Something I always hear and read is "have you checked slowtrav.com? They have a lot of apartment reviews."

I have found hundreds of aparments in Venice with no reviews on slowtrav.com, and our wonderful apartment in Paris had one bad review on slowtrav.com! We loved that place.

So now we are pretty much set on an apartment that I can't really find any reviews for, and certainly not among the small amount for Venice on slowtrav.

We had reserved another apartment but the instructions for "delivery of keys" were not that at all: as soon as they got our confirmation, they hit us with the "delivery" plan which was to pick up the keys at their tiny office that one had to walk to, not too far from P. Roma. I asked what about the luggage? They said one of us could stay with it at P. Roma and one could come for the "delivery" of the keys at their office. Or we could leave our luggage in the bus station left luggage office in P. Roma.

The email they sent also had a long liist of DONTs and no DOs. No calling their office, no this, no that. Any "unnecessary" visits by staff to the apartment would cost 40 euro. It didn't sit well with me.

Sadly I like the location of that apartment, off the beaten track. The one we now have reserved is certainly on the beaten track, between Rialto and San Marco.

However, these owners are so friendly and helpful, and their hotel, Da Bruno, is in front of the apartment, should we have any needs. We can use their reception desk for all reservations, etc.

But still, no reviews. Finally, my question: what do you do in such a case?

hi tuscan,

in the end, you have to go with your instinct.

last year we rented 2 apartments - one in Rome, the other in Florence. Neither had any reviews [or not ones I found] but the pictures and response from owners/agents felt "right". I rejected a few where i didn't feel so confident.

So I'd go with the choice you've made.

Have you looked for a review of the associated hotel?

regards, ann

PS - I just googled the hotel and looked on venere for reviews - it comes out very well in several languages so that bodes well, IMO.

Hi tuscan,
Do you mind sharing the name of your apartment in Paris. Will probably go back there in 2009. (but never too early to bookmark special places.)

Annhig: I agree with you. I've done an exhaustive search and I think going with my gut is the right thing to do. This place will be 70 euro more a week, but it has a small balcony and a courtyard entrance, and that ought to be worth 70 euro.

Monica: it was rentparis.com number 10. It is wonderful for three people, because there is a nice little loft above the kitchen with a double bed and reading lights. There is a ladder up to the loft.

Our bedroom was adequately sized, but the bathroom was huge and there was a washer and dryer in a nice sized laundry room. Kitchen was fine for us. We snacked and has breakfast, but no real cooking.

The location was fantastic. We loved the street and I went out shopping for minor groceries and supplies every morning.

Staff in Paris: fantastic. I called in the morning to say there was a smell in the bathroom, and when we got in that afternoon it was taken care of. They provide cleaning once a week. We were late due to storms and there was still a representative there to meet us when we called from the airport.

I would go back there in a minute, and even if I couldn't afford that 3 person place, I would rent from them again.

It's been since February, and I can't get over that the review on slowtrav was lousy.

We payed with Paypal and it was a little hard to do but it all worked out in the end.

I'm planning '09 myself! I am going to a convention in Barcelona then we are going to Provence! Woohoo!

We were to go to Provence last May, had FF tickets and all, but then my brother asked us to go to Paris with him in February, and made a very generous offer to split the costs. So we missed Provence this year, but will be there in '09 if all is well.

Well, tuscanlifeedit, I urge you to write reviews for www.slowtrav.com for both your Paris apartment and for any others you're familiar with. Correct that misconception!

slowtravel or TA are OK for hotels (I still go w/ my gut feeling because I know places I loved or loathed have different reviews on the sites)

But for apartments/cottages/villas I seldom even look for reviews unless something seems fishy.

A hotel will have hundreds or even thousands of guest through a year. A flat/cottage may only have 25 - 50 parties in a given year. The liklihood that more than a tiny % of those guests will even know slowtravel or TA exists is pretty slim.

So having no reviews would not put me off at all.

I've rented 5 different apartments in Venice (and looked at many more in person and online), and had read a review for only 1 of those prior to renting it. All were perfectly okay, some better than others, but the negative side of any of them were probably things that wouldn't have shown up in a review anyway.

I'd go with your gut on this, especially if you've had positive communications with the owners. That business about not contacting the agent unless you're willing to pay a stiff penalty is BS. As for SlowTrav and other sights that promote their review bank, you need to keep in mind that those reviews are each written by a single individual, with different tastes and expectations than yours, and I'd take most of those with a grain of salt, so to speak, unless something really stands out, like mold in the shower or something. Or mold anywhere, for that matter.

Personally, I prefer to rent from the owner directly. It's true that it can be risky, but there's no guarantee of anything with an agency, either.

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses. I agree that review sites are aren't always great for this type of accomodations.

HOWEVER, you can't imagine how many times I hear or read "check the apartment reviews on tripadvisor.com."

remember, you cant always post a review on tripadvisor - I tried to post some reviews this year on hotels - in one case it was hotels I had booked through venere.com in another case it was a hotel that was part of a package - and in both cases my review and was rejected because they could not verify that I was bona fide - i.e. I had not booked through one of their their links - maybe if they dont have linked booking resources it is possible to report there. I dont understand it, but was annoyed.

Key arrangements for apartments can be complicated - no reason to draw a negative conclusion about it, and the Venice Train station - or steps out front, would have been a perfectly pleasant place to wait. You shouldnt take so much stuff that it would be an issue anyway! But you have to go with your gut - The area around Da Bruno is a nice homey one - tho the Salizzada can be noisy if you face that way. Enjoy your trip.

HI,,

I posted reviews of three hotels on trip advisor that I booked with the hotels directly or through vernere. All were posted at the Tripadvisor site.

Barb

FYI my statement above about Tripadvisor is incorrect - my reviews did not "take" because I was not registered on the site. Instead of asking for a sign-in/registration it just rejected the post. Sorry for any confusion the post might have caused.

And I made a huge typo: sorry. On my last post in this thread, tripadvisor.com SHOULD have read slowtrav.com

What a goof. I apologize.

jjkbrook: I just prefer to be met at the apartment. I like to be shown how things work, and know that a representative is available should I need them.

As I said in my op, the list of dont's for the 1st apartment was somewhat disturbing.

And do I want to drag my stuff from the bus stop to the office of this rental place, and then to the apartment, after flying all night from the US? Nope.

I do pack as light as just about anyone can. But I still have one small suitcase. I just don't think I can do without it.

I am older and have my aches and pains. I like to travel, but I need at least a little convenience.