Advice on this apt in Paris, please
 

Hello,

We are a family of four - two adults and two teen boys. We went to Paris several years ago and stayed in an apt by the Luxembourg Gardens and LOVED that area.

We are headed back to Paris for a few days as part of a longer trip to Europe in April 2012. I have been desperately looking for a short-term apt without luck, but finally found this one with availability for our dates.

www.vrbo.com/339804

1. Can anyone tell me about this area? It looks like a good location, but I have read some not-so-good things about the Les Halles/Chatelet area, and this looks close to there, but it is hard to tell on the map. Are there any markets (grocery stores) near by?

2. What about the actual apartment? What do you think? I have looked at so many my head is spinning and I can't keep straight any more all the little things to look for.

3. For the 4 of us, it is 151euros/night (or about $220) - pretty much at the top of our price range. Does this seem like a good price for this apt and area?

Finally, if anyone has a suggestion for another apartment that they have stayed in, somewhere around $200/night or less, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks SO much!!!

What is the actual address of the apartment? I couldn't find it on their website, nor could I figure out how to zoom in on the map. 3 mins from the Centre Pompidou could be good - or not.

Have paersonally stayed in an apartment that area

No elevator 4 floors of steps up and down get VERY old.

1st or 2nd floors only for me.

Residential small shops gets fairly dodgy at night

My main gripe dog poop was EVERYWHERE no one cleans up

so watch your step

It is a 15 minute walk to the center.

The photos look photo shopped and the apartment looks

quite basic but ok I only pay with credit card

and never wire money

It is illegal currently for you to rent from an individual

Seldom enforced but police do nothing if you get scammed

Check over on Bali for a lady that was scammed out of

thousands by a a fake "owner" VRBO did nothing

I have seen "Yoko" affiliated with at least 2 apartments

doubt she is the owner unless she "owns" many..

Reputable agents better parisbestlodge.com a good one

insuremytrip.com still always wise and pay with CC

www.hotel-collegedefrance.com other family rooms booking.com

for me for a day or 2 do this first then get better deals

book exactly what you want boots on the ground.

That is the way I always do it.. too dodgy/risky

to do on line... Happy Travels!

Paris apartments ... there is a whole site about scammers using CraigsList Paris here ... advice or not, but I have used Vacation Rentals By Owner ...
http://www.secretsofparis.com/.../18...tal-scams.html

The apartment was recently discussed in this thread: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-apartment.cfm

I have used this site: homelidays.co.uk 5 or 6 times and always got what I paid for. Be sure to read the description and do not assume something is there if it is not listed. Also, be sure to check what floor and if there is a lift, if that matters to you.

St Cirq: the actual address is 52 rue de la Verrerie.

qwovadis: I'm not sure if you are telling me this one looks like a scam and the area gets dodgy at night, or just just warning me in general about CraigsList (which I wouldn't use.) Either way, thank you for your input - it is appreciated. I've checked ParisBestLodge - no luck, but will try your other links.

cw: thanks for the link - off to look at the thread!

If you are "desperately" looking for a short term apartment in Paris for next year, use Fodor's or Tripadvisor to post your travel dates and budget, and requirements (number of beds, location desires), and see what responses you get.

I know you've probably already done this - but I always check slowtrav.com for an reviews. Go to the "France" tab and then "vacation rentals" and see if anyone has reviewed this specific apartment.

I looked quickly at the apartment - here are my quick thoughts:

- living room seems to lack seating space. I know we all like to be able to "plop" on a couch and veg when at an apartment. I'm not sure there is space for that. If one (or both) of the boys is either on the floor a lot (as kids are!) or will sit at the kitchen table, you'll be fine. However...

- listing is confusing - says "3 bedrooms", but I think that means "3 rooms" - because in the detail, it is 1 double bed and one convertible bed. I don't understand ? And there is only one photo of a bedroom. I fear that the red couch is really a pullout bed. Will the boys be happy with that ?

- location looks great - very close to Seine and convenient to many things. Don't know the specific neighborhood and was using their map, so I would check out the address on a different map.

I hear that you are struggling with budget, but I would think hard about the 1 bedroom thing. I find when we try to skimp on bedrooms, all the "stuff" that would be in a bedroom ends up in the living room and we are lazy about re-making the pullout and I feel like we are living in a hotel room with a kitchen anyway.

I would ask the boys.... 'would you rather have your own room and maybe we'll eat a few more meals in' or 'would you rather share a pullout couch and we'll eat out more' ?

Area is not particularly appealing but not likely to be truly unsafe. Big stopper for me is the fourth floor (American 5th) walk up. Price for what you are getting seems high - not all that spacious, no elevator, location only so-so, not all that attractively furnished. I'd keep looking.

Thank you all for your thoughts. I really appreciate it.

So I heard back from another one - it is quite a bit more, but maybe we'll just have to do like surfmom says (good advice, especially now that the boys are so big - they are taller than me and one's taller than my DH, though skinny as can be!), and revise the budget. I've starting a new thread so it doesn't get lost, but it is vrbo #250303.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...r-thoughts.cfm