SMELLS LIKE A SEWER
I really wanted to be able to leave a positive review of this apartment, but that's just impossible. For starters, there was an overwhelming smell of sewer gas coming from the bathroom after we started the washing machine. I immediately alerted our hosts, who didn't get back to us until the following day (to be fair, it was 1030pm when I texted them). They asked for photos of where it was coming from (I had no idea where the source was), and said they'd 'look into it'. The smell improved but seemed to always be there, and came back heavily with another use of the washer and once when using the shower, to the point that we had to leave the apartment to escape the odor - twice. I notified the hosts again, and they apologized and said they'd never had this problem before and that 'they'd look into it, and please don't forget to leave your key when you check out'. I was quite disappointed that there had not been more effort to remedy/investigate the situation while there, as I had told them it was negatively impacting our experience.
I contacted AirBNB and notified them of the experience, and they communicated with the hosts to try to establish an agreement for at least a partial refund because the smell was uncomfortable, gross, and an inconvenience. The hosts declined. Because AirBNB is a great company, and they want their customers happy, they issued be a refund for the cleaning fee. They also stated that my experience is NOT in keeping with the experiences they want their customers to have, so they sent their sincere apologies. As a courtesy, I notified the hosts that I was disappointed we hadn't reached an agreement, and to notify them that I'd be writing an unfavorable review. I was immediately met with hostility from them. They said they had stopped by several times, and that there was no smell. They didn't stop by, because my sister had been home all day with a sore knee and they did NOT come by. They said that I had no reason to be disappointed with my stay, and that no one else had ever complained of the smell before (not true - read the other reviews). I was told that my complaint was nonsense. I just think they didn't care.
Other negatives:
-this apartment is SMALL! Not big enough for more than 2 people. When the sleep sofa is pulled out there is NO SPACE to get around. There are no closets. This would be adequate for only 2 people comfortable, despite the fact that it sleeps 4.
-shower is TINY. If you're even slightly larger than an average person, no chance you can pick up your shampoo off the floor. Also, there was a weird and unsettling hole in the shower wall.
- Kitchen in not equipped for cooking. Small and not well outfitted. Fine for cocktails.
- This may be a picky complaint but I think worth sharing: Ice cube trays present, but empty. It would have been a nice touch to have ice for the guests upon arrival. Also, there were a total of 4 coffee pods for 3 people for 3 days. We were told we had to get our own. I'm used to having one pod/person for each morning. Maybe that's an unreasonable expectation.
-washer had laundry in it when we arrived. I notified the hosts (this was pre-sewer smell) and they said "oh just put the laundry in a closet'. There is no closet. I though it odd that we then had to fold and put away the laundry. Other reviews have mentioned this as an ongoing issue.
-says it has an elevator, but doesn't. It's a 'first floor' apartment, but it's up about 10 stairs. We saw no lift nor were told of one.
There are a few positives:
1) it's in a great location
2) they were willing to change their 'no AC before July 1' policy and bring the unit in for us early. We were there for the big heat wave, so this was hugely helpful. NOTE: The AC is a portable unit, and because of the layout of the apartment, only cools the room it's in. The rest of the apartment is still pretty warm.
I would NOT stay here again. There are plenty of other great apartments in Paris that don't smell.