Jean- Bernard's apartment in Lyon largely met our family's needs while in Lyon. We stayed Aug 13, 2021 through Aug 18, 2021.
On our arrival, we were met by a colleague of Jean-Bernard's to welcome us. Perhaps this was done to assist in English / French language barriers, but it was a very welcoming start. Most often the apartments we use tend to have digital codes and minimal guest experience on the welcome. So this was appreciated by our group.
The apartment was clean and spacious and recently remodeled. The kitchen island was central to the floor plan, living space was ample, table large enough, refrigerator kept our food cold. No issues with hot water and water out of the faucets was drinkable without any flavor issues.
The downside to the apartment was that there is only one toilet, separated from both main bathrooms / shower areas. This wasn't our only apartment in France that did this, so perhaps a unique custom for France. It did make for longer walks to the bathroom from our guests in the bedrooms farthest from the toilet.
The other issue worth noting is the apartment stays fairly warm (which could also be good in the winter). We stayed during a heatwave, reaching 97F / 36C and it was very tough to get the apartment to cool down. The portable fans provided did not work very well. The windows also did not have screens so opening them at night presented their own challenges. This is common in Europe, but mosquitos were an issue and a couple of our family members were bitten pretty good during the stay as we tried to stay cool.
For the location, our experience was unique in that we stayed in Lyon when the rest of the locals were on vacation. Come to find out, this is typical for the French to vacation in the beginning to middle of August. What made our stay challenging is that the location is in a more traditional residential part of the City. So almost nothing was open during our stay in that area. Had we stayed in the more tourist section to the north, far more would have been open to us during our stay. We made due and had a great time, but it is worth noting.
Lastly, the apartment is not super easy to access by public transportation from Lyon's Gare Part Dieu. It is possible to do so, but not the easiest and requires multiple connections and a couple 5 - 10 min walks to do it. With suitcases and cobblestones in the street, just an added dimension but not a deal breaker.
As for Lyon in general, we had a wonderful time. It was a great, small compact City and the people were very friendly. Lots of great food and wine. There was also a fantastic farmers market on the Sunday we stayed on the east side of the Soane River, so we highly recommend experiencing it while in town if it is open. I think that is everything! Happy travels (Grahams)