Unfortunately we didn’t have the experience we hoped for. The sleeping situation was in fact not as described in the listing. We booked for one bed in a bedroom and a sofa bed- but there was no sofa bed
As two girl-friends going to Paris for a week, one for work commitments and one, myself, for a well deserved mini holiday after 2 years of lockdown, stress and personal hardship, the last thing we would think about was having a sleeping issue with our Air B&B booking, however what we then found in the flat ruined my holiday and seriously challenged my friend's working schedule.
Honestly, I was initially reluctant to leave this review for the week in the flat was such a challenge to both of us that all the positive points it may have got obscured by the ordeal we faced in there, it’s a cute flat after all and well situated. However, now back at home in London, reflecting on the unfortunate experience we had to go through, I realise that it is important to draw attention to the fact that some hosts may be listing their property with nonchalance and a serious lack of quality commitment, forgetting that this is a serious business!
My friend and I chose this flat because it was listed with a 'sleeping X 3 people’ description, a double bed and a sofa bed. Having a very different schedule and also feeling that we deserved comfort since we could have that option, we wanted to have each one our own bed. It turned out that the sofa bed was in no condition to be used as a bed, being in 2 pieces that when assembled didn’t make sense, one's feet hanging out and in the over all, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
We obviously considered leaving and complaining after the second night and also after trying to sleep together in the (small) double bed, however as my friend was extremely busy with work commitments and I was totally devastated by two sleepless nights, I tried to be resourceful and opted for a solution that I could manage by myself and that wouldn’t cause any further disruption to our trip. I managed to borrow a camping mattress from some contacts I still had from my 80’s Paris life experience. I slept on that, one unresting night on the worn out sofa which still felt totally uncomfortable and then on the floor, which was extremely hard and painful to my hips.
We contacted Marjorie, the host, who told us that after we booked the flat she changed the description of the listing into a ‘sleeping X 2’ status. She apologised justifying the situation with the fact that she didn’t know we were not a couple (what?!?) - She mentioned that if we told her so she would have acted accordingly.
Now, I really would like to know what Marjorie meant by that! Would she have ordered a single bed with a same day delivery and called an attractive muscly friend to help us assemble the pieces for a Diet Coke moment? Would she have booked me in a nearby hotel? Or maybe she would have given us an Ikea voucher?
I am obviously being sarcastic here and exceedingly bitter. We paid the price of a good hotel for a place that would possibly only be OK to travelling backpackers in their early 20’s. Even though we are far from that age, my friends and I are young at heart cool ladies who would try to adapt to any situation, but the reason is not justified and the situation is completely unacceptable!
Also:
We had only one key! We had to take time off and arrange to meet a friend of the host to get a second key.
The flat has a serious humidity problem and a persistent bad smell.
There was no second duvet cover for the second duvet.
The double bed has no headboard, its just against some empty shelves which is uncomfortable.
There are personal belonging around in the flat.
There is only one decent sized towel.
In conclusion:
We would have really appreciated if the host would have showed more concern and if she offered, as a good will gesture, some compensation at least towards the taxi fees and the trouble we went through in order to replace the missing bed and move a mattress around central Paris!
There is nothing that can be done to repair the disaster and make up for the lost time time there, that's life I suppose, however I hope that my report will contribute to keep or hopefully even improve Air B&B standards as well as helping other guests receive what they pay for.