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Using lastminute.com for a trip to Paris in fall 2024

Posted by (LA) on

Hi All,

I am looking to book a trip for our family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids - 10 & 3) to Paris for this September. I have come across a website, lastminute.com, that has great rates for an 8 night trip including non stop roundtrip airfare on French Bee from LAX to Orly. They offer apartments and hotels all over Paris. Our experience traveling has been that it is more enjoyable for all when we have an apartment vs hotel room. It makes bedtime easier, we have extra space to move around, and enjoy having a kitchen to partake in all the wonderful markets, etc., that Paris has to offer. I am very familiar with Paris, having visited 6 times before, but this will be our first trip with the kids.

A couple of the apartments offered for our dates look very good but have only one review, 5 stars each, of course. I am a little hesitant to book since there is only one review for each property and I am not familiar with the booking site either. I think both apartments are in the same building. It appears the price is a couple hundred euros less than other listings with more reviews. Is this a red flag or a nice discount as the properties are looking to get more reservations and build up their reviews?

Does anyone have experience with last minute.com, French Bee airlines, and/or insight or comments on whether or not it makes sense to try and book an apartment with only one review?

Also, if you have any tips for tackling Paris with kids, dining with kids in Paris, and any destinations that are especially attractive to kids, I'd appreciate your advice. I know we will have to expect that we will get much less done/seen than if we are traveling without kids and plan for more breaks including food and play.

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
824 posts

At one time last minute was the biggest booking website in the world. It suffered in the dot-com bust in the early noughties

I haven't used them for many years, but they were totally reliable.

Posted by
717 posts

Go over to the air travel forum on Tripadvisor type in last-minute.com. there are lots of horror stories

Posted by
5428 posts

Instead of trusting everything in a 3rd party booking site, where who knows what would happen if any kind of problem arose....
Look at Google Flights to compare flight costs, and then book directly with the airline. Use booking.com (or similar) to search for accommodations, but book directly with your choice. And no, I would never book a place with only one (or only a handful) of reviews. Read up on rental scams in Paris, and the need for rentals to advertise with their registration number.

Besides TripAdvisor, have a look at TrustPilot reviews as well. A very mixed bag. This isn't someone I would trust a family vacation with.

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks all for your replies. Carol, I will definitely check that out. CJean - that is typically what I do but found this to be a deal I couldn't replicate. I guess the old adage holds true, "If it sounds too good to be true..."

Posted by
502 posts

Welcome to the forum, Cate!

Personally, I have a couple of rules for travel. One is to always book directly with the airline, not a third-party. I am retired from a major airline in the United States and worked in reservations. It may have changed since I retired in 2012, but when I worked there if there was a problem with the reservation or changes needed to be made, we almost always had to send the customer back to the original booking source. My daughter and son in law have booked air travel/hotel packages through Costco's travel department with great success...that might be the only third party site I would consider using.

As far as staying a a hotel or apartment with only one review, there is no way I would book there. I check several sources, including Booking.com and Google reviews, as well as trying to see if there are any other online reviews, before making lodging reservations.

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