My husband and I stayed at Parc Royal Appartement for 4 nights in early December 2019. We arrived on Dec 3rd, the day before the strikes began. Here are some points we considered noteworthy:
Positive;
*Wonderful location in the heart of Paris, with many shops and restaurants within a 10 minute walk.
*Two metro lines within a 10 minute walk
*Quiet location..no noise problems
*Stylish apartment with a well thought our decor. A wonderful, private space.
*The most comfortable bed we slept on in our 2 weeks abroad...and the only king sized bed.
*Lovely soaking tub with huge hot water heater!
*Soft towels, a washer and dryer, 2 heated towel racks, a small kitchen.
Concerns:
*The apartment was on the 3rd floor and may be difficult for those with mobility issues or persons with a lot of luggage.
*The heating system was temperamental and occasionally unpredictable.
**Communication-The host always responded quickly to any question I had. Unfortunately, his responses weren't that helpful. For example, when I asked for directions to his apartment from the train station, he replied that taking a cab would be the most direct route and metro lines 1 & 8 were somewhat close.....If he had simply added a little more information, such as walking directions from the metro stops, etc... It would have been helpful...we ended up using Google Maps and it worked fine..
When my husband asked for restaurant recommendations in the area, the host replied that "there were many... I would expect that he might be able to name one or two within walking distance that he liked.
However, the most important issue concerned the huge strikes in Paris set to begin the day after we arrived. These strikes shut down the metro and most museums. In addition, the strikes deteriorated into riots... I now understand that this isn't new for France...Very little was said about this in the US press, so we weren't aware that it was a big deal....It was a VERY big deal.. We still had a great time and it was interesting to see how others protest their government's decisions....but for something this major, as a host, I think he should have discussed it with us. I didn't expect him to rewrite our plans for the 4 nites we were in Paris, but additional information would have been very useful in helping us make the most of our time, and helping us stay away from areas where strikes were scheduled and perhaps, offering some tips on how to find out what was open, other modes of transportation, etc..
This was the main reason I gave our experience 4 stars instead of 5...This was difficult because we really enjoyed the apartment...but I felt the host's lack of pertinent communication affected our trip.