We chose to stay in AirBnB accommodation, rather than hotels on this trip. The reasons were cost and flexibility. Hotels in both Paris and Amsterdam near the city centre were quite expensive. AirBnb allowed a lot of options close to major attractions with a reduced cost. Of course you don’t get all of the niceties of a Hotel, like housekeeping and fresh towels.

Paris

https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/29356682

It was quite small. The shower space was very small. The bed was comfortable and the radiator heater kept the place relatively warm. The WIFI was very reliable and fast.

The location was great, just around the corner for the Eiffel Tower and 100 m from a Metro (train) station. There were plenty of restaurants in the area and a mini-supermarket right next door.

One on the main reason we chose this place is because it had an elevator. We had read many reviews of other places where there was no elevator and guests had to lug their baggage up several flights of stairs. This place had an elevator, however it was so small it would only fit one person and one suitcase. We had to take two trips!

My review on AirBnb:

We stayed at Calandra’s place for 5 nights January 2019. The place was small, but we expected that from the photos on the site. The photos are realistic. All amenities are there and working. The location is great. Right next to Bir Hakiem metro station and walking distance to Eiffel Tower. Calandra’s communication is excellent. We arrived early and Calandra kindly allowed us to check in early and offered a late check out too. The early check-in was a great relief after a long flight from Australia. I would definitely recommend this apartment for couples travelling to Paris for a short time.

Bathrrom

Kitchen

Coffee machine was nice

Creepy photo

The bed was comfortable

Hallway

Amsterdam

https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/2976795

We arrived at Amsterdam about 11 am and caught an Uber to our AirBnb north on the city. Our host Rene, met us at the door and explained how to get into the city and suggested nearby shops and restaurants. He showed us to the apartment, which was the lower level of their house. It was a beautiful space, with lots of room and a nice garden outside.

It was a fair way out side the city and getting into the city was a little difficult. There was a number of options: Walk (25 mins) down to the free ferry; Walk to the bus stop (10 mins) – bus to the metro station (3.20 euros each); Walk to the metro station (15 mins) (3.20 euros each); Uber (10-12 euros). We tried all methods, except walking directly to the Metro.  3.20 euros for such a short public transport trip seemed excessive. Uber wasn’t the fastest option either, as driving around the canals and waterways isn’t easy.What method you use all depends on the weather and how sore your feet are.

The bed was large and super comfortable. The shower was large enough and had plenty of pressure. It even had a sauna (extra cost), although we didn’t use it.

It really was a beautiful place. The only thing it lacked was a microwave oven.

Rene allowed us to check-put late at 1 pm, as we had a late-ish train back to Paris.

Very comfy bed

Spacious living area

Kitchen with most amenities (missing a microwave oven)

Big Bathroom

Back yard

Handy map of the area with directions into the city

Outside the front

Paris over-nighter

Mercure Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle

We arrived back at Paris late and as we had an early flight in the morning we decided to grab a hotel near the airport. At around $150/night it was quite reasonable. It was nice, but nothing special. One annoyance was the WIFI wasn’t working when we arrived. It was working by the morning.

We ate in their restaurant “before PARIS“. We shared a steak and fries and a couple of glasses of Proseco. The steak was cooked to perfection. Very delicious.

My Tripadvisor review:

We stayed here one night to be close to the airport for an early flight out of Paris. We just needed a nice room, shower and WIFI.
The room was nice, clean and comfortable. The shower was ok (although, in a bathtub)
But the hotel WIFI was not operational when we checked in. This was important to us to communicate to family back in Australia.
The WIFI was working again by the morning, but it was quite annoying. The front desk staff apologised, but didn’t really seem to care. 
For this alone I’m marking the rating down