First - I hate writing anything less than great reviews. I travel full time and really try to be friendly and thorough in each review I give. I do however need to accurately represent my situation at this airbnb and hope future travelers find this helpful in making a decision.
The PROS!
- Location! Great location, central Montmarte, walkable to so many cafes, coffee shops, tourist sites, restaurants, metro stations, groceries, etc. There are many stairs in Montmarte area, so you will need to do some up and down, but that is unavoidable in this area.
- our host was great - she was communicative through all of our issues and did the best she could in the situation that was presented. She even brought us two fans since the apartment was pretty hot.
- Relatively speaking, the kitchen and bathroom are a nice size for Paris. There is also a large sitting area that we enjoyed for working.
Where we ran into issues:
- the apartment was not the cleanest on arrival. Both floor and shower were already a bit dirty (I think the floor moreso because of...)
- the ceiling crumbles! It is a beautiful vaulted brick ceiling that creates a nice ambience, but being an older building, when people walk on the floors above it causing debri to fall down slowly overtime. Over our 2 weeks at this location the floor got unbearably dirty from this, we were constantly sweeping.
- the washer stopped working mid-wash on two occasions
- the apartment had a MAJOR leak when we were there. Leaking from the ceiling onto the stove and both sides of the walls. This is the biggest reason for the 3 stars because it was extremely disruptive to our stay. It cause power and wifi to shut off at times, and it was on and off for several days in a row. The night we found out about this, we had the neighbor and property manager in and out of our apartment several times while we were trying to enjoy dinner. No one asked if it was OK for them to come, and it felt a bit disrespectful. In their defense, they were just trying to help, but my husband and I were tired and hungry from a long travel day. The host did everything she could do to help the situation, but unfortunately, it has a very negative impact on our time in the apartment.
Things to keep in mind:
- the beds are up in two loft-style areas, and the stairs/ladder to reach them are very steep and the ceilings get lower up there. If you are less abled or not stablefooted, this may be a hard location for you.
- we arrived on the metro and the quickest way to the apartment is up around 4 flights of stairs. We are super active, but had 3 heavy suitcases along with personal items to lug up the stairs. Knowing this in advance would have been nice, just to better prepare.
Overall I don't think this is a "bad" place, but I can't recommend it until it is better maintained.