Paris Apartment: Anyone Familiar With This One?
 

I am looking for an apartment for Nov. 2012 for 4 nights in Paris. We are very familiar with the city and know the area that the apartment is located in. I wonder if anyone has ever stayed in this apartment and/or knows anything about the people/agency who rent it out? Here is the link http://www.parishaven.com/index.htm I have no qualms about the location and in fact that is why I am interested in the apartment. Thanks in advance.

I haven't stayed in that apartment, but it looks great, and I'm bookmarking it for future reference.
I've stayed in one just a couple of blocks to the west, and the location can't be beat. Buses and metro are right outside your door as well as a Monoprix, bakeries, and traiteurs. And it's just a short walk to the Place des Vosges. I'll be curious to hear more about this apartment.

Downsides I see: small size, third floor walk-up.

I don't think it is with an agency. Also, if you click the contact link, the email address seems a bit "odd" to me. I am not saying it isn't legit, but not a good vibe to me.

Can I suggest to apts? They are owned by the same person and we stayed at the first one last year and will stay at the second one this October. The owner, Sylvain, is wonderful to work with and the entire process is very easy.

http://www.vrbo.com/339804 [a LARGE apartment, that the owners used to live in, fully equipped, but it is a walk up on 4th floor "american".]

http://www.vrbo.com/371220 [this was just bought last year and is smaller but on a very historic street]

Hope this helps.

DebitNM,
Hmmm, interesting email address, but I don't know that it disqualifies the apartment...

FWIW, here's the one I stayed in that's nearby. Nothing fancy, but quiet, clean, and comfortable, AND with an elevator.
http://www.parisbestlodge.com/rivoli.html

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. All 3 apartments suggested look nice. The rue de rivoli is very nicely furnished. One downside for me is that it is on the courtyard and I like a front street facing view. The other 2 apartments on VRBO by the same owner are also nicely furnished and the smaller one is very newly refurbished, which is a plus. I am wondering if the location for the smaller is off of rue rambuteau near the Pompidou?

I also have some questions about the paris haven site. It is certainly a nice website and the apartment looks very good to me. I would feel better if I could get a first hand opinion from someone who knows that they actually exist. Call me paranoid, but I don't want to get scammed.

opaldog,

I did a quick search and found it on vrbo (#209849) and one mention on trip advisor (http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowTopic-...de_France.html).

The person who stayed there on trip advisor had positive things to say; on vrbo there are 63 reviews and it is pretty booked up - those are two of the things I look at when choosing an apartment.

HTH!

Yes, the second one is on rue de quincampoix, near the Pompidou; a wonderfully "rich with history" location.

And yes, the strange email address is not necessarily a bad thing, just odd and now is a moot point since there is the VRBO listing with reviews; I would agree that it is most likely a safe bet.

I just think sometimes you have to listen to that little voice inside that says, "hmmm, maybe this isn't the one for me," when choosing an apartment.

I will also add that of the 63 reviews on vrbo for the apartment, only ONE was actually entered directly by a guest. All of the others were entered by owner. Again, not saying that this is all bogus, but that seems very odd to me.

We were at very good one two years ago, the web adress is www.vacationinparis.com.
We paid in advance and there were a person waiting for us at the apartment to give us the key and for explain everything about.
Very nice located, but there is a lot of apartments, it depends your preferences.

Again, appreciate all of the replies. DebitNM, I thought that it might be rue Quincampoix. How does the owner of that apartment accept payment? I'm not sure it was spelled out on the vrbo site. I'll have to go back to it. I also noticed that all but one of the reviews was entered by the owner. That did send up a red flag for me. I also wonder if the vrbo website allows owners to edit and delete or not have published any bad reviews.

anamax2 - thanks for looking that up I will check out what the tripadvisor review says.

amapati - we have rented through vacationinparis, twice. The first time was very successful, the second not so. It was really our fault as you know the old adage, "you get what you pay for" and we went cheap that trip.

opaldog - if you are comfortable with it, you can email me for specifics. same name at gmail dot com

@DebitNM - yes, I did notice the reviews were entered by the owner on vrbo...but also thought (maybe wrongly?!?) that a scammer wouldn't take the time to enter 63 reviews, lol. Also the fact that it is so booked up is always a plus to me. That said, I do think that when dealing with an unknown listing, hearing first-hand from someone who has stayed there is important.

