommend a hotel, and yes, the people in the hotel can often offer good advice and help. A concierge, as such, is not usually necessary, unless you need help getting tickets to shows, etc. Also, check out some guidebooks from the library. The main things to see and do in Paris will be the same in new or older guidebooks. See what interests you and prioritize your wishes and wants. Then you can get advice here or from your hotel staff about your stay in Paris. The planning is a good part of the fun!

Wine is produced all over France. Do you have a particular area in mind, or a favorite type of wine you prefer? That will determine what advice people on the forum can provide. The best-known regions that I can think of off the top of my head are the Loire, Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Cote-du-Rhone, Alsace.....and they are divided into smaller designations and special production areas. In France the wines are distinguished by the terroir, not the grape as in the US. Each major region has some wonderful cities and countryside to explore to add to your wine-tasting, so perhaps you could do some research on them. Living in California, we have vineyards and wine areas all over the state, but the Napa/Sonoma/Mendocino tricounty area are still what people think of when they say "wine country". In France that doesn'y apply. (The whole country is "wine country".)

Congratulations on your first visit to France! You will find that you will start planning your next trip there on the flight home!

I recommend staying in a hotel. Short term apartment rentals have many problems in Paris, not the least of which is that many are offered illegally.

I'd also recommend a hotel, for all the reasons listed, and also for A/C, which is not as common in short term rentals. Will you need A/C in May? Maybe, maybe not; but I'd rather have it and not need it than the reverse.

These are all so helpful. Sounds like a hotel is definitely the right choice. Thank you to all who replied with such thoughtful recommendations. Now I have to decide in which area to stay. I will submit another post. Thanks again.

I am a longstanding member of "Team Hotel".

A front desk presence is nice to have for any issues, and for advice, too.

Just got back from Paris, and as always, we stay in hotels...

MJo, before starting a new thread, you might look at previous threads on hotel recommendations: https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=1y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Paris+Hotel+recommendations+&utf8=%E2%9C%93

What CJean said.

For a week I like to be able to eat in -- especially breakfast but we also usually take advantage of the excellent shops and eat dinner in too. I can get types of sausage I can't get in Chicago (which is an excellent meat town), really good pork -- the US has turned pork production into tasteless dry product -- perfect produce, an unbelievable array of cheeses and wonderful breads and pastries. We also love the great seafood -- I often do sole a couple of times a week in Paris and the poissoniere will happily filet it for you. We much prefer to self cater if we will be in a place 5 nights or longer. Even if you go out for dinner, you save a bundle by doing breakfast in and having snacks, champagne etc in your apartment. Most apartments we rent also have laundry facilities.

And I like to have two rooms; my husband sleep in longer in the morning than I do and it is nice to be able to close the door on the bedroom and enjoy the morning without waking him too early.

My sisters and I recently stayed at the Citadines Les Halles, an aparthotel. We got the one bedroom so that we had more space to relax for the 6 days we were there. It has the advantages of a front desk, lobby with 24/7 coffee machine, laundry, public transport nearby and it is walkable to a large shopping center, the Louvre and Notre Dame. It was recently renovated and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am definitely in the hotel category.

Our next trip will be visit number eight, so I don't really need help, but I don't want to cook as the OP stated, I do that at home.

We do book slightly larger hotel rooms with two chairs, as we have no problem with a charcuterie platter and a bottle of wine if we have been out to lunch.

I also don't even want to make beds or dust, it is a holiday for us, so hotels all the way.

I’m definitely in the VRBO category for many reasons. I’ve never had much need of the concierge at most hotels I’ve stayed in (mostly on RS tours), and in fact have had some unpleasant experiences with some who have obviously made the wrong career choice. Hotels in Paris are quite expensive, you can probably find a rental for one half to one third the price (I found a place in the Marais for about a third the of the price of a hotel). You can probably find a rental with a washing machine so you can do laundry. Having the kitchen is a big bonus. You can buy whatever you want for breakfast, make yourself a lunch to take with you, and if you tire of trying to find a spot in a crowded restaurant, you either cook for yourself or get take-out and go to your apartment to eat in quiet. Maybe it’s just me, but if all I’m going to do at the hotel is sleep and take a shower, I don’t think it’s worth 300-600 a night!