Not again! Which Paris apartment?
 

We just decided to go ahead with a week in Paris in late June or early July. We are two couples and we have a week. We have been to Paris twice but the other couple has not. I am the travel planner (always) and I have a day or so to decide if I want to book any of these apartments. Can you help? I know that Paris apartments is a common theme but it is my first time to rent there. Thank you all for any help with this!!!! The Paris Address and ParisPerfect are a bit pricier than the others. Gen

http://www.parisattitude.com/apartme...umProduit=3461
http://www.parisperfect.com/apartmen...aris/medoc.php
http://www.parisperfect.com/apartmen...is/pomerol.php
http://www.parisperfect.com/apartmen...aris/syrah.php
http://www.vrbo.com/82907
http://www.parisaddress.com/paris-ap...hp?ref=PONT124

You have a wide variety of apartments but most have only one bedroom. Is that O.K. with you for two couples? Do you want two double beds or are double and twins alright? I would want two bedrooms (with doors) for two couples but your need might be different.

There doesn't seem to be any red flags among your different choices but with four people 2 or 1 1/2 baths would be practical, and the bigger the apartment, the better.

If you would give us a price range or a desired area, it might be easier to advise.

Yes, I realize that most have one bedroom, although the parisattitude and parisaddress apts have two. It is a money saving choice and the other couple are relatives of ours. All have at least one bedroom and a sofa that becomes a bed. The prices of all of the apartments are satisfactory, well at least for me, my husband would probably choose the cheapest! The apartments are located in the 7th, the Marais, and Ile St. Louis. I am asking if anyone has a preference or advice. I find the parisperfect apartments to be so charmingly decorated and one even has a balcony, so am leaning towards those, although practicality dictates the two bedroom apts. I also ask about ease of dealing with each of these rental companies, if anyone has advice there. Again, thanks!

Different folks, different strokes, but I would DIE before I would share a one bedroom apartment with another couple -- ESPECIALLY relatives! Seems a sure way to start a family feud.

:-(

I think you should consider two bedroom apartments for two couples.
Aside from the privacy issue, someone will be sleeping on a sofa bed for a week. How comfortable will it be?

I'd want two bedrooms for two couples for reasons others mentioned. I spent a week on a sofa bed (very comfy, memory foam mattress--absolutely no problem there) in a one bedroom apt. that I was sharing with my daughter and young granddaughter in Paris last year, and it wasn't a matter of privacy but of convenience, putting the bed away every morning and no good place to store my stuff. Worked fine for the needs of our little threesome, but with two couples, no way.

A 1-bdrm normally has barely enough closet/hanging space for one couple, let alone 2. So someone will have to live out of a suitcase.

That, plus the sofa bed couple will feel in the way/under foot the whole time. If they want to retire for the night, they'll be in the way of the other couple.

So I'd definitely want 2 bedrooms for 2 couples.

I would opt for the apartment on the ile st. louis for location and the fact it has two bedrooms.

The Paris Perfect one bedroom apartments are very well thought out for four people (sofas split into two singles) and WC is separate from bath and shower. But, at the end of the day, literally, one couple draws the short straw.

For two couples, I would choose a two-bedroom flats over charm every time, particularly if locations are all more or less equal.

I am very familiar with the Paris Perfect apartments, as I stay in them regularly. In fact they have become the only apartments that I stay in! The combination of apartments, customer care and location cnnot be better, in my opinion..or at least, for me!

That being said your space requirements are something else. Some people do not mind sharing a 1 bedroom apt. with some sleeping in the living room. Th Paris Perfect sofas/trundle beds are very comfortable and they do have lots of closet space for these conditions. I would prefer a two bedroom when sharing with others.

If you are looking for this year, you might not have a choice on the apartments you listed. I would be surprised for your dates if you would find them available! Paris Perfect apartments 'go' very fast. It is very late to be selecting popular places for the summer months.

Enjoy your search..

Joan

All of the apartments I listed are available. I agree that two bedrooms would be best. I like the one in the Marais the best from the pictures. Thanks for all your advice!!!!!

The one on Rue Rivoli, across from the Hotel de Ville has the bedrooms facing the street, which will be very noisy and busy, this wouldn't be my first choice because of that.

If you are going to go for a onw bedroom, I like the vrbo choice, as the frontroom is divided into two areas, somewhat like the other one with the twin beds off of the front room. It also looks nice, clean, bright, good location, and one of the less expensive ones.

Those are some gorgeous apts! I love them all. The VRBO is beatifully decorated IMO. The first one is fabulous too. My criteria was location. Washer dryer was important too.

I would go for the Rue de Rivoli apartment. True it is a very busy street, but I would love having the street facing windows. You can always bring small earplugs if you think the noise will be too much for sleeping. It is furnished very nicely.

I was also narrowing it to the Rue de Rivoli, but now that I have looked on the internet for info on the rental company parisaddress.com, I have seen some red flags. Does anyone have first hand experience with them? They want a damage deposit equal to the cost of the apt.

