Just returned from 2 1/2 weeks in Paris. We stayed in the Marais Vacation-in-Paris #69 apartment. Overall, it was just wonderful - the location was so near two metro stops (Temple and Republique); there was a Monoprix just around the corner; along with various small brasseries and baguette stands.
The apartment is a large studio - the %26quot;bedroom%26quot; is a loft overlooking the living area which has a sleeper sofa (both of which were very comfortable). Our daughter joined us for a week and the place was just fine for the three of us. The kitchen was right out of IKEA (kid pointed that out), fully stocked with plates, wineglasses, and cutlery, etc. There was also a washer-dryer which worked just fine (contrary to a lot of comments I had heard before). If you want the clothes to dry, it is good to throw in a dry bath towel with them - really sped up the process.
For the most part it was a terrific experience. I have a couple of issues about the pre-trip communications with Vacation-in-Paris. The US staff people are great, no question. However, they can only go on the information provided them by the French manager. One problem we faced immediately, was that the elevator was under major renovation and was not operable the entire time. The morning we got there, workmen were busy welding. Okay - shouldn%26#39;t be much of a problem, but had we known that it would be a 3 story (curving stairs) walk-up, we never would have brought our larger luggage (one each). I have a chronic ankle/ligament problem which impedes my ability to carry heavy things - esp up three stories. I feel strongly that the staff could have notified us in advance and I would have altered the packing. However, my husband managed the bags (both directions) and the exercise was good for all of us - LOL.
The other issue was the website information about a working printer with the computer (which was good). The printer, however, had no cartridges (this one, as we discovered, needed four cartridges - one black and the other three colors). Okay - we have a real estate issue going and were happy to tell our broker that we%26#39;d be able to print out e-maied docs, sign them and fax them back. All okay - except there were no cartridges; we found a Office Depot and for 40 euros bought a black ink cartridge. Oops - the black one alone will not work without the others. There is a book in the place that people write their comments in and apparently the printer cartridge issue has been on-going. The US staff could not know about that; the French manager, apparently chose not to focus on that little detail which is part of this apartment%26#39;s write-up on the website.
I don%26#39;t mean to focus on the downside - I just feel that the French and US staff should really be a little more pro-active in communication with each other. The upside - is that the people are great to deal with . I couldn%26#39;t reach the French manager (she may have been on vacation) until she called us on our last day - and was very nice on the phone (however ineffective), but April in the US office was just great to stay on top of my concerns).
Those were very personal problems for us, and probably wouldn%26#39;t effect others the same way. My point is to emphasize good communication between all parties involved.
It was very nice to come %26quot;home%26quot; to after a hard day of being a tourist.
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Glad you had an overall great experience. I also rented from them and would rent from them again. There are always some glitches. Smiles. Happy Travels!
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Thanks for your informative post.
Your comments about the communications issue is one I hear quite frequently and a problem that I have experience with myself.
It%26#39;s gotten to the point that if I use or refer someone to a rental agent, I use one exclusively based here in the U.S. who has worked out all of those issues on the French side. It helps in minimizing all of those %26quot;Lost in Translation%26quot; situations.
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I surely sympathize with those difficulties!
On our first stay in an apartment, the greeter was emphatic about not overloading the tiny elevator. She told us, to be on the safe side, to have one person go up, then send the bags, then have the other person go up - that the elevator often broke due to overloading. Sure enough, and not due to us, the elevator broke during our stay! We were hoping not to have to lug our bags down five flights of curving staircase day of departure! Thankfully, the elevator was repaired in one day, and on a Saturday.
I%26#39;ve read/heard that elevators (like escalators in the metro stations) are out of service on a regular basis. Someone who lives in Paris told me the elevator in her building would likely be broken beyond repair some day and probably could not be replaced. And, friends checked into a hotel once, where the elevator was out of service, and would be for their entire stay. They were assigned a room on the 6th floor. As the desk clerk handed them keys, he said, %26quot;And, don%26#39;t expect any assistance from me with those bags!%26quot; (They left and stayed elsewhere.)
