I have been searching for a quiet, secluded condo/small home on the beach and have found very few choices using vbro.com I am finding a lot more on homeaway.com
Has anyone experienced either web site to rent directly from an owner? Any other sites to search?
Posted by
Lake Oswego, Oregon
1329 posts
David - Not sure if they have any on a beach but I've used France Homestyle for a house rental in Provence and was very satisfied. I haven't yet used VRBO or Homeaway but understand that they have common ownership and good reputations. You also might try gites de france.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10600 posts
I have used both vrbo and homeaway with success. I like the vrbo site better, but homeaway generally has more listings. Be sure to read the reviews, but they don't always tell the whole story. I took a chance and rented an apartment in Paris that didn't have any reviews. I loved it. I rented another apartment in Paris that I learned about from someone on the Helpline. The place had good reviews. It turned out to be a real dump and had multiple issues. That is the one place I have rented, out of about 8, that I was unhappy with. I don't think you need to worry about either site.
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2299 posts
VRBO has been my favorite for years, but they're now owned by (or somehow partnered with) Homeaway. You might also take a look at Homelidays. They seem to have tons of listings in France.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3398 posts
Try airbnb.com - listings of private homes and apartments from individuals. We've had great luck with it and stayed in some amazing places.
Good luck!
Posted by
Vancouver, WA, USA
9 posts
We used athomeinfrance in 2011 for homes in both Burgundy and Provence. They had some unique properties, though not many. I recall some were on or near the sea. We found them very good to deal with and the best part was it was all done in USD via checks!
Posted by
San Francisco
124 posts
Make sure reviews are consistent and there aren't gaps in time. We stayed at a place in Antibes that we had a lot of problems with. Before booking We saw one bad review that was quickly taken down by owner and explained away. When I tried to leave a review that mentioned problems it was also taken down. If owners can do this, the reviews aren't fair and balanced.