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Couchsurfing Review: Spilling the Beans of 10 Memorable Experiences in France

Why is Couchsurfing Review Important?

All my Couchsurfing review from the hosts are positive. Similarly, I also gave rich, favourable Couchsurfing reference back to the host. Constructive Couchsurfing reviews build trust between the host and the couch surfer. I will bet my last dollar that the majority of the people read Couchsurfing reviews especially the hosts since the house is their property. They do not want to invite the bad ones to their home.

More so for the cautious females as they want to make sure that the person they are staying with or hosting is decent and trustworthy. Having a safe Couchsurfing experience is a top priority for them. Couchsurfers who have many positive Couchsurfing references will get acceptances from hosts more readily. First-timers that have no Couchsurfing review yet may have to work harder to create a smashing profile.

Two crucial aspects to note after submitting your Couchsurfing review:

1. You cannot amend or delete it away from the system. Think through what you have to write before posting the Couchsurfing review.
2. All your references will be left on your public profile as well. That includes your negative Couchsurfing review for the host. If you write a nasty Couchsurfing reference, it may affect your image to how your potential hosts look at you. Will you do the same to them if things go wrong? Writing an honest negative Couchsurfing review does not equate to being “nasty”.

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Bad Couchsurfing Review of a Host: Will You Still Give Him a Chance?

Yes, of course. I will still give him a chance and send a couch request, depending on the type of negative Couchsurfing review a host has and the percentage of it. If it is due to miscommunication between two parties, I will proceed with my request. If the negative Couchsurfing review comes from a woman who said that the host is sexually suggestive, I will never consider.

Many travel bloggers would warn you to not to send requests to hosts with negative Couchsurfing reviews. I do not really agree with them. If a host has tons of positive reviews, I will not let a small percentage of people deter me from staying with him. Imagine this. One bad Couchsurfing reference out of 100 good reviews does not say much about the host. Right?

Couchsurfing hosts join the Couchsurfing community to share what they have – their house and their time which is an entirely different concept from Airbnb. They too want a positive experience and connection with others to feel good. Are we going to let one bad apple destroy the effort they have put in the past? There might be times where the hosts are not the one being nasty. Or rather, the couch surfers are no angels either.

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Reducing Negative Couchsurfing Reference on Your Profile

Past Couchsurfing reviews formed an integral part in the selection process for a Couchsurfing host and the acceptance of a couch surfer. In the shoes of a couch surfer, I will always make the first move to write a super Couchsurfing review for my kind hosts, explaining in detail what they did for me during the stay. The more effort I took to write positive things about my hosts, the likelihood of getting a similar length Couchsurfing review which will look good for my profile. Many hosts would possibly mirror your ‘style of writing’ after going through the references that you left for others.

If you give them a generic 3-liner text, they will do the same for you. In my opinion, such a short Couchsurfing review is ‘not good enough’ to say much about you. I could not reiterate enough the beautiful experiences that Couchsurfing has imprinted on me and how kind many of the hosts are. Are all my Couchsurfing experiences that perfect? Almost. I’m going to spill the beans of my Couchsurfing experiences here. Even if nobody reads them, the Couchsurfing hosts I came cross melted my heart. I want to keep them as memories and as my dear friends forever.

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Unveiling 10 Couchsurfing Experiences

1.Couchsurfing Review @ Toulouse, France – Ivan ✓

I sent my first Couchsurfing request to Ivan when I was planning to go to Toulouse. He didn’t reply in time, so I booked an Airbnb room instead. When he responded eventually, my Swedish partner and I decided to visit him in the evening at his house with some food and wine. We chatted happily and had good opinions of each other. We maintained our contact through Facebook.

Six months later, I decided to visit Toulouse but with the intention of travelling to Barcelona with Blablacar on the third day. This time, I stayed with Ivan for 2 nights by contacting him directly. I had a big room in his house by myself. On the second day, he brought me for a one-day trip to beautiful snowy Andorra.

Staying in contact with a Couchsurfing host surprised me with another unplanned travel opportunity to a new country which I did not expect. We are still keeping contact till now. I know I will go to Toulouse again because I wanted to travel with a kind friend like Ivan.

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2.Couchsurfing Review @ Barcelona, Spain – Cristian ✓

I was honoured to be the first couchs urfer of Cristian’s new apartment in Barcelona for an overnight stay. He provided me with a small clean room with a comfy bed. He likes cleanliness. Thus, his house was well-kept. One rule was that whenever he left for work in the morning at 8 am, I had to get out of the house as well. The arrangement was perfectly fine since I came to Barcelona as a tourist, I can explore more places too.