As for the printer cartridges, it%26#39;s a %26quot;rule%26quot;, though you are often not advised (or it%26#39;s included in the %26quot;guide%26quot;, but overlooked), that guests re-stock consumables. I was a bit shocked that we were expected to replenish things like coffee filters in a $300/night apartment!
Then, there was the time that the refrigerator in the apartment was not working...it was replaced...eventually. After returning home, they did offer a complimentary one week stay...
I%26#39;ve also learned to carefully study photos of bathrooms, for those with tiles/grout. Often, it%26#39;s more than challenging for housekeeping to keep up with mildew, resulting in %26quot;icky%26quot; bathrooms, despite their best efforts.
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It is helpful that folks post these reports. I would never have thought to ask about the printer cartridge.
We%26#39;ve rented with VIP several times and although there have been some imperfections we have for the most part been quite happy wioth our little homes away from home.
I try to be very deligent when apartment surfing and still have come across some quirks. I have seen a little mildew in one bathroom. I went over to Franprix and got some bleach. Not something I would bother complaining about.
We were in Paris last month and the outside of our apartment building was undergoing renovation. I was concerned about it and voiced my concerns. I was very pleased to be offered a nice discount by the owners.
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Dkbrooks - Actually, I would never have thought of print cartridges as %26quot;consumables%26quot;, but you are correct. We never hesistated in purchasing the 40 euro cartridge (and leave it there)- but weren%26#39;t going to spring for all four at that price.
When we mentioned this on that only phone call with the manager she said that it had been an ongoing problem with the cartridges running out of ink, but was quite puzzled that there were no print cartridges at all there. She then said that maybe some prior guests had just taken them. She said that the color cartridges ran through quickly, in prior times, because she assumed that people downloaded their pix and printed out color copies. She also said that the owner had no funds to replace the cartridges - my husband then disconnected the printer and put it in the storage closet.
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I%26#39;ve also learned to carefully study photos of bathrooms, for those with tiles/grout. Often, it%26#39;s more than challenging for housekeeping to keep up with mildew, resulting in %26quot;icky%26quot; bathrooms, despite their best efforts.unquote
there is really no excuse for moldy mildewed bath tile -- if they simply clean or spray it with a dilute bleach solution with every between tenant cleaning, the problem would not exist -- it is a matter of poor maintenance
it is true that pictures really can prepare you to make good choices -- I always assume that if a terrace is advertised but not pictured that it is a repository for broken lawn furniture and has no view and if a bathroom is not pictured, it will be grotesque -- with lots of pictures, you can really scope out likely issues and missing pictures tell you there is something nasty or defective
we have had drains with defective traps (a difficult problem in old buildings) and once there was simply no elevator in the building although one had been advertised - 10 years ago that was not the issue it would be now -- but never a serious problem and insisting on pictures and looking carefully contributes to that
printers so often don%26#39;t work that I would never rely on one -- if you take a travel drive, you can find an internet cafe and print out what you need -- or mail it to your account and do so -- although internet cafes used to be everywhere in Paris and are now hard to find as everyone in the world has internet at home
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I actully saw quite a number of internet cafes last month in Paris. The only time I%26#39;ve used the internet in Paris was at the Fat Tires office. I think it was 1 Euro for 30 minutes. I have found I can live without internet while on vacation. So far anyhow. However, if I was depending on it being available and it was not I%26#39;d probably be a bit cranky myself.
I would not rent an apartment without seeng the bathroom either. As far as the mildew it was just a little in the lower corner of the shower. Otherwise the shower was spotless. I though mabe it was due to the place having not been used for awhile. At any rate, I poured bleach on it and went on about my business.
As for apartment #69 it looks extremely small and I would never consider one of those loft bed things. But for that price in that location it is a great deal. It even has a washer.
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