Ray's place is one of the best we've ever stayed in.
To start, his communication is excellent! He really wants to make sure the check-in process is as easy as possible, and then he shows you around and makes sure you don't need anything before he leaves. He also makes it a point to know that he is available whenever you might need anything at all (even though we didn't because his place had everything).
The next thing we noticed immediately is how it's in the middle of everywhere you need to be. The Paris tourist office is just a couple blocks away to reserve or pick up tickets to museums or events. We picked up our metro passes there. The subway and bus lines are even closer than the tourist office. There's also this beautiful building at the end of the street with a nice park area to lay down a blanket and eat lunch or read a nice book. That's one of the places Ray told us about when we first arrived. We might not have explored it had he not told us about it.
Also everywhere outside the door are restaurants and bars. There are three restaurants immediately outside the door. The Dandy has Hassan and Dino, who'll take excellent care of you! Pave is great for French food if you want to get started right away. The British Pub at the T in the road can make you a nice old fashioned if you get tired of Aperol Spritzes, haha. The drinks are nicely priced, and like another reviewer said, you can just happily stumble back to your flat and sleep easily to the white noise of the fans and A/C as the town still bustles outside.
The TV is small, but we never had the need for it with everything there was to do and see. And Ray had cold drinks from beer to champagne waiting for us in the fridge. It was also nice to have ice cubes in the freezer and fancy glasses everywhere. One hot day, we made icy Oranginas in martini glasses and sipped them as we sat by the window of flowers and planned our day.
The washing machine was also great, and the drying rack does its job very quickly. The bed is comfy, and the sheets are soft, too. And--believe it or not--the modest A/C unit and two fans got us through two days of temperatures in the 100s! I would not have made it otherwise as I am very sensitive to heat. I even told this to Ray in advance, and he turned on the A/C the morning of our arrival so the place would be comfortable when we first walked in. That's going the extra mile! He even helped us with checking out late when we needed it. WONDERFUL!
We enjoyed our stay and our host. We plan on returning during a cooler month and really exploring now that we know the area. Merci, Ray!