Leely2

My apologies if there is already a thread covering this. I checked the Paris apartment thread and have come up with a few possibilities, but I'm also soliciting more general advice/opinions.

Long-winded background:

I will be transiting through Paris next spring on my way to Kenya. Have four days/nights. My mom, 70, thought she'd like a week in the city while I'm there. A friend is traveling with me. My mom will arrive a couple days ahead of us.

My mother speaks no French but has been to Paris about three or four times, including once by herself (her solo trip was 15 years ago). Mom is wonderful, but on the last family trip to Rome I realized she had aged a bit--she was pretty clingy and dependent on me. She claims she is far more comfortable in France than in Italy; from what I've seen, I would agree. She also prefers apartments to hotels, and although comfortable financially, she is not what I'd call free with money.

I'm thinking: set her up in a hotel with concierge for the couple of days before I arrive and then stay in an apartment where I can handle any problems, get her groceries, etc. Mom can stay on a couple extra days after my friend and I leave for Nairobi. I want to make things easy and nice for my mother. I also want to keep things simple for myself because the focus of my trip is Kenya.

Does this seem reasonable? Other ideas?

Any suggestions for hotels and/or apartments for less than a week? I would like to keep lodging costs around 200E/night. Mom can navigate the 5th, 6th and 4th fairly well.

Thanks in advance for any ideas and opinions!

Nikki

Try www.rentparis.com

I believe they rent for stays of your length.

Judy

It might be worthwhile to e-mail a few agencies with your dates as they may have partial weeks open. Looking at availability calendars, many people book stays longer than a week or not Saturday to Saturday leaving gaps.

Christina

Good luck on that plan, personally, I wouldn't even bother with an apt for a couple days and wonder how your mother is going to handle being on her own in an apt and the leave-taking or anything else, if she can't handle being in a hotel without a concierge. I'd let her stay in a hotel the entire time.

However, vacationinparis.com allows stays from 3 days, although there is a surcharge for less than 5 days.

Leely2

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm definitely mulling just putting her in a hotel. Before she mentioned that she'd like to go, I had assumed my friend and I would book a hotel for four nights.

I also didn't mean to suggest that mom is incompetent or incapable; she was a high-powered career woman for many years. I just want to make things easy for her, and she does prefer apartments. The last few times we've vacationed as a family I've taken care of all the details. Because I'm a control freak.

Need to figure out the best way arrange things.

Southam

Perhaps an "apart'hotel" would provide a satisfactory compromise. These hotels provide a room with a kitchenette. The large chain Citadines advertises 16 locations in Paris. http://www.citadines.com/ although I cannot vouch personally for their services. There are other companies too. For short stays they have the advantage of operating a normal hotel front desk for check-in, rather than meeting an apartment agent. Also, they do not require an advance deposit.

bon_voyage

Leely, maybe an apartment that's part of a hotel? I took a quick look on Tripadvisor and found this
http://www.residencehenri4.com/rooms.html as an example.

cw

Leely, I remember a man who owned some apartments in the Marais and had an agreement with a nearby hotel for services. I thought I had kept a link and tried to find it and couldn't. I'll check again, but I believe he also rented through vrbo and had his own website. He lived in the US. Maybe this will be familiar to someone

Sorry this is not very helpful.

Seamus

Southam, have you ever actually stayed at a Citadines? They are not very comfortable and the price/value ratio is pretty poor. Especially for a former power player I would not recommend them.

Leely, even places that state a seven day minimum will sometimes rent for shorter period if they have vacancy, would be worth asking if you see a place you like.

Leely2

These are all good ideas that hadn't occurred to me--thanks so much!

I'll do some searching for this Mysterious Marais Man, cw.

cw

Leely,

I found the apartments. It looks as though they are no longer affiliated with a hotel but they may have someone on sight. I do remember the owner had Atlanta connections. Here's the link:
http://www.ourhomeinparis.com/home.html

I'm sure I read about it here or somewhere like TA or Slow Trav.

Have a wonderful trip to Africa. Will look forward to that report.

cw

someone on "site" not "sight."

ardithl

The Hotel Relais Bosquet has a few apartments and I believe that the hotel provides concierge service.

seafox

On a different note, what's Mom going to do while in Paris? Javing been there a few times, my guess is she has hit most of the usual tourist spots. You might consider reaching out to Micahel Osman at [email protected] He is a private guide and at 100EU a full day very reasonable. Michael will customize a tour that will show her just about anything that might interest her .... and she'll have someone to touch base with should she need any other help. He has done some fascinating tours for us and friends of ours .... give it a thought (fashion, chocolate, the pre-Hausmann city, medieval warfare ... you name it he can customize it)

Leely2

Good idea, Seafox. I will pass the info along to her. Were you by chance the poster who recommended the Bramante penthouse in Rome to me a few years ago for a family trip? If so, Mom was on that vacation too and she just loved it. She ended up "moving" upstairs to the top level because she had a pretty bad cold while we were there so stayed in a bit more than usual; however she enjoyed being up there with the terraces and the beautiful view of the Bramante chiostro and the Roman rooftops--even with her sore throat. I was worried that place would be too tatty/shabby-chic for her. Not the case at all.

Alan_CT

I think there are a lot of owners and agencies who rent for less than a week. May depend on actual dates - they may want more in terms of days and price for holiday periods.

We've rented for as little as three nights through www.likelivingthere.com.

Seems like it would be important to have good transportation nearby, i.e. a Metro station with a line or lines that go to the places you - and Mom - want to visit. And plenty of nearby dining.

Leely2

Follow up. My mother really does prefer an apartment and is taking one for the whole week. Although they are a bit pricey (IMO), she has used Guest Apartment Services in the past and decided that she would be most comfortable just dealing with them again. So that bit is done. Thanks to all for the suggestions--I have bookmarked them for my own travels.

cw, I will be self-catering at one camp in Kenya. Ithumba Camp in Tsavo National Park, where the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust releases orphaned elephants for reintroduction into the wild. Stayed there a couple of years ago with friends. <b>Highly</b> recommended for elephant lovers.