Great place for Family or large groups

Guest: Shaffer (Reuschbach, Germany( Arlington, VA originally))
Date of Stay: 04/16/11 Review Submitted: 05/28/11

John and his wife have a wonderful home. Our friends wanted to see Paris with their 3 kids and us with our 4kids. John was so wonderful to work with in securing his home. It was a great location and huge (by Paris standards)apartment that meet all our needs. Everyone had a room to sleep in and privacy. We loved going to the markets every morning and buy fresh food our breakfasts and dinners. We loved walking to the Charles De Gaulle metro looking at Arc de Triumphe every day and coming home seeing it all lite up. Street parking we had to watch for openings but there was underground parking a few blocks away. Their neighbors were a blessing from heaven, we knew no French but they seem to understand our situations and helped us out asap. For example, street parking they helped us by telling us that a we needed a special parking card for the parking meter our credit card or bank cards would not work.They pointed us in the direction of the store and we bought the parking card like a resident which was very affordable. John gave us great directions to the home and other places in Paris and Versailles. We felt like we were living in Paris which made our time there even more special. Merci !

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, people with disabilities, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

We had a great time

Guest: northstar7 (New York city)
Date of Stay: 05/13/10 Review Submitted: 06/07/10

Four friends and I spent a week in Paris at this apartment and we had a wonderful time. The apartment was big enough for all of us to have our own privacy and at the same time, having a kitchen and living room to eat and to relax in was great. The location is superb -- close enough to the main attractions and yet not touristy at all. In fact, we saw no other tourists in the neighborhood. But 20 min on a bus -- stops 2 blocks away -- brought us to the Seine, the Louvre the Musee d'Orsay and so on. In addition, the fact that the rue Poncelet market is 2 blocks away meant that we could have fresh baguettes, pain au chocolat, and the freshest fruit and vegetables any time. Usually the first one up bought breakfast and the food was incomparable. The main problem with the apartment is that we had to leave it.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, people with disabilities, sightseeing, adventure seekers, age 55+, families with young children.

Guest: Jennifer C. (-)
Date of Stay: 08/11/09 Review Submitted: 08/11/09

Wow! We stayed here with 6 kids and 3 adults and were very comfortable. It is a treat to come back to this lovely apartment after a full day of sightseeing. The Metro stop is nearby and so is a cute little park. The location is perfect and the apartment is delightful. We will definitely plan on staying at this beautiful home on our next trip to Paris. It truly was our home away from home. Thank you to the Halls!

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Guest: Lissette Kimbrough (Vicenza, Italy)
Date of Stay: 07/21/09 Review Submitted: 07/21/09

The apartment was perfect. It was more than my family expected and they were very happy. The minute we walked in everyone got really excited! The apt was very spacious and accommodated all 9 of us with so much room for more! It was so kid-friendly, we had to beg the kids to leave the apt! They had a blast. The apt is in a perfect location. Everything was so accessible. The metro, the bus, and the Arc was all nearby. We walked around this great neighborhood to find everything we needed within just a few steps. Great bakeries, restuarants, and a grocery story. John and his family were awesome! My husband and I loved it so much this will defintely be our "to go" place in Paris!

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Guest: Mercedes2 (Iowa City Iowa)
Date of Stay: 07/14/09 Review Submitted: 07/14/09

We (family of 3) shared the spacious apt with friends (another family of three) and found the accommodations fantastic! I was in Paris to attend a conference at the "Palais de Congres" and was able to walk to the conference in 20 minutes! And what a walk! This neighborhood is amazing. We easily walked to the Arc de Triumph (about 12 minutes). The view from the top of the Arc helped us to get our bearings on the major landmarks of the city. The street on the othr side of the Arc is the Champs-Elysee, where we window shopped and my daughter had her first chocolate crepe (actually it was made with nutella) sold by a street vendor. From the apt we were two blocks from a daily open-air fresh produce market and shops of drop-dead-delicious cheeses (my husband is from Wisconsin and loves his cheese), bakeries, restaurants, delis, two grocery stores--with an ample selection of yogurts mind you--who knew there were so many flavors!), clothing stores, gift shops, flower stands, everything! In fact, in any direction we walked from the apartment, the streets were filled with interest and delight...shopping,strolling, dining, coffee sipping while people watching, and a great location for history buffs and people with an eye for architectural gems. We had our choice of walking to the oldest park in Paris to picnic, or walking the 10 minutes to the metro (charles de gaulle Etoile) to catch Line 1 which took us to many of the key tourist attractions in Paris. We also used the #31 bus--just steps from the front door of the apartment. The apartment itself was perfect. The 14 foot ceilings and french doors and windows provided a setting of elegance and spaciousness, and 4 bedrooms gave us all the space needed to relax or interact as desired. The eat-in kitchen allowed flexibility in eating times, and with the market so close, it was fun to try new foods "at home." We had our "last supper" in the formal dining room. The apartment was spacious, comfortable, and sharing the costs with the other family, it ended up being less expensive than a 3 star hotel--and a whole lot more comfortable! The kids loved the wii and mario video games. The owner was easy to work with, helpful, resourceful (left maps and tour books for our use), available by phone (they are native English speakers--which was helpful to us as we are new to the French language) and email, and had an in-law (who lives in the area and is a native english speaker fluent in French)available to us throughout our sta

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