Hotels are all very well and good, but for some, nothing beats staying in a private home or apartment, particularly if you are a family on a budget. Fortunately, travelers with an independent streak have several options, including short-term rentals, B&Bs, and “apart'hotels.”
Short-Term Rentals
Recent years have seen a boom in short-term rentals, and the Internet is now swimming in websites and agencies proffering hundreds of apartments smack in the center of the City of Light. Though the rates for two people can be close to what you’d pay at a hotel, the advantages include cooking some of your meals at home, saving yourself time and money. Other benefits are privacy, independence, and a chance to see what it’s like to live like a Parisian, even if it’s just for a week.
If you are more than two people, and especially if you are traveling en famille, the benefits can be huge. Family suites and/or adjoining rooms are rare in Parisian hotels, so you’ll often end up paying for two doubles—somewhere around 350€ to 600€ per night—whereas you could rent a one-bedroom apartment with a foldout couch and/or extra bed in the living room for anywhere from 185€ to 300€ per night.
So how should you book? While established agencies like the ones listed below come with more services and guarantees, rates also tend to be more expensive than Internet rental platforms like Airbnb.com, Flipkey.com, and VRBO.com, as many of the rentals listed on these sites are done by the owners directly, so there’s no middle man to pay. Agencies justify their costs by having cleaning staff, all-inclusive rates, and an office you can call when something goes wrong. They also can vet all of their apartments to make sure they are legal and that there is no funny business on the owners’ side. There is no denying that thousands of people happily use Airbnb and similar sites and find great accommodations for very reasonable rates. The problem is that hugely popular sites like Airbnb cannot check up on every owner, so you cannot be entirely sure that your rental is legal or clean.
Bottom line: If you want to minimize risk and are willing to pay more for it, go with a well-established agency like Parisian Home (www.parisianhome.com; tel. 01-45-08-03-37), Paris Attitude (www.parisattitude.com; tel. 01-42-96-31-46), or Paris Appartements Services (www.paris-appartements-services.com; tel. 01-40-28-01-28). Apartments Actually (http://apartmentsactually.com) also has some stunning properties in the Marais. And if you’re looking for a place with a wow-factor, try Highstay (www.highstay.com; tel. 01-76-40-25-25), which has upscale, full-service apartments in truly breaktaking locations, like opposite the Louvre in rue de Rivoli. In most cases, you will deal directly with the agency (not the owners), and the minimum stay is 4 days to 1 week.
Bed & Breakfasts
Though bed-and-breakfasts (chambres d’hôtes) are extremely common in the French countryside, in the big city, where privacy and anonymity are treasured, they are still relatively rare.
Three B&Bs I can wholeheartedly recommend are:
- 52 Clichy (www.52clichy.com) in the new foodie quarter, the 9th arrondissement. Run by a British expat Rosemary, there’s a lovely room (125€) and a whole apartment to rent (200€). On sunny days breakfast is served to the sound of birdsong on a balcony overlooking rooftops.
- La Villa Paris (www.la-villa-paris.com) in a 1920s villa in the residential 13th arrond. feels like a secret boutique hotel with five warmly decorated rooms, and luxurious bathrooms, not to mention a leafy breakfast terrace (145€–190€).
- Bonne Nuit Paris (www.bonne-nuit-paris.com), housed in a 17th-century house in the hip end of the Marais (3rd arrond.), is right by the Marché des Enfants Rouges food market, and has three rooms and an apartment, all with a chic, old-world vibe (220€–275€)
Apart'hotels
These utilitarian lodgings are a cross between a hotel and an apartment. Short on charm, apart'hotels are decidedly practical: Units come with kitchenettes as well as hotel services like fresh towels, dry cleaning, and a concierge. Rates are generally higher than short-term rentals, but you do have the comfort of knowing you are dealing with a large company (if that makes you comfortable), with standardized apartments, organized websites, and customer service.
The best-known apart'hotel company is Citadines (www.citadines.com; tel. 01-41-05-79-05), which offers clean, comfortable units in excellent locations. The cheapest rentals are the studios with pullout beds, which range from 132€ to 350€ a night depending on the season and location. Another good one to try is Adagio (www.adagio-city.com), which has several locations in central Paris and offers bright, modern, fully equipped spaces (150€–350€ a night).
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
