My wife and I have stayed at quite a few Airbnbs in France. Some have been anonymous, with minimal Ikea furnishings and no indication that the host had ever stayed there. Others showed the host’s presence (some pieces of furniture possibly inherited, idiosyncratic art on the walls and so on). Others were full of indications of the host’s presence. At the extreme, these felt as though the host had just run to the grocery and would return at any moment. That was certainly the case with Catherine’s apartment. Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with that (and we generally like that), but it seems worth mentioning.
As others have written, Catherine was very quick to reply to emails and one of her children arrived with the keys within a very few minutes after we called. Guillaume was sweet and provided a quick guide to the place. Could there have been some information in the apartment, perhaps a map of the neighborhood? Where exactly the closest metro was? Perhaps a few recommendations about restaurants, bakeries etc.?
Fortunately for us, we’d previously stayed in the area (just off rue Vouillé where it becomes rue Alesia) right by the boundary between the XV and XIV arrondissements. Some of our recommendations: Le Grenier à Pain is a superb bakery around the corner (on leaving the building, walk right to the first street (it’s at a diagonal) then walk left about 30 meters), and the restaurant Montclar (and also the wine bar of the same name) about 50 meters past the bakery.
Some Airbnb hosts leave something for their guests on arrival—a bottle of mineral water, maybe even a bottle of wine or something to munch on. Of course this isn’t required, but many guests in Paris have come from abroad and are apt to be jet-lagged or frazzled. Not required, but a nice gesture.
One or two aspects were a bit off: The lovely light blue and yellow sofas in the Airbnb listing are gone, replaced by two unattractive dark solid colored sofas; similarly, the blue living room chair was not there either, though perhaps it had been recovered. The apartment was not dirty but it wasn’t spotless either. Sock bottoms became gray walking on the parquet.
What Catherine’s place provides is a quick and smooth reception, an apartment with a lot of room in a modern (1970s?) large apartment building with a sparse but pleasant terrace, and good bus connections (bus #95 is just 50 meters away on the street of the apartment) to the center. It’s a good choice that could easily become a great one.