There was no computer in my apartment to check a website. Happy Travels!

As someone who manages various properties, I'm of the same mind as St Cirq, and leave lots of staples for our guests - certainly toilet paper, soap, coffee filters (plus tea, coffee, milk, etc.) When we rented and had to buy salt and pepper and other staples for one week I was always annoyed, and so we decided we wouldn't operate like that.

Unfortunately too many people (we know some of them) think -'its just for the renters' and provide cheap furnishings, and no supplies. I figure if you're paying me to stay somewhere, you deserve decent accommodation, and not to have to run around the day you arrive looking for toilet paper!

Well, apparently (KEROUC) we asked the wrong people or were in the wrong neighborhoods because we asked a number of Parisians in restaurants and other stores if we could find a basic grocery store open and they all said No! And it was just 6 months ago.
Ditto Cathies comment: I want to stay in your rental, St. Cirq. Sounds wonderful!

Carlux-Thumbs up! Happy Travels!

When we check into a rental on a Saturday, we always check the supply of toilet paper as well as other necessities and make a point of going shopping immediately. A tip I learned on www.slowtrav.com. On other days, the shopping trip is not quite so immediately necessary. In most of the places we rented, we needed to buy toilet paper.

<i>When we rented and had to buy salt and pepper and other staples for one week I was always annoyed, and so we decided we wouldn't operate like that. </i>

That salt &amp; pepper thing always annoys me, too, but if I have to buy it, I always leave it for the next renter.

hi tuscanfeedit,

if you click on google maps, you can search for businesses around a specific address.

so all you have to do is put in the address of your apartment, and search for supermarkets.

you could also consider packing a roll or two of bog paper, tea-bags, instant coffee, salt and pepper etc., just to tide you over.

i agree that we shouldn't have to do this, but it's better than not having them!

being on both sides of the equation, as it were, i hope to be of the st. cirq persuasion. but I'm sure that there are things that we could supply but have never thought of.

what is YOUR [non-obvious] essential in a holiday let?

regards, ann

Paper towels, a sponge, dishwashing soap, bar of shower soap, laundry detergent (just one small packet - I can buy more if I need it), bottle of wine (just kidding :-)

PWAbbott, the locals are very often clueless about reality in every country of the world.

Locals don't pay attention the the &quot;details&quot; of life because they have &quot;routines&quot; -- it is always better to ask questions of non-locals when you are not following the routine.

PWAbbott, the locals are very often clueless about reality in every country of the world.

Locals don't pay attention to the &quot;details&quot; of life because they have &quot;routines&quot; -- it is always better to ask questions of non-locals when you are not following the routine.

To the top for another poster with the same situation. Happy Travels!

Topped for Poobah. Happy Travels!

This is very strange. I had the same issue when I rented an apartment in Paris back in May. It was a good thing I told my sister to bring a roll of toilet paper (I forgot mine but did have a travel size pack). The lady who greeted us and took the rental money apologized for not bringing any toilet paper. Her exact words were &quot;Seems the girls before you used it all and I didn't think to bring any&quot;. I thought no big deal, we'll just buy some. The problem was, we just missed the store being open. I wasn't very familiar with the area to find another store that would be open. This apartment was also very dirty. The cleaning supplies I was able to bring didn't even put a dent in the dirt. I ended up getting so sick (I swear it was the mold) that I spent most of the week miserable and unable to sleep. I did make the best of it but would never rent another apartment in Paris again.

Sassy, I wouldn't let your experience put you off ever renting an apt. again. I just would switch agencies and complain mightily to the one you rented from. Our apt was spotless, had adequate supplies of essentials even a bottle of wine.

Sassy- Just find a good agency. Check out the Paris Apartment Thread here in this forum. What agency did you use? Happy Travels!

How can the word &quot;bidet&quot; not appear once in this thread?

;)

oh my goodness, you're right!
bidet, enyone?

Where else would you store the spare toilet paper?

I think that asking for a roll of toilet paper from the neighbors would be an excellent way to meet people.

I went through Homelidays.com and the apartment was also listed on vrbo.com. I figured since it was listed on both websites, it would be decent. The pictures are true to life but of course they didn't show the dirt, mold, broken mirrors and lamps. It actually was funny when we used the outlet in the kitchen. I went to unplug something from the outlet and the outlet cover and outlet came out of the wall. The location however was great but that's about it. This was not my first time to Paris or renting an apartment in Europe.

I am fortunate that my good friend will be living in Paris for the next 2 years. So next time, I will be staying at a nice, clean and rent free place:).