Down to 3 Paris Apts - help me choose...
 

Hi,

Here are the three apts. I'm down to - Fwhew!!

http://vacationinparis.com/apts/id_50.htm
http://phileas-fogg.com/_apt/ruedutemple/en_index.htm
http://www.vrbo.com/106136

We'll be in Paris in June - three of us for four nights. There may end up being 4 of us so I need to be sure that there's at least two single beds available. I'm still looking, but I think it's going to end up being one of the above three. I'm partial to the Rue du Temple location. I've written previous guests and have received good reviews for all of the apts. Now just need a nod from "Fodorites".

Thank You!!

Lori

Lori,

Without a lot of pondering, I'd choose No. 2, simply because there's more space for the money.

I like the second one for the location. Don't like the loft in the third.

Monica ((F))

Of these 3, I think the 1st one would be best sleeping.

http://vacationinparis.com/apts/id_50.htm
- - - beds look better but dining / seating not so great for 4
http://phileas-fogg.com/_apt/ruedutemple/en_index.htm
- - - dining looks better but where is additional seating, and 'folding' beds look suspiciously unsatisfactory for adults
http://www.vrbo.com/106136
- - - I don't like this one at all, those beds don't look comfortable or easy to climb in/out if had to 'go' during the night. Not good dining area, and not good seating for 3-4 people.

Out of all the apartments in Paris, I don't know how you ended up with these. I think they are all bad and I wouldn't stay in any of them. The third one is awful, I wouldn't even consider it. The second one has a bathroom off the kitchen which looks rather unpleasant and very cheap and ugly furniture (metal folding chairs at the dining table, how cheap can these owners be, and the couch is horrendous), and the bedroom is like a hotel with two double beds taking up the entire room. Of course, all of these apts. are very small and that's part of the problem. I guess if you don't really have any room for a table and chairs, metal folding chairs may be okay for you to sit in the hallway, I guess. Even then, there are more comfortable and nice folding chairs than metal.

I guess the one on rue du Temple looks the best in general in terms of decor and style (the vacation in Paris one), but the bed situation sounds bad if you really care about having beds for more than two. That apt. looks okay for a single or couple, but the "folding beds" are what? Air mattresses or cots? I also wonder why those owners need their own website when they could just advertise on VRBO or something. That sounds suspicious to me, but maybe it's just cheaper to put everything on there than on VRBO. I don't know VRBO's fees. If you really don't care about the folding beds thing, I guess it looks the best.

The location of the third one looks appealing to me, but what where they thinking with the loft bed? the space underneath is unusable. The other beds, just visible, are bunk beds. You'd need to be nimble, certainly.

The artwork in the second apt would get to me eventually, but how much time do you spend in a Paris apt over 4 nights? It might be charming in person, too.

I agree with Christina. Of all the apartments in Paris, I wouldn't stay in any of these -- yet they aren't any cheaper than dozens of nicer ones.

The one with the two sets of platform bunk beds? You've got to be kidding, unless you're four teenagers having a slumber party.

But Christina, many VRBO owners also have their own website and I see nothing suspicious about it. For one thing they can post pictures and other information anyway they want, not necessarily in the more limited page provided by VRBO. Also if a person is doing his own advertising, why would he want to provide the VRBO site so anyone looking at his apartment has all those others to see to draw them away?

Does the owner of No. 2 have a Web site? I don't see one. Phileas Fogg is a "listing" site, just like VRBO though much smaller.

I've rented a small studio from Nathalie and her husband before -- they send you passport photos, a contract, and last year she accepted paypal (and they paid for transaction fees on their end).

Their apartment (rue du temple) looks well lit and almost sunny, but I don't see the folding beds, only the queen with the yellow duvet. Did they not include a pic of these folding beds? That's not a great sign. But it looks the largest and if the other two people aren't at all picky about beds and can sleep anywhere, I'd go with this apt.

The vrbo 106136 is quite small for four people and the layout provides absolutely no privacy so I hope you're all very close and have no boundary issues. On a positive note, the small layout helps comepensate for the lack of sitting space since someone can lounge on the bed and be in easy conversation with the people on the couch. That short ladder wouldn't bother me.

That first apartment is really cheap but looks very uncomfortable. If you're just looking for nothing more than a hotel room at a super low price, I suppose this would be O.K. -- but if four people are splitting the cost, it doesn't really pay to skimp. I have frequently traveled with 3 other people, and we found that each of us paying $10 more a night was worth it for a nicer place.

What about this:
http://vacationinparis.com/apts/id_03.htm

Wow, a whole bunch of people (all very good apt critics) posted while I writing.

The apt on the phileas fogg site is owned by Nathalie Maitre (or something like that) -- I recognize the artwork. They own many units and they usually list simultaneously on 4-5 sites, including vrbo. They provide such cheap furniture in their apartments that you will be somewhat shocked, even if you have low standards. travelnut's suggested apt is cute -- how many people are paying for this -- 2, 3 or 4?