Cristian was always smiling and had boyish charm. When I was outside, he would send me SMS to check if I needed help and even sent maps to advise me how to go to some places of interest despite his busy schedule. On the second evening, we agreed to meet in Arenas after his work. I appreciated that he showed me around and told me stories about the city and his personal life.

One year later, he told me on Facebook that he was going to Malaysia for a vacation. He had no plans to come to Singapore as the accommodation was costly. To his surprise, I invited him to stay at my house. He changed his mind and visited Singapore. We had a great time in Singapore as I showed him around in my little country. I was glad I could repay his Couchsurfing kindness in return!

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3.Couchsurfing Review @ Lyon, France – Nicolas ✓

After the Barcelona trip, I went to Lyon and did my Couchsurfing with Nicolas for a week! Having to stay a week with a stranger for 7 days can be challenging but not with Nicolas. He is an absolute gentleman, easy to live with and very respectful. I slept in a huge attic with 2 beds for the first time. I was overjoyed just by the sight of it.

First, he offered to pick me up at the métro station even though his house was only two train stops away. I chose to walk there as I arrived early in the morning around 7.30 am. I did not want to cause him inconvenience. Not only did he show me around in Lyon for a few days, we even went to Annecy for a day sightseeing. Annecy was one of the most beautiful cities in France.

One good thing leads to another. I recommended two of my Singaporean friends to visit Lyon as one of their France travel destinations. Nicolas agreed to host the two ladies. They were so delighted to know one another and had a wonderful time together as well. My friends and I bought him dinner in Chinese restaurants on these two separate occasions.

Nicolas also prepared and taught me the way how to eat raclette. He said it was common to eat this cheesy food during winter. Overall, it was a very heartwarming experience in Lyon as I stayed with him the longest among all Couchsurfing hosts! I can’t think of anything negative during my stay with Nicolas. Now, he is also one of my most trustworthy friends in France.

4.Couchsurfing Review @ Rennes, France – Pierre ✓

Pierre was definitely a charming, lovable and handsome chap whom one loves to meet. He was so cheerful, polite & easy going. Moreover, he speaks perfect English which you cannot find a French accent in it. His beautiful state-of-art house was tastefully designed by him and his father. There was also a metro station just opposite his house which was very convenient.

My friend and I stayed with him for only night. We were going to Mont-Saint-Michel the next day. Pierre showed us around in Rennes on the day we arrived. In the evening, he asked us whether we would go to a live band music party with him which would last till 2 – 3 am. We were first hesitant to stay up that late as we had to wake up at 7 am for our Mont-Saint-Michel trip with Blablacar.

He promised that he would come back with us anytime if we wanted to go home. We had told him earlier that we wanted to stay up to 11 or 12 am, but not 3 am. I was even more surprised that he brought us to the party which was also his best friend’s birthday. He really wanted to stay there throughout the night, but he didn’t want to tell us so as not to affect our decision.

This incident reflected what an accommodative and sweet person Pierre was. His party was so crazy and fun that we stayed till 4 am anyway on our own accord, and walked home with his bunch of funny friends. No regret for saying yes to Pierre to an unforgettable French party that I will always keep in my heart. When he went to Bali in 2018, he wrote to me and said he thought of me suddenly and just wanted to say hi.

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5.Couchsurfing Review @ Nantes, France – Claude ✓

I was studying in Nantes. Hence, not a typical tourist in Nantes. I wrote to Claude who was also staying in another part of Nantes. I requested for a place to stay for a night as his house was nearer to my departure point to Paris. It was very kind of him as he offered to come over to my apartment in Nantes to help me pick up my two heavy luggage of 45 kg to his house. I was moving to Paris then. He also drove me to my destination where I took a bus to go to Paris. Furthermore, he also stayed with me for some time until I got my bus ticket, making sure that everything went smoothly.

Claude is a very kind and helpful man which I sensed from the first email. It made me very comfortable to affirm his acceptance immediately without hesitation. A few others also accepted my couch requests on the same day, but Claude was still my first choice. He was very flexible to my date change to his house as I could not confirm at that time when would be my exact departure date.

I had an individual cosy room in his clean apartment. He also offered me some dinner. We went to the neighbourhood park for a walk with his son and had a great conversation together. I was damn lucky and thankful to meet a kind soul like Claude who went out his way to help a stranger. And even more grateful to him for helping with my two suitcases which were way too heavy for me to handle by myself if not for him!!!

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6.Couchsurfing Review @ Paris, France – Maxio ✗

Among all the positive Couchsurfing reviews of those who hosted me, this will be the most negative Couchsurfing experience. I moved to Paris from Nantes and had to find an interim stay for a few days while searching for my long-term accommodation in Paris. Maxio responded to my couch request immediately when I told him honestly I would stay for a few days without giving him an exact duration while I would search actively for a long-term rental. He seemed friendly and chatty over emails.

