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staying in an apartment

We are thinking of staying in an apartment in Paris and Amsterdam. Has anyone had good experience with this?

Thanks

Jennie

Posted by
10608 posts

I also rented an apartment in Paris through vrbo.com. It was a fantastic experience and I highly recommend it.

Posted by
10633 posts

We've been using lodgis.com for years. The site shows everything in the apartment--even the toilet--and states the price clearly. The apartments and neighborhoods are rated with stars, as well.

Posted by
12 posts

Hi,

We used Vacation in Paris 2 years ago and loved it! They're based in the US as well, and you will have the keys mailed to you before you leave. I'm not sure if other companies do that or not.

Enjoy!

-Adam

Posted by
94 posts

I've just contracted with Vacation in Paris to rent a Paris apt for September. They sent me a list of references for each apt I was considering. Most people replied within a day and gave lots of feedback, good & bad, including info about where you could find stores, cafes, metro stations, etc. Very helpful!

Posted by
250 posts

Rentparis.com for us. Great neighborhood, great price, great experience.

Posted by
108 posts

I never rented in Amsterdam as I could stay at a friend's apartment when I went there but in Paris I booked an apartment from their vacation rentals section through New York Habitat. I've used their website (www.nyhabitat.com) for apartments in New York, too, and each time I found their service top notch-- you get an agent who is a real person to help you in your search, I found the ones I was assigned knowledgeable + the booking was quick and easy and I was lucky to meet amazingly helpful owners who took the time to explain everything about their accommodation + could give me hints on the neighborhood and tell me where to buy food, where to take the subway and all.

Posted by
1446 posts

Hi Jennie!

I have had very good service with Jeu de Clefs.fr . Only a handful of apartments, but well priced and situated (Le Marais and Quartier Latin). The Marais Loft was fun for 2, would be OK for 4 but no privacy. We have another booked (Quartier Latin, rue Verneuil) with Paris-be-a-part-of-it.com . I had toyed with the idea of a peniche on the Seine, though. Good hunting!

Posted by
10633 posts

Here's a cute one: homesweetparis.fr

We stayed in it on Montmartre. It's small but well-designed and has all the amenities. The residents gather in the courtyard to socialize. Friendly.

Posted by
9436 posts

Also check out Parisattitude.com. We just rented 2 apts for a month in Paris through them and were happy with their service. Their apts tend to be less expensive than other agencies and vrbo.

I'd recommend the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th arrondissements (areas of Paris).

We go to Paris and Europe often but had never rented an apt before this trip. We loved it! We're in the process of booking the same apt in Paris for next year...and another in Provence. It's a great way to go.

Posted by
463 posts

writing this from a vrbo rental in paris right now. will never stay in a hotel for more than two nights again. ever. best idea ever. do it.

Posted by
32 posts

I will be in Paris again next summer for a few days also, and am looking for an aparmtent this time - do the apartments have air conditioning? The listings on vrbo dont usually say if they do or not, so I am guessing they dont?

Posted by
9436 posts

There are definitely times in Paris when you would like a/c. We just got back from a month in Paris and the last week the temps were in the high 80's and even 90's, with high humidity, and it didn't cool down much at night. And those temps feel even hotter in a city. One night was so hot we could not sleep.

Parisians talk about how the high temps are becoming more common, and more frequent.

If it doesn't say it has a/c then it doesn't have it. And if it does, it usually costs more.

We've been in Paris for 6 summers out of the last 9 and we've always experienced extremely high temps for a week or more each time. In 2003, 15,000 people died in France from the heat.

Posted by
196 posts

We rented an apt in the Marais in early June; our first time not to do B&Bs/small hotels-----loved the freedom to get up and have breakfast when we wanted and in our jammies and to eat in if we wanted to.We were fortunate that the heat wave of later in the month hadn't hit. We returned to Paris July 10 after two weeks in e France and along the Rhine w/ the higher than normal temps, and the AC at the CDG Hilton (scored on Hotwire for $106 per night) was absolute heaven. If you live in an area of the US that has high humidity, you probably wouldn't be as frazzled as we were by early afternoon.

Posted by
78 posts

We've stayed in Paris apartments twice and an Amsterdam apartment once - all of them were great. I just google "____vacation rental" (filling in the blank with your desired city) and see what comes up - some cities have their own little rental companies that I wouldn't have known about otherwise but we've also used some of the bigger companies too (like vrbo, homeaway, etc). It takes time to look through it all but it's worth it!