@opaldog - do you know how to contact someone on trip advisor? Let me know if you don't - it's very easy.

PS I'm NOT trying to push that apt - I know nothing about it - just trying to be helpful. :))

anamax2 - I did contact the person on trip advisor and they have replied. Thanks for the link. The said that they really liked the apartment and had no problems with the transaction. They were met by a couple who cleaned the apartment and given the keys. They left the keys on the table when they departed. That sounds like every other rental that I have had. I did ask another question about the transaction. I am curious as to who they dealt with for the online rental; an agency or the owner.

I don't think the email is something strange as it may be the email used by the contractor for personal use. Well as far as the apartment is considered I don't find anything wrong with it. Although if it is considered that I can refer the one I used fro my stay then I would recommend http://www.lodjee.com and good thing is that you can easily get apartment in most of the popular areas with this agency.

lizypatrick32: thanks for the reply. I looked at the lodjee site and the apartments that I saw in the marais were from the rentparis website. I am sure they have others, but these stood out to me. I have actually stayed in one of them.

That 3rd Floor Walkup could be tough after a full day of running around. I am assuming they are using normal terminology, which would make it located on the 4th floor (American). That circular staircase can get to be a hassle.

dave

marcy_, would you comment more on that apartment on Rue Rivoli? I've actually had it bookmarked and under consideration for a while and would love to get some first hand info...

it looks nicely furnished, was it comfortable? the bed good? how was the location?

Funny follow up - I was cleaning out my emails from recent search for an apartment for trip in October. I realized that I had contacted the owner of apt that opaldog first asked about! Got a pleasant email from the owner, and yes it came from that strange email address!!

FWIW - I understand the comment lizypatrick made about the email address was probably a person one BUT this is a business venture and it would be easy enough to set up one with a bit more of a professional [or at least neutral one]name. It's not like there is an expense involved. Just saying....

daveesl: I don't mind the walk up, good to get rid of all the calories that will be adding up. I just don't know if I like the terms. I don't want to have to give a cash deposit as well as cash upon arrival. I'm actually now considering the apartment that DebitNM has recommended over near the Pompidou. That's a good location for us as well.

I've stayed in the Rivoli apartment, and it is very comfortable; the closet is huge. As to a previous remark, the bathroom window looks out onto a courtyard, but the one by the bed and the one in the living area look directly onto rue de Rivoli/rue St. Antoine, both with tiny balconies. You have a great view of Eglise Saint-Paul Saint-Louis across the street.
Sandy

China_cat, We found the rue de Rivoli apartment very comfortable. The bed was fine, as I recall.
The windows did NOT look out onto the street- just an interior courtyard, but with a view of the St. Paul church over the rooftops. It was very quiet and peaceful. We didn't use the balcony, since we were there in January.
The location is fantastic! There is everything you could want just steps from your door: metro, buses, shops, restaurants. I would stay there again with no hesitation.

thanks both of you. We are going in October, and this is one of the apartments I was strongly considering. Your input really helps.

Ok, guess I'm remembering wrong; I loved the view of St. Paul's, and maybe that colored my recollection. I guess it was over the rooftops.
Sandy

And P.S. -- the courtyard you overlook is for the local fire station around the corner. Sometimes you catch a glimpse of the firemen. No noise problem, though.

Sandy

Thanks everyone for all your input. I have put a deposit on a different apartment recommended by DebitNM. The price was right, fairly newly renovated, and in a convenient location.

I will leave you all our leftovers, opaldog!

Looking forward to your review.