With all due respect, I'm not sure it makes sense to suggest alternatives that cost half again to twice as much as the aparrtment's on the OP's short list.

My daughter who is 21 is traveling with my husband and myself so we'll be paying for her. My cousin may at the last minute decide to join us so I'd like to have the option of an extra single bed for her - but this would also be our treat. Paris will be the last stop on our three week trip to Spain and France, so as difficult as it is, I'm trying to keep our nightly lodging costs as low as possible. My price range for Paris is under $125 a night. My dilemma is that the apts. that I've found that I really like or either booked already or will not rent under a week. It's truly been difficult, I've been looking for weeks now and still looking. I've found a few more in Arr. 5.

http://www.vrbo.com/48307
http://www.homelidays.com/paris-05/a...at69080en1.htm

Thank you for your honesty and advice, since this is my first visit I know we'll be out and about a lot, but we certainly desire to be in a nice place to sleep also.

Lori

Lori,

Write the owner and ask about those folding beds. How wide are they?
Do they have "lattes" - flexible wooden slats - or metal springs? (Usually the former are more comfortable). And how thick are the mattresses?

If it's just your and your partner paying for everyone else, I can totally see why you're reluctant to go over budget.

That last homeholidays listing looks really good for the price. The beds look comfy and although the dining bar stools are a bit cramped, I found that people usually graze anyway, i.e. put an array of food out on the table and a couple people sit on the couch while eating, talking etc. I think this would be fine. I assume you'll be buying a lot of great food for the apt and this saves you a lot of money and you will all eat very well.

Your daughter sounds young and at 21, I think she should be able to sleep on those fold-out beds at Rue du Temple, as well. (they're these inexpensive and relatively narrow foam things in 3 sectons that fold out -- I think I've seen photos in the ads of their other apts). Maybe your cousin will be happy with free lodging (she should be!) and again, if she's someone who can sleep anywhere, this apt will also probably work out fine.


My first vote is homeholidays, second vote (if the other two are low maintenance and don't complain) is for Rue du Temple.

Christina and the others always give the best (and brutally honest) apt advice so see how they weigh in on the last 2 options you found.

Do any of these places have A/C? You're going to have a wonderful time, have a great trip and it's great of you to cover the costs of the others.

If those "folding beds" are the flip-open three-part, all-foam, close-to-the floor kind, they're likely to be equal or superior to most other varities you might encounter. We had one, in the guise of a couch, on our first trip to Paris as a couple - a couple of decades ago (and mind you, as a good "Irishman" I was no youngster at my wedding).

The Home Holidays apartment also looks pretty nice.

We recently stayed in a vacationinparis flat #112. Stayed in the Latin Quarterand we really liked it. I would need to have at least 2 rooms for 4 people. So your most recent selectons look alot more promising to me. For your travel dates you will need to book soon to get your first choices. There a couple of vacationinparis apartmetns I've been trying to book for several years now and they never seem to be available and we trabel in the winter.

At any rate, you can't go wrong staying near or on Rue Mouffatard. IMO

This listing has a picture of one of those fold out single foams things --just to give you an idea of what you might find at Rue du Temple.

http://www.paristudios.com/severin.html

yes, I am brutally honest (he he), why not, I figure it's not personal just being an apartment so it's just my reaction. I did think they were all bad, but I've seen hundreds of Paris vacation apt rentals and also knew there were lots better. I wouldn't stay in any of them myself as the hotel I usually stay at is so much nicer and more comfortable than any of those and I only pay about 100 euro a night for a room. Anyway, my rule of thumb is I won't pay more for less.

However, I can see the problem is a very low budget and wanting to stay for four nights, so there are few options. I got a little confused in my writeup, hope you figured that out -- I did like the rue du Temple one best, but I think I called it Vacation in Paris and maybe mixed up the order -- but I hated the late original one and thought rue du Temple the best in looks.

However, I do think the new ones are better possibilities. I liked the Homelidays one best, it looked bright and pleasant, and the couch looked okay. It also had some real beds for the number of people expected. Those folding bar chairs look scary, but if you're only there a couple days, you can snack or whatever some other way, even just sitting with the coffee table. Maybe they aren't scary, they just look it. The other one is okay, I guess, but pretty basic, that's for sure. I like the Homelidays' location best, also, near metro Monge, an area I really like.

It's surprising what in-your-fact ugly artwork you see in some of the apts. You'd think owners would try to put things on the wall a little more attractive or potentially pleasing to all, but a lot of them have bad taste. For a couple days, it wouldn't bother me that much that I'd choose on that though (and you may like it, who knows). LIke that apt on Phileas Fogg was owned by some artist or self-perceived artist trying to promote herself and sell her art, and I didn't like those paintings all over the place at all. SO I think some of the posters or whatever in the homelidays one are not what I'd want in my bedroom or on the wall, but the rest of the place isn't bad.

Hurry Chas -- go book the homeholidays unit before someone else snatches it up. I'd be interested in staying in this unit myself if I were in a group of three -- seems like a low price for the beds and location.