Leely

I like the Gay Lussac one--what's wrong with the neighborhood? I think the location is excellent and the flat is quite attractive. The only thing I see that might be a bother is that the floorplan makes it appear as if there is no door to the bedroom by the kitchen. Kinda weird for a couple.

Sorry the Gloriosa wasn't available! Guest Apartment Services really are great to deal with. We are planning to rent from them again.

kattom

Thanks Christina, CW and Leely--I appreciate you all talking me through this--it definitely helps me with making my final decision!

I guess my biggest worry about the guy lussac apartment is that I was concerned about it being too funky and touristy. I posted a similar thread on the SlowTrav boards and a guy there implied that it was a questionable area.

As far as sq. footage goes...it is a mistake on the website for gay lussac because it is actually only 80 sq. meters. I asked the agency and she confirmed the 80 meters. So the sizes are similar.

As far as the twin beds are concerned--they make into a double bed (king/queen size) so the beds wouldn't be that dissimilar. But I too wondered about the furnishings? A bit odd I agree. The agency hasn't been nearly as helpful either.

The only other one I have also considered recently (okay, mostly true!) is this one in the Marias district.

http://www.parisdeluxerentals.com/pa..._du_Marais.htm

Am I just being paranoid? Should I just put down the deposit on the Gay Lussac and STOP THE INSANITY???

Thanks again for all your help!

shellio

Kattom, if the Gay Lussac apartment is still available, I'd grab it. It looks very comfortable and well-decorated, and the area is a very good one. I simply mentioned in my previous post that I preferred the Villarsexel one, but didn't mean to imply there was anything iffy about the other, just different. It's walking distance to a lot, and easy transportation options are nearby. Also one of my favorite restaurants, by the way, Les Papilles, is on that street. ;-)

gracejoan3

Sophie and Philippe are wonderful people. I would not worry about the quality of their places.

Have you looked at their rue du Cardinal Lemoine in the 5th?

Nothing wrong with the Gay Lussac in the 6th.
Someone did mention the drawing did not show a door to the bedroom, but the picture of that bedroom clearly shows the door.

jgg

We actually stayed at the Rue de villersexel apt. in March of 2006. There were 6 of us, DH and I, our two kids who slept in the sofa bed in the living room and my parents. We found it a very nice apt. and a good location. Just yesterday my daughter was mentioning how much she loved the pistachio pastry from the bakery down the street. It is well located just half a block from a metro stop (very convenient!). Also a small grocery store around the corner.

Interesting that they are turning the dining room into a bedroom. We actually found it to be "wasted space" and just used it to store the kids luggage since they didn't have a bedroom. However, I must note that we did not do much cooking there - only breakfast and tea and cookies for an evening snack.

There is a small table in the kitchen, but as I recall it leans against a wall, so really only 3 can sit around it. You did have to walk through the living room to get to the dining room - which seemed a bit odd.

You could just eat dinner in the living room around the coffe table - I know not the same as eating at a dining room table.

Personally, the way we used the apt. I would say it is a good idea for them to turn the DR into a bedroom, as it would have been nice to have the kids in their own room rather than the LR (we did just close up the sofabed every morning).

I would also like to say that we found the owners (was it Sophie and Philippe?) to be extremely helpful making the reservations as well as helping once we arrived. Apparently they had a new dishwasher installed right before we came. We were the first to use it, but it didn't work. We called Philippe in the morning and he was there with a repairman later that day (apparently it had been installed incorrectly - not hooked up to the water right). I was really impressed with his immediate response.

I am happy to answer any other specific questions about the apt.

kattom

Thanks gracejoan3 and jgg--you've really helped to ease my mind about this decision. gjj--I have sent you an email asking a couple of specifics.

Still wondering if there is anyone out there who has actually STAYED in the apartment on Gay Lussac? If yes, I'd love to hear from you!

Christina

You probably know this, but Gay Lussac is in the 5th, not the 6th arrondisement.

So some guy on slowtrav says the neighborhood is "iffy"? What does that mean. It's hardly a slum. The area of rue de Grenelle is a little more upscale, that is true. I'm not so upscale, I guess, so am comfortable in other areas. In case you are thinking that are on Gay Lussac is low-class, believe me, it is not.

I would think the main differences are transportation options, proximity to the park (if you care), and maybe proximity to a large supermarket. Depends what you intend to do regarding food. There isn't a large supermarket near the Gay Lussac one. There are small epiceries, wine shops, etc. near the apt. on Gay Lussac -- lots on rue St Jacques, for example.

I don't know the food shops near the other one so well, although I've been in the neighborhood, but wasn't looking. I am pretty positive there isn't a large supermarket over there, either (like Monoprix), although Bon Marche may be close (but not within a block or two). That's not a regular type supermarket, though.

Being on vacation, you probably aren't going to be shopping in large supermarkets that much, though.

I wouldn't call rue Gay Lussac funky or touristy that much. There are lots of tourists near the Seine, but they don't venture up there that much--no reason to. They kind of stop around rue Soufflot. okay, I don't know what you mean by funky. It's not one of the most expensive areas of Paris like the 7th arrondisement, that's true.

I don't know what you should do, you have plenty of time to still look around, I think. At least a little time, although good apartments get booked up. If the size is more around 800 SF, that removes one factor, but I still thought the one on rue de Grenelle was pretty ugh.