When I arrived at his place, he had a rather cold disposition. He did not speak much with me, unlike other hosts. The good thing was that he passed me a bunch of keys to access his house even when he was not around. I found it strange that he accepted my couch request yet did not want to have many conversations with me right from the start. I could not understand why and was feeling uncomfortable with the silent treatment.

Despite my uncomfortable feeling, he helped me check with his classmates whether they had a long-term place for me to stay and sent me some useful links to search for my accommodation. I also cooked some simple dishes for him as a token of appreciation, hoping to break the ice while brushing off my negative feeling.

About 3 to 4 days later, he told me he could not host me anymore as his sister was coming over to stay with him. They were going to attend the festival. I was not sure whether it was a lie to drive me away, but I know I had to leave. Immediately, I began looking for another Couchsurfing host. Eddy accepted my request readily, but he had another couch surfer in his house. Thus, I could only move to his place two days later. On that day, I went to look for Eddy to establish a connection with him before moving over to his apartment.

✓ What I Learned from Here

I thought I would get a negative Couchsurfing review from Maxio because of something wrong that I have done without my knowledge. I was worried sick as I did not want any bad Couchsurfing reference from anyone. But I was wrong. I had a positive Couchsurfing review from him saying that I was kind, easy to host and could be trusted immediately when he saw me. I also gave him a positive review beforehand. No matter what, he let me stay in his house for free. I must be grateful to him.

This strange and uneasy Couchsurfing experience made me realise what we feel sometimes may not be true. He might have his problems or feeling down at that time which deterred him from wanting to converse with me. Or maybe, he is just a quiet guy by nature and does not like to talk much. There was nothing concrete to say that it was a negative review except for that dreadful silence. On the contrary, he even helped me. It was all in my head, I supposed.

7.Couchsurfing Review @ Paris, France – Eddy ✓

Moving on from the previous host, I did my Couchsurfing with Eddy for the next few days. Back then, he was a full-time Couchsurfing host. Now, he has accumulated over 250 Couchsurfing reviews to date. He was so experienced and had many enthralling stories to share, stereotyping certain nationalities with a particular behavioural style. He was the kind of Couchsurfing host that I fear to meet, yet the most thought-provoking kind because you can sit there and listen to his advice on how to be a good couch surfer.

Firstly, he said he was very selective over his guests as he received plenty of Couchsurfing requests every day. Secondly, he was so seasoned to host strangers every day that he no longer found it exciting to go the extra mile for them. Instead, he had more expectation of them and would tell them off about things he did not like. He had no reason to please anyone anymore because he had seen a fair bit of the ugly side of Couchsurfing where people were behaving like freeloaders.

When I looked for him one day in advance before crashing in his small apartment, there was already a woman staying with him. He prepared dinner for both of us. I offered to help wash his dishes. Later, he remarked to me discreetly that there was a difference between the girl and me. I offered to help, but the other girl didn’t offer to do anything. He quoted that as couchsurfers taking things for granted.

As Eddy’s apartment lived in a small studio, both of us slept on the couch. He told me that my mobile screen light disturbed his sleep in the dark through the illuminated reflection. He requested me to shut it down. I covered the blanket over my head to solve the light problem. Whenever he had to change his clothes, I had to get out of the house for a while as his toilet was indeed too small for him.

He did not keep his toilet clean as I could see urine droplets and hair on the floor and toilet bowl. Honestly, I can’t help but feel disgusted by the sight of it. I did not have the guts to tell him about his hygiene problem because it was his house. I did not want to shower either because his toilet was indeed the smallest I have seen. There was no place for me to hang my clothes except to place them on top of the toilet bowl, which was like having another wild nauseous imagination.

Finally, I found my long-term accommodation at La Courneurve. Eddy took a train with me and helped me move my two heavy luggage to my new place. I was really thankful to him! I still keep in contact with him after moving as I found him to be a straightforward and loyal friend. He was fussy, yet sincere. I found a genuine friendship in him because he said he would host me anytime if I were in trouble with the current landlord. I was touched. He was kind and made food for me, encouraged and helped me with my French language.

He had a couple of bad Couchsurfing reviews, but it didn’t matter to me. Those stemmed from a communication breakdown between two parties which lead to future issues later. Eddy talked openly about it. He said out of the 100 over positive reviews that he had, there were bound to be some grumpy people who would be unhappy with the Couchsurfing experience with him. That’s normal in my view. You can’t please everybody.

