There are pros and cons to many properties on Airbnb, including this apartment in Lyon. Bottom line is that it is good value for money — if you understand what you are getting.
The apartment is in a ‘traboule,’ an ancient housing style of Vieux Lyon in which apartments are accessed from a common spiral staircase that rises from a small central courtyard accessed by a narrow stone hallway that bisects the building from each adjacent street.
The stone hallway and courtyard are a bit dark (one of the lights was out in one of the hallways, and the courtyard is used for trash storage), but it did not feel unsafe and it was nice to live like a ‘local.’
One of the street doors from one side of the bisecting hallway is accessed by a keypad, and the other by a key, and there is a steel door at the base of the spiral staircase (with another code for entry). The spiral staircase has narrow steps and would be tricky for anyone with limited mobility. There is an elevator, but it does not stop on the floor of this apartment; you still need to walk up half a flight of stairs when taking the elevator.
None of this was well explained before check-in (which was permitted early, which was gracious and appreciated) — and it was hard to figure out how to access the apartment (the keys for which are kept in a box outside one of the street doors, not in the box outside of the apartment and not on the side of the building of the street address provided), which was difficult and frustrating on arrival.
The communications issue was not due to language (I was aided by a fluent French speaker as well as a language translator), but rather to incomplete and unclear information.
The incomplete and unclear information continued when we tried to access the apartment WiFi: the information on the printed welcome sheet is inaccurate, and the first information provided by the owners by phone was incorrect; the third try did the trick (tip: there is an “i” button on the front of the router which one pushes to get the correct network name and password), but it should not take so much back-and-forth to get this essential and simple information — or to access the building.
The apartment itself is cozy and well-appointed with everyone you’ll need. The sofa is not very comfortable but it is adequate. The apartment is charming and the photos are accurate. (Note that the included ‘breakfast’ consists of a box of breakfast cereal; milk; crackers; and a juice box on the first day — better than nothing, but not extensive.) The bed (in a low-ceilinged loft) was comfortable but there was no top sheet under the comforter. The apartment is bright and pleasant and there are wonderful tall windows overlooking a bustling, interesting street in Vieux Lyon.
The street the apartment faces is one of the busiest in Vieux Lyon, which makes it fabulously well-located and a pleasure to be in the heart of things. Other reviews had warned of the loud noise from a bar at the base of the building and it is true, it is loud at night, but it was not worse than I expected due to the accurate reviews. Ear plugs worked for one of us and the other was a heavy sleeper whom the noise did not bother. All-in-all it was worth it for the good value of the well-located property, but be prepared.
One flaw: the apartment was not well cleaned. In the age of COVID we travel with alcohol wipes and we wiped down all surfaces (which were cluttered with random papers and mis-matched items of no use to guests, e.g. empty three-ring binders and a slightly bizarre collection of mostly-used toiletries in the bathroom, e.g. a 25%-full tub of hair gel and a dirty lint brush) and the alcohol wipes all came up brown, black or gray, and there were food crumbs under things like the binders and in drawers. Bring your own wipes, or ask the owners to please double-check the cleaning before check-in.
This is a difficult property to rate. The location is five-star; the cleanliness one-star; the amenities four-star; the communications two-star. I net out at three-stars, but make your own judgment based on what’s important to you.
p.s.: We had no heat — for eight nights — in February — and we did not get an apology till day six (prior to that we were told that ‘the Nest Internet application reported the heat was working,’ though as conveyed repeatedly, it was not) — the owner eventually investigated and acknowledged with regret that the radiator was broken & needed to be replaced, but there was no offer of a credit, discount or refund.