Airbnb's or family friendly places to stay in Europe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've used Airbnb all over the world. The number one thing I look for is reviews. Lots and lots of reviews. Not 2 reviews. Not even 10. More like 30+, over several years. The more, the better. I read all of the reviews. Generally, the highly reviewed places are more expensive; you can get a deal if you're willing to try a newer place. But in traveling with young kids, the risk of showing up and it's a scam or not as advertised is not worth it to me.

Are you saying you used airbnb's only when kids were older then? I have never used airbnb's before so am a little wary of these lesser number of reviews too. I mean even 30 is kind of low.

Oh no, I meant that not doing a lot of research or trying to get a deal isn’t worth the risk. My kids are still little and we use airbnbs so they can go to bed early while DH and I can relax— also because it’s nice to have a kitchen and ability to do laundry etc. I also echo what others say about communicating with the host beforehand, never communicating outside of Airbnb, and if something feels sketchy, trust your gut.

I agree about 30 reviews seeming low— that’s just a baseline. I try to see as many as possible. Something with close to 100 or more is even better! I also read every review and bonus points to those reviews that are detailed (which I try to do myself to help other guests). You can also ask here about specific places and sometimes people will give the exact Airbnb they stayed in.

I really have used it in several countries and have no horror stories. The worst Airbnb was actually in the DC area— and it wasn’t bad, it was just not totally as advertised, not a scam by any means. And I wrote a review that was detailed so other guests could be aware.

Thanks! This is OP.

We are not sure yet but we have 3 places in mind:

1. Paris, Ghent or Brussels and Amsterdam
2. Rome, Florence, Venice
3. Zurich, Lucern and Interlaken

If anyone has recommendations for any of these places I would appreciate it. Thanks!

All of those places are going to be very expensive, especially in summer. We paid over $300 per night in Paris (September) for a room that could not have had room for more than two people. When booking AirBnBs, make sure to check for a/c and what floor the apt is on. When we were looking, many were 4th and 5th floor walk ups.

[Anonymous]

I didn't want to do vacation rentals. It took some searching but I was able to find hotels with 2 queen beds (doubles are too small) or adjoining family rooms. I did however book several months ago for this coming summer.

Has OP said where she is actually going specifically?

[Anonymous]

Have you considered Eastern Europe? Hotels (and everything) are so much cheaper and less crowded. I just spent 4 days in Bulgaria and was blown away. Poland and Romania are also awesome and not overrun. Americans are obsessed with Western Europe but let me tell you, your $$ will go a lot further a little further East.

[Anonymous]

We’ve gotten great apartment style lodging through booking.com.

Bring a portable CO detector - a lot of places won’t have those.

[Anonymous]

Just go to Trip Advisor or Booking.com or whatever and type in 4 people and your dates and cities and it will return hotels that can sleep 4 to a room. It will be pricier because it is getting sort of last minute at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you considered Eastern Europe? Hotels (and everything) are so much cheaper and less crowded. I just spent 4 days in Bulgaria and was blown away. Poland and Romania are also awesome and not overrun. Americans are obsessed with Western Europe but let me tell you, your $$ will go a lot further a little further East.

+1. Central and Eastern Europe are LOVELY, much cheaper, and often less crowded than many spots in Western Europe. (And the weather tends to very nice in the summer!) If you’re interested in that route, I spent a lot of time there (years) and can give recommendations. Overall, love Krakow, Prague, Bucharest, and some places in Croatia. Some nice parts of Bulgaria too.