Sorry, that should be parisattitude, not parisaddress that has red flags.

rbnwdr, I think there is a virus in one of those addresses. I was clicking on one and then I got a blue screen...yikess. But I am not computor savy, so don'y quote me;-).

You might also look at Vacation in Paris.

They have several well located 2 bedrrom 2 bath apartments at a much lower weekly rate

an example

http://www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_156.htm

I have been clicking on those addresses for days on several computers. NO viruses. The last one has a blue screen with info on it.

rbn, I have NO idea what happened. My DH had to fix it. ;-) Avalon, that apt looks great.

Is 1400e for the week within your price range? We've stayed at this 2BR in the Marais many times... http://www.vrbo.com/15502

Whoops! He looks to be booked over most of the summer.

avalon,
Thanks for the info on the vacationinparis property. I have emailed them asking about availability. They seem easy to deal with as an American company. I posted another thread on parisattitude's requirements being quite extensive - ie deposits, passport copies, etc, and my concern about that rental company.

I would also strongly suggest a two bedroom apt. In Sept we rented a one bedroom for four of us. My husband and I took the bedroom and our son and wife took the sofa bed. http://www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_203.htm. The sofa bed was very uncomfortable for our son and daughter-in-law and they are pretty used to sleeping just about anywhere since they are in their late 20's. As luck would have it the owners were having a new sofa delivered to their home so they asked if they could bring a different sofa to the apt. We jumped at the offer and thank goodness it was a much better mattress. Bottom line is that you won't know until you get there if it a poor quality and much used mattress. Spend a little more and make sure all is comfortable. The kids were great about it because they got a free trip to Paris for a week. They got to enjoy the new bed for half of the trip.

rbnwdlr, The vacationinparis apt looks lovely but is on the fourth floor with NO elevator. Just a FYI in case you missed that.

Hello,

Have you looked with Lodjee ? ( http://www.lodjee.com ) I went with them because couldnt find any vacancies with Paris apartment, prices are good aswell !

Good luck on your search

www.vactioninparis.com #210 has plenty of space. And then there would be an extra room to store all of the luggage and other stuff. The area is great. I had #122 with them that's less than a 5-minute walk away from#210. Happy Travels!

Have you tried looking at Rentals in Paris (www.rentals-paris.com). We have been renting with them for years, and they are excellent. The American owner of the company, Glen Cooper, lives in Paris and personally manages everything. This makes all the difference compared to companies like Paris Attitude which are simply booking agencies with nobody on call ever. We have heard terrible stories from friends who rented with them. I couldn't imagine renting an apartment without the owner being present in Paris in case we needed something while there.

Admittedly, I did not look at all of them, but I love the last one - on Ile St. Louis. Important criteria that I look for:
+ washer/dryer ... check
+ elevator.... check
+ 2 bedrooms ... check.

bonuses:
+ half bath
+ open floor plan to kitchen. While this can get loud with the washing machine, it is nice for 2 couples to have one 'putzing' in the kitchen while the other is planning the day/reading/relaxing.

Ile St. Louis is a really charming place - I would love to stay there.

Take advantage of the kitchen... eat breakfast in, and do happy hour... also makes dinners cheaper since you are less hungry! Stop at a patisserie and have dessert at home.

For the record, one bedroom with 2 couples, no matter if relatives or not is not fun. It feels less like a vacation and more like 'dealing'. What happens if one has time change issues and wakes up early or sleeps late ? It makes it funny to dance around the person sleeping in the living room. The people in the bedroom feel 'exiled' there and the people in the pull-out feel 'on display'. Plus no where to put stuff. I'd be willing to make other trade-offs for an extra bedroom (ie. eating in, etc.)

good luck!

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p143450

I really don't know if this is in the OP's price range (although it compares favorably with ParisPerfect flats which were mentioned), but this is a great apartment for two couples. Both have private bedrooms and bathrooms, with plenty of "meet in the middle" room. It's also a very good location for first time visitors, as you can walk/bus/metro very easily. We were 5 adults and very comfortable in this apartment. Good luck, EJ

"Have you tried looking at Rentals in Paris ... We have been renting with them for years, and they are excellent."

Gee, you certainly are a loyal customer! This is your seventh post and the seventh in which you have recommended this company. But I suggest you get your story straight—back in October you said you first rented from them two years ago.

Have you looked at Paris 4 Rent? We used them in 2006 and had good luck...

OP here. We rented a two bedroom apt through homeaway.com. It is in the 7th, and it looks amazing. I will let you know. Now if only I could find airfare under 1K, we would be all set. Prices seem to actually be going up! We may be eating lots of meals in if we have to pay over a thousand dollars per person for airfare.

I'm going out on a limb here. But, are you planning to do everything together? If not, how about 2 studios near each other. You would still meet your budget and have some privacy. Just a thought. Besides you could each find your favorite places and share.