The good:
This flat is decent sized for Paris and well equipped for a long stay. You can absolutely operate here for an extended period of time.
The location is also impeccable. You have the 2 and 12 metro lines (easy access to the Louvre) and a bevy of restaurants, parks, and grocery stores within a 5 minute walk of the flat.
It is bright and the natural light in the morning is a really great way to experience Paris.
The Bad:
There is a significant amount of deferred maintenance in this apartment and a lack of interest on Gaelle’s part in addressing it. In the instructions it mentions to “aerate the apartment frequently,” because there is/was toxic mold along the windows. When my partner and I informed Gaelle we had fallen sick she mostly didn’t respond to our messages and said the architect could come look in mid-April. We fell sick in January for your reference. Turns out the mold was easily removable with clorox solution. Took 30 minutes and 3 euros. In short, deferred maintenance and poor cleaning. Another example of that kind of shortcuts approach is putting down new flooring without ripping up the old carpet. Another source of dust, allergens, mold, etc that literally cannot be scrubbed away. I also think there are possible health issues with how the water tank was installed.
Furthermore, there are holes either behind the refrigerator or underneath the water tank. This means that when the weather is cold mice take up residence in this apartment. Gaelle knows this too, she writes in the instructions “throw trash away so you don’t have mice.” When we started to see mice we tried to handle it ourselves with traps. To no avail. Finally the situation worsened when a mouse hit a trap, and dragged itself behind the refrigerator still alive. Because of how the apartment is designed we couldn’t remove the refrigerator and deal with it ourselves.
So, Gaelle came while we were away for a weekend with her husband and removed it. When we told her she also stated “this happened with the last guest.” I.e. there is a pattern here of learning of problems and then as she said “but they went away on their own,” which is not what happens when you have mice. My suggestion to Gaelle was that they move the refrigerator and take a peek behind there and see if the mice were burrowing in. Nope, even when she was here she didn’t/wouldn’t do it. Instead she denied that there was a hole, which might be true, but mice get into the apartment somehow and she doesn’t care to find out where.
Later, she sent me a long message basically saying if we were neater we wouldn’t have mice. Well, I’ve stayed in a lot of airbnbs and have never had this problem. But other guests, staying in this apartment, and the traps we found underneath the television, indicate that other guests and residents have had this problem! The common denominator is the host and the apartment, and the guests change.
The Host:
Gaelle is a good example of why you NEVER communicate with your host over whatsapp. When we had mold issues she ignored our messages on Airbnb but did respond to whatsapp. This got us into a bad habit and we used whatsapp. However, when she decided to criticize my management of her property she seemed to rediscover the Airbnb messaging portal. In short, I believe it was an intentional strategy to avoid accountability through Airbnb.
Then, as the mice situation worsened I contacted Airbnb who were great, by the way, and they tried to mediate a solution. Gaelle told Airbnb that she contacted an exterminator to come, but then sent me a message saying that we would have to deal with it ourselves. Again the strategy is clear: delay, ignore, and do whatever it takes to avoid making repairs or taking action.
Finally after agreeing to come collect the key she messaged me with 5 minutes notice that she wasn't coming. I've never actually met Gaelle. It's part of a pattern too. She always has a reason for why she can't be where she originally said she'd be or do what needs to be done. Her explanations are satisfactory but taken in context I can't help but wonder why whenever she needs to do something events just seem to make it impossible. It's convenient.
Final Review:
This is the least clean, worst managed Airbnb that I have ever stayed in but the natural beauty of the apartment and neighborhood make it a decent bargain even with the host of problems I mentioned. If you do stay here, take pictures of everything when you arrive in the event you do get into a dispute with Gaelle. It’s sad and frustrating, because I really do love this apartment. But it has not been well maintained, and Gaelle clearly goes way beyond the normal Airbnb host in trying to keep her costs, cleaning, and maintenance to an absolute minimum. I was in this apartment from January 16, 2022 to May 15 and she seems to have another guest coming on May 15. Somehow I doubt that it will be professionally cleaned in the interim despite the fact we are all charged a cleaning fee.