The location is excellent -- just a 10-minute walk from the heart of the Marais, Centre Pompidou, and the market at Montorgueil, and 25-minute stroll to the Louvre/Pont des Arts. There are tons of restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, bakeries, bars, and shops in the area. Popular metro stops are nearby as well. The apartment has two levels as described. The bathroom is on the ground level and the rest of the flat is on the upper level. It should be highlighted that the interior staircase between the two levels is a narrow, uneven, and steep spiral staircase. There are no windows in the bathroom which can be opened and the bathroom air vent is operated by motion. Therefore, as soon as we used the shower, the bathroom and the entry of the apartment smelled very musty during our entire stay. The towels would not dry in the bathroom; we had to hang them up in the second level. But the bathroom is a great size. The second level was renovated nicely and is modern. It is a small living area, but comfortable. There are 3 narrow steps up to the closet, so you just need to be careful accessing that. The apartment is located in a passage way that is open to the public during business hours accessible from two different streets, one of which is quite busy. There are boutiques and other apartments in the passage. The main doors on both sides of the passage are locked in the evening and a code is needed to get into the passage during that time. The entry to this specific apartment is at the ground level. Coming from a very large international city, this was the only aspect that bothered me. It is not a private passage; anyone could walk by the apartment at any point during the day and there was only a small, single lock securing the apartment. You cannot hear any street noises from the apartment, except an occasional siren very faintly in the distance. However, the walls are thin, so you can hear people walking up the stairs in the adjoining apartment building, which is right next to the wall where the bed sits. You will also hear talking in the passage (even when the window is closed), and any talking and music bounces off all the apartments surrounding this apartment. Most people were respectful of this and kept their voices low. But this may bother you if you are a light sleeper. My biggest complaint is the cleanliness -- the face towels and all the bed linens (fitted sheet, comforter, and pillow cases) contained permanent stains, giving the impression that they were not clean. Therefore, I cannot rate this apartment as sparkling clean.
Fatima and Lennart were very responsive with all questions. Jessica was incredibly friendly, flexible, and helpful with check-in.