We stayed in this bright and spacious 1-bedroom flat for a week. It’s convenient to the metro, lots of restaurants, museums, shopping, all just a few blocks off the Seine. We enjoyed our stay, but we did encounter some problems and inconveniences. Booking was easy and the management team responds quickly to questions, usually within an hour. Picking up the key form a local grocery just around the corner was a cinch. The property is managed remotely and we were always in contact with a different person. This meant that things didn’t run smoothly when there were problems—AND there were problems.
I had requested an early check-in because we would be arriving to Paris after an overnight flight and because I had a presentation the next day. The management team told me to check the day before my arrival. Fair enough, that's standard policy. BUT when we landed, we were told that we couldn’t check in until 5:00/17:00. And all we received was a note of apology.
We finally entered and the room was still being cleaned. But it was hard to tell since after the cleaner left, there was still dirt on the floor and no toilet paper.
Exhausted, I went to take a shower. The drain did not work and the bathroom flooded in minutes.
Wait!… it gets worse (and also a little ridiculous). The wind closed the door to the bedroom behind us and it locked. We used our combined strength to pull the door but no luck. I tried sliding a credit card between the jamb and the door but no luck again. I called the management company and explained the problem, clearly stating that it also constituted a fire hazard. Their response was to tell me it would cost a minimum of 50 euros to send a locksmith. Fortunately, by this time, the neighbors heard the commotion. They conveyed that this was not the first time that occupants had gotten locked in the bedroom. The friendly neighbor rigged up a system with a broom to which she attached a bag. Inside the bag was a long knife. I was able to lean out the window to grab the bag and the knife easily opened the door. We were free! But not exactly how one wants to spend one’s first day in Paris. I would note that the door locked again, but this time someone was on the other side of it in the main room and was able to let me out.
Back to the shower: the management company told me to go buy Drano to unclog the shower and they would reimburse me for that item along with the toilet paper. I explained I wasn’t going to do that. So they said that they would send a handyman who never showed. In the end, I took apart the drain myself and used a knife from the kitchen to unclog it. It was disgusting.
So there you have it. A nice flat, but really at this price, these problems and potentially dangerous defects should not be something that visitors to Paris should have to solve on their own.