Paris is such a magnificent city and after living there a few years I am now lucky to visit every year from the US and we love booking Airbnb all over the city to explore each and every corners!
Here is my feedback about this stay.
About the host: great communication with Maxime, he was reliable and fast to answer. His friend for check in and out was nice.
About the appartement: I don’t like to leave a bad review but in this case I have to say that the description in the listing is unrealistic and should be reviewed to avoid disappointment.
This is not a charming duplex- it is a SOUPLEX with lots of flaws. And living space in a basement. It should be very clear in the listing.
Maxime did a very good job with a small space but the description needs to be more accurate.
The upstairs has one window overlooking a small courtyard and garbage with a mezzanine for the bed. Kitchen and living space are downstairs with no light.
I would not have mind a souplex with bedroom being in the dark but not the kitchen and the living room. We usually like to relax after a day exploring around and even sometimes eat dinner at the Airbnb but there was no way we will do that in this appartement and we never used the kitchen- only came back to shower and go to bed.
On that note, there is a washing machine but again you are not going to dry your laundry in a basement.
About the appartement in general, it is moldy at some spots on the wall, bathroom has an unpleasant smell due to the lack of aeration and ceiling in the living room is collapsing.
About the bathroom - unless you are small you won’t be able to stand in the shower and it is in need of a deep deep cleaning- toilet and tube.
Also boxes to climb into bed and stairs to go to the basement are very steep and does not feel super safe.
About the cleanliness of the place: clearly very little cleaning has been made prior our arrival. Neither floor nor mirrors were clean. There was still a towel hanging and dishes drying. Bedding for the sofa was not ready.
It did feel like you arrive at someone’s place right after they leave without tidying up.
Also note that this is a live in place with personal effects, food in the fridge and so on- not a problem in itself but should be said before hands.
About the check in/check out time- again the announce of the listing is not accurate. It says checking after 1 pm and then we were told that it was 6 pm. And same check out says before noon but we were asked to hand off the keys before 9. I totally understand and respect that his friend has a work schedule and again we had a good communication with Maxime about that and tried to work things out but listing should give accurate times or a key box should be considered for more flexibility.
About the location: location is absolutely amazing- walking distance from the Tuileries (amazing playground, carousel and trampoline for the kids), the Louvre, you can have breakfast at Angelina (best hot chocolate ever) and the list goes on plus subway and good restaurants near by.
So here is my advice in the end:
- Maxime: rewrite the listing honestly saying it is a souplex with some flaws but in a great location, have a professional cleaning done and consider some repairs and a key box
- future guests: do consider booking this place if you have no fear of small snd closed space, have no young children, are planning to be out and about all the time and just need somewhere to sleep because it is a very good location.