We had a lovely time in Paris, however, since this is the first review of this AirBnb, we do want to be very honest. If you expect an apartment targeted to tourists or guests, this is not for you…
First of all, the apartment was not properly cleaned, albeit the advert saying they would provide hotel level cleaning. The bed was made, but dying plants and dirty cushions were left behind in the living area. Food in the kitchen area that was left by the owner or previous tenant was starting to go bad and attracted a lot of insects (ants and flies). The shower was clean, but the streaks of water from previous use were still visible on the glass doors. The apartment was very moist, especially the toilet area, which meant that there were a lot of insects (silverfish) in there. Furthermore, upon our arrival, the apartment also smelled strongly of pets. A smell we know all too well since we have cats ourselves. However, since this was our first time traveling since the start of the pandemic, this was not only a big let down to us, but it also made us feel unsafe and unclean. Moreover, this should have definitely been included in the advert, in case guests are allergic to pets. The place also did not have any spaces for the guests to hang their clothing, since all cabinets were packed with the clothing and belongings of the owner of the house.
Apart from the uncleaniness of the apartment, the biggest problem for us was that the lock of the front door of the apartment itself was broken. The door could not be properly locked, which meant that you didn’t even need the key to open the door. Because of this we had to carry our important belongings with us through Paris during a heatwave. Plus, every night, we placed items in front of the door because we were scared of a possible break-in. When we confronted Welkeys about the issues, the very first night we arrived in the apartment, we were left hanging without any information on whether someone would come to fix the issues or at least look at the issues. All they told us was that we had to email them evidence of the uncleanliness and the lock, but after that they didn’t do anything. Because Welkeys did not provide us with any updates or any information, we were unable to book a new hotel or to contact AirBnb on time. We wanted to fix the issues with Welkeys, but unfortunately this was impossible. Because of AirCover, we managed to get part of our money back but we still think that if Welkeys responded earlier, we would not have lost as much money as we did.
It’s really unfortunate, since the aesthetics of the apartment were very nice and the place itself had a lot of potential. We just wished that Welkeys would have helped us more during our stay. We felt like we were not being taken seriously. And that if anything bad were to have happened, that the company wouldn’t have helped us either.
If you don’t mind to ‘house sit’ someones apartment during your stay in Paris, this AirBnb might be for you (if they change the lock). However, with our previous experiences of AirBnbs, this apartment was definitely not for us and was not enjoyable at all. We don’t think the apartment was worth the amount we paid for it, and don’t recommend this apartment to any couples looking for a romantic getaway in Paris.