We had a great experience in Paris. The apartment is in a wonderful location that’s central to many of the tourist attractions within 10 or 15 minutes of walking and 5-10 minutes of the major metro stations. We decided on a car service to take us from the airport for a price of €95. This was extremely easy to
book by emailing PVA. The driver met us at customs once we got through the airport and brought us directly to the apartment.
I’d highly recommend spending the money on that step, it made arrival SO MUCH EASIER than busses or metro with suitcases. The apartment itself is quite small, like small hotel room small. There’s not a lot of storage which could make it tricky for people traveling with larger suitcases. There are also no drawers but one big cabinet for your clothing (and everything else) which was fine but hard to stay organized. There is a washing machine which was unfortunately broken when we arrived. Our greeter Daria was a few minutes late meeting us and hadn’t been in the apartment prior to our arrival so she only became aware of the broken washer once we were in the apartment. She spent about 45 minutes trying to fix it and then contacted handyman,
whom she told us would come later that day, we receive no specific time or further communication on that. Later on while in the apartment the handyman walked in surprising us. Unfortunately he was also unable to fix the washer and after about an hour he contacted the tech company that handles all the washing machines in Paris, he told us it would take about a week but he would try to contact someone local for faster service. when we got back from an outing the next day, it was fixed. This was all fine but definitely cause inconvenience, it was a little bit awkward with people in the (small) apartment with us for almost 2 hours total, the first day we were there. Also, the lock in the door can be a little tricky, at one point we thought we had locked ourselves out. Daria was quick to answer and handle our panicked call. After a few minutes we realized that when you unlock it, you need to turn the key ALLTHEWAY left, even a little further than seems correct. Daria had showed me that at check in, but my half asleep, just arrived brain missed something. Thankful for Daria walking us through that and her patience. The place was clean, not sparkling. It’s obvious it’s not a home lovingly kept but a vacation rental that’s constantly seeing turnover. Everything is just a little beat up. The apartment has no rugs, just tiles which is fine but after about four days we noticed the floor started to get a little bit messy, tracking in the Paris streets. I wanted to sweep, but there’s no broom to use. You do have the option of someone to come in and do a cleaning, we didn’t opt for that, it seemed expensive for the small space. They also only give you two towels which requires you to do laundry in order to have clean towels after a day or two. They do provide detergent, cleaning spray, and dish soap, which is nice. Unfortunately the duvet on the bed smelled like somebody else’s perfume when we got in bed the first night. The sheets were obviously recently cleaned, Crisp and with fold lines, but I don’t know how often the duvet is changed or washed. I was a little grossed out by that but there’s no way to change/ clean it, since the washer is small and there’s no housekeeping on site. I just didn’t put it near my face after that. Speaking of the washing machine again, it takes about three hours to wash/dry one load of laundry, it’s tiny and not very efficient, please don’t bank on washing lots of clothes in it. The bathroom was ok, the shower was very large for Europe and surprisingly large for the tiny studio. On the other hand, the toilet area is so small my 6’1” husband had to sit “sidesaddle” or his knees hit the wall in front of him. There’s a small tv with a DVD player and some basic cable it seems. They provide good restaurant recommendations and info about the neighborhood. We found ourselves at Cafe Verenee and Cafe st. Germaine most. The neighborhood is posh, and has lots of conveniences. There’s a grocery store right next door that’s open until 23:00. There’s also a bakery and cafe within 2 minutes walk. Overall it was a good stay. Check out was easy and we took the car service back to the airport, again WORTH IT. We really wanted an authentic Parisian experience, with the convenience of a kitchen and washer/dryer, but the inconveniences of the studio reminded me why we like hotels. Will I come back to Paris absolutely, will I stay in this studio again, probably not.
PS: Go to Sainte Chapelle if there’s anything you do! Sandermans has great walking tours (some free!)