Overall, a mediocre experience. See below for details. Most, if not all, the cons described below are correctible, and if corrected, this could be an excellent Airbnb value in Paris. Note: We never met our host Alexandre in person (This might be important for some).
PROS:
1. EXCELLENT location. Right in the heart of Paris, located on a really cool street with numerous stores and restaurants. Also, its a super close walk to multiple metro lines.
2. Very nice apartment in a nice building.
3. Alexandre was very helpful (despite some communication issues explained below) in a pinch. We accidentally locked ourselves out of the unit, and Alexandre (who was traveling at the time) made sure he was in contact with the building maintenance who was able to open the door with a spare key.
CONS:
1. The shower drain was really clogged, so after 5 minutes in the shower, the overflow started spilling out onto the bathroom floor (There is no shower door enclosure).
2. The towels smelled of mildew and did not seem very clean. This also caused a mildew smell throughout the apartment.
3. Alexandre could be difficult to get a hold of. For example, the reservation was under my Airbnb account, but my friend who was sharing the room was arriving the day before me, so he would have to communicate with Alexandre to check-in. He tried to coordinate the check-in for several days before arrival, but did not get a response until the morning of check-in instructing him to get the key from a restaurant accross the street.
3. The apartment appeared dirty overall. Could have done a much better job cleaning the place up.