At this moment, he has stopped his Couchsurfing activities after finding a full-time job. Furthermore, he mentioned once that he felt tired at times after a prolonged period of accepting couch requests non-stop. He wanted to have more time for himself. Yes, Couchsurfing experiences do bring beautiful memories, but they also have burnout effects for hosts like him who accepted couch requests aggressively, draining away his energy day by day.

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8.Couchsurfing Review @ Paris, France – Laurent ✓

I decided to cancel my long-term rental at La Courneuve in Paris to live with my boyfriend in Belgium. I requested a couch from Laurent for a night stay as he lived near to the train station. Laurent is an extremely nice guy, an endearing pianist whom people love to meet in real life. Over the email, he suggested us to have dinner and some drinks together on the evening of my arrival. He also offered to pick me up from the tram stop.

Due to personal issues in La Courneuve, I delayed the time to go to his house and could not have dinner with him. He was so sweet and waited for me until very late, at about 10.30 pm without cancelling my stay or showing me any sign of frustration. When I arrived, he offered me orange juice and chit-chat with me. I was pleasantly surprised when he told me I would be sleeping on his bed while he slept on an inflatable mattress which I should be the one sleeping on it instead. He vehemently insisted that I should take over his bed. I was very touched by his words.

The next morning, he prepared some breakfast for us. We then left the house together. I deeply regretted to date for not being able to spend more time with Laurent as I think he was such a great guy to discover more about him. I still feel guilty about the short time spent with him. He was also a great pianist and played some soothing music to entertain me that night. Alas, I didn’t have any more time to appreciate it as I like classical music. I was once again grateful for meeting another gentleman in Paris and respect the way he treated a woman patiently and by giving up his bed, his comfort.

9.Couchsurfing Review @ Paris, France – Rémi ✓

I came back to Paris to take a flight back to Singapore after moving to Belgium for a month. Rémi was another impressive character. He had a trusting personality. He left me his spare key and his apartment to me when he went for work. I stayed for only 2 nights in his place, but I felt that I had known him for ages! He made me feel so comfortable that I could even put on makeup in front of him, something that I do not usually have the guts to do it in the face of others. Strangely, he had the aura to make me break my rule.

He was working on the night when I arrived. I went to his workplace, a restaurant to look for him which was below his apartment. Then, I had a very sumptuous dinner in his restaurant at my own expense. At midnight, I went down to his restaurant to look for him again after the operating hours. We had an incredible time talking with a customer and his colleague for hours.

Rémi was a creative and enterprising person who was undertaking a project hoping to be an entrepreneur. He loved sharing his innovative idea and seek ways to improve on it. I proposed some marketing ideas to sell his hand-made products. He gave me a souvenir which he made himself as a keepsake. Our discussion was indeed inspiring moments. He was nonetheless easy going, charismatic and respectful! I loved the pouring rain shower experience in his bathroom the most.

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10.Couchsurfing Review @ Lille, France – Vincent ✓

My boyfriend and I went to “Braderies de Lille”, a yearly flea market and the biggest in Europe over the weekend. We drove from Antwerp, Belgium to Lille. We were initially worried about parking too far away from the flea market due to many roads closing for the notable event in Lille. Although we did consider to book Airbnb in the centre, the cost was almost as high as a hotel. So, we gave up the thought.

I looked specifically for a Couchsurfing host living in the heart of Lille centre where the flea market took place. We found Vincent but did not stay with him since we parked near to the event. Eventually, we slept in our van instead as we had a bed there. We continued to visit Vincent and also bought him a few cans of Belgian beer. He showed us around the city like a professional travel guide, told us fascinating stories about Lille and where to get the best food and drinks around.

He walked with us at “Braderies de Lille” for the whole day. Additionally, he introduced his group of friends to us where we lunched together in a restaurant. It is a tradition to eat mussels and fries during the “Braderie and Fries” period. At night, we went to a nightclub with Vincent and his friends. The next day, he brought us to the weekend market. After which, we followed him to a “Couchsurfing Brunch” where participants would bring something there to eat and share with the rest. He also brought us to his recommended shop to buy cheese.

We stayed a weekend in Lille, but Vincent made our trip so enriching by connecting us with his close friends. He was super friendly, patient and always smiling. Even though we didn’t stay with him, he illustrated the outstanding hospitality of a local Couchsurfing host. We liked him so much that we hope to see him again by inviting him to stay with us in Antwerp if he ever comes by.

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Heartfelt Opinion

Lastly, my Couchsurfing review and experiences are not going to stop here. Whenever I travel alone to a city, I always hope someone will share remarkable stories and have a fabulous interaction so I could bring back heartfelt memories with me back home. Too many entrancing souls are there eager to meet someone nice. Are you someone who can bring beautiful experiences to others? If so, sign up and try Couchsurfing now.