Bed-and-Breakfast in Paris
By Hun Ohm

One bitter, but ultimately sweet lesson we learned was to book in advance in Paris. We had become used to the "arrive and find" technique, which worked well enough in Laos. But Paris was a different story. We thought a 2-week advance would be enough in March, but received email after email of, "No Vacancy". We found ourselves scrambling.

Luckily, this meant considering alternative forms of accommodation, and we began exploring apartment/bed-and-breakfast options in the city. We settled on a suggestion provided by Good Morning Paris (info@goodmorningparis.fr). We found the woman who managed this service to be very professional (our hostess in Paris confirmed this)—she responded to our inquiries quickly with detailed information about several apartments in our price range and desired location. We settled on a room in an upscale apartment in the 16e arrondissement for approximately $90 a night, including breakfast for two (2-night minimum). The apartment was not in the hippest location, say, the Upper East Side vs. Soho, but it was convenient enough-just a short walk from the Arc de Triomphe and about 7 minutes worth of walking from the nearest Métro station. And it was fabulous.

The room itself was spacious, with a decorative fireplace, plush carpet, high ceilings, fine moldings, etc. There was also a set of large windows that faced an interior courtyard that would be perfect for idle gazing in fairer weather. We imagine that a room of this quality would cost at least double the price in any traditional hotel in Paris.

Because this was a room in a family’s actual apartment (their quarters were literally in another wing and thus quite separate), the bathroom was not attached to the room hotel-style, but was instead a short distance down the hall. There is another room that the family rents out, so the bathroom is shared in a sense, but during our stay (10 nights), we had it to ourselves for 8 of the 10 nights. It could be a bit busier in the summer months.

Breakfast was usually a simple European affair, with various breads, cereal, coffee, and juice. Upon request, our excellent hostess was able to procure some very nice pain au chocolat, which was a nice decadent start to the day. Our hostess was a French woman who had studied in the United States, spoke terrific English, and was a French language teacher to mostly Japanese clients. She was very helpful with suggestions about places to see in Paris and its environs and was able to assist us with finding accommodations in Rouen, our next stop.

So in the end, our stay in Paris was a fabulous experience. Certainly hotels are convenient and familiar and have goodies such as room service and elevators, but if you want to have an experience that feels a bit closer to actually living in Paris, check out the bed-and-breakfast/apartment rental option. It could make all the difference.