And some prefer showers to baths.

You like to take a bath, you rent with a bathtub.
You like AC, you rent with AC.

On ne va pas y passer la nuit.

In New York City summers (some have been utterly dreadful in the past ten years), the sun rises on my apartment's bedroom windows, flooding each bed with bright sunlight until about noon. If you sleep naked without the windows covered, you can get a tan.

I don't like harsh air conditioning, but I also don't like harsh heat and very high humidity. I also don't like ridiculously high electric bills, so I prefer to conserve. Soon after I bought this apartment, I hired an energy expert to do a consult. He told me I would save more money and more energy if I turned my AC on <b>before</b> the sun rises and keep it on "low" with the windows covered all day, and run the machine 24/7 on very hot/humid days. Since my AC wall units are regulated by temperature, by low he meant 72-75 degrees. I had custom blinds made of sun-blocking material used in photography.

74 degrees in my apartment seems to work well for me, and most people who visit my apartment on hot days in July and August are shocked by the success of that number.

The energy expert said, the AC machine uses the most energy/electricity when you turn the the machine on (surge), and if you turn it on in a heated room, the compressor has to work harder, three to four times longer, to cool the heated room, especially if the building retains heat which most do. I would say the Paris Perfect apt is wasting energy to solve a noise problem, which could be solved quite easily with the proper AC unit.

I care more about comfortable sleep than anything else. Shutting the AC off at night, at the time when it's most important to me, would prevent me from ever taking an apartment with that ridiculous rule. My AC units are incredibly quiet. I don't hear mine or my neighbors, and she runs hers everyday, no matter the temperature. She has the same make and model. Now if only I can do something about the sirens.

We moved to Florida in mid-Nov. Friends from the Northeast and Midwest have asked if we have to run AC all the time.

The AC has been on twice a few hours, primarily to drive down the humidity. I love having the house open. Of course, I told them to ask again in August (or May, for that matter).

It is entirely subjective, some stores here seem frigid to me. Fruits and vegetables sold at room temp in France are in the chilled displays here.

What we use often, are celing fans, they are in every room. They weren't that common in SE France where the norm is to shut the house up on very hot days, it really helps in dry heat.

seems like this has gone really off topic...OP rented a luxury apartment from a high end agency and for that money and in July I would want a/c that I can put on when I want it and that is at night. I hope you did not book that already because frankly that is silly....it is during the day when you don't need it because you are gone. I would look further.

I have rented from Paris Perfect but not in summer. Have you explored other offerings without the night time A/C restrictions? I have no idea what is available when you are planning to be there but I would let them know you want other options. If not, there are several great agencies that you could inquire with.

I would be concerned and not want to chance it. I can't sleep when hot...I would want A/C in Summer.

Tolerance of heat varies a lot by person.

I fully admit that I hate hot weather and just can't cope with it without AC. But I love winter and will happily go out for a tramp when it's 20s and snowing. We're all different.

However, very high heat can kill - as someone noted above in a european heat wave.

And in NYC there are cooling centers open all over the city on very hot days for anyone who does not have AC (often people in older buildings - brownstones with wiring that does not support AC units).

Obviously there are some climates where AC is not really necessary due to low summer temps and possible prevailing winds. But IMHO when it's 95 and humid I don;t know anyone who doesn't want it.

And some people who don;t mind sweltering. I have a friend who is VERY wealthy and her NYC pied a terre is not only a 5th floor walk up but is without AC. On the really hot nights when she is in town she has to come to our place to sleep in the guest room.

And AC being on 24/7 doesn't mean it runs the whole time - one puts it on moneysaver and it cycles on and off as necessary to keep the room on the desired temp (76 when we are not at home - but our bedroom is 70 at night so we can both sleep).

In any case, the OP wants AC and should find a lodging that offers it whenever she needs it.

I remember a similar discussion last year, with Germans insisting that AC was unnecessary there. The guide at the Reichstag also insisted that AC was unnecessary. They may have been correct 20 years ago. They are no longer correct. I booked most of my accommodation in Germany with AC, and I certainly needed it. There is no way I would book the apartment in Paris being considered by the OP.

I have no idea where the figures quoted above for US AC usage came from, but I can assure the writer that here in central NC everyone who can afford it has CENTRAL AC - i.e. the whole house is cooled by forced air, just as it is heated by forced air in the winter. I keep my house at 70/66 (day/night) in the winter and 78/76 in the summer, but a lot of people keep their houses warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Believe me, you do not want to live somewhere with months of temps in the high 90s and humidity ditto without central AC.

It is silly to debate the customary use of AC on this thread. Anyone who is used to AC will sorely miss it on a really hot summer evening. And if you are on a street with noise in Paris, opening the window might not be a great alternative.

Since you asked, make sure you get full-time AC or you risk being miserable. And all this talk of what people in other countries normally do will be of little consequence.

I've also booked a Paris Perfect apartment for this July, but I specifically looked for an apartment with central AC, not mobile units. So my apartment does have central AC.

I know there are many in the Paris Perfect selection that have central AC... You might want to ask them about switching?

There's really no sense in comparing a/c in the US or anywhere else in regard to what exists in Paris. If you are used to typical US standards of central a/c, you won't be comfortable in Paris unless you stay in a hotel.

"Central air-conditioning" translates differently in Paris, and is very hard to come by in private apartments.

It is illegal for almost all buildings (except for new construction dating from the mid 1960's) to install the exterior compressors needed for true central a/c. Buildings constructed before the late 1960's are included under historic preservation regulations, which do not permit their installation except in certain cases, such as hospitals and government buildings. Hotels have the right - no matter how old the building - to install exterior compressors if they are correctly hidden from view and do not leak water or cause other nuisances in public areas.

The regulations of most residential buildings in Paris prohibit the installation of both central and/or window units, which are considered noise nuisances as well as insurance risks due to water damage. Many also prohibit cutting holes in windows or walls to vent portable units. Many apartments do not have the electrical capacity to run air conditioners that are powerful enough to do any good.

Quite often, what is listed as "central a/c" in apartments is a heat pump installed between two interior walls and vented up a chimney flue - which works about as well as a fan - or a window unit which has been illegally installed in an air shaft.

The "good" portable units do have a drip pan, and if it is not emptied in time (usually every 2 hours or so) the unit automatically shuts off to prevent leaks. Older or less-expensive units might not have this feature, so leaks can occur. Since the units sit directly on the floor, vibrations from the motor can be heard in the surrounding apartments. If there is no vent cut in a window or wall, and if the windows are large, you will have to leave them open and try to block the incoming hot air and noise. It's not an ideal situation, no matter what anyone tries to tell you.

I learned to live without a/c, but it wasn't easy. During the first couple of bad heat waves, I slept in the bathtub, and spritzed myself with a water bottle all night long. Now, I sleep in my bed, use an oscillating fan and keep the shutters closed all day long, but leave the windows open a little - and only occasionally must resort to the spray bottle.

Bottom line - if you need "real" a/c - stay in a decent hotel. It's just not worth all the trouble and suffering.

I have stayed in two apartments in Paris. ( we usually rent hotels)
Both had ac.
One had central and one had portable ( but we had no regulations about turning if off at night.. that would have been completely unacceptable!)

The central ac was better.. but the portable ac did help .. and while I prefer central.. I would never consider renting in summer in Paris without some form of AC.. and AC I could run all night.

I did not stay in a "luxury" unit . I used Parisbestlodge and all their apartments are clean, nicely appointed,centrally located, but smaller.

PS just so you know. I took a friend to Paris one August.. told her to pack sundresses etc for the heat.. and it was cold and rainy for 7 out of our 9 days.. so hey.. its not that you will ALWAYS need ac in paris in summer.. but as many other visits have shown me.. when its hot in Paris its miserable hot..

First of all, some of us consider genuine air conditioning to include heat in the winter and cooling in the summer. But what does A/C do that fans don't: de-humidify the air and that makes you feel a lot more comfortable.

I'm really glad a whole lot of people don't have it and still hold down a job. The whole "and that should be good enough for all of us" implication I reject totally.

This apartment SHOULD be listed as "has A/C but only during the day (when you are less likely to be there)" but to each their very uncomfortable own.

<i><font color=#555555>"If you are used to typical US standards of central a/c, you won't be comfortable in Paris unless you stay in a hotel."</font></i>

Absolutely not true. I don't know what a "typical US standard of central AC" is, so who knows what the hell anyone means by that statement. Most older buildