Our 30th anniversary was the occasion for our first return to Paris since 2015 and our main goal was to spend 8 days immersed in this fascinating, beautiful city. To do that we wanted a central location that would be convenient for walking and public transit and still leave enough in the budget for all we wanted to do (and eat.)
Francesca's Three Windows on Paris fit the bill nicely in the most important ways: reasonable price for such a great location and an attractive, light-filled place to return after a day in the city. It is in a secure building and the 7th floor makes for a fairly quiet night's sleep. It also makes for a long haul with luggage if the small lift isn't working, which it wasn't on the day of our arrival. Our questioning of the on-site Gardian provided only shrugs in response. However, Francesca got on it right away and the lift was a welcome and trusty assistant for the final 7 days, reliably depositing us at our front door every time we came home. (Ours was the only apartment on the floor, adding to the quiet(er) ambience.)
The only caveats to this being an ideal location were the kitchen and the odd lack of common supplies. The tiny kitchen– which is just fine for keeping things in the fridge and warming things up in the oven (no microwave) or on the 2 pan electric cooktop– encouraged us to eat nearly all our meals out. That is not necessarily a bad thing in Paris, but we tend to stay in apartments rather than hotels because we like to fix many of our meals ourselves. Also, there is no dedicated area to eat a meal, with the approximately 15" x 48" table on the living room wall with two wood side chairs. There's a lovely view in the apartment, but we ate pushed up facing a blank wall.
We were more puzzled than upset about the strange and sparse assortment of consumable items instead of what we've come to expect in an Airbnb. When we caught our breath after carrying our luggage up when we arrived, we found 1/2 roll of toilet paper and 1/3 roll of paper towels, . The kitchen and bathroom had a mishmash of half and nearly empty containers clearly left by previous guests, but virtually nothing fresh and organized set out we could feel good about using. So we shopped down the street for what we would need. There were only 2 very tiny wastebaskets in the apartment, one in the toilet room, one in the bath. When Francesca got back to us about our concerns, she assured us there was a larger trash can under the sink. However, that spot was occupied by a mop bucket and mophead. So we saved plastic bags to put our trash in in the living room. We are fairly sure this situation is related to the two years of the place not being rented out during the pandemic and it taking time for Francesca to get good local help cleaning and provisioning the apartment when she is out of the country.
On balance, we felt these issues need attention but that they did not change the fact that we were unlikely to find a better place for a glorious week in Paris without spending a lot more than we did. Thank you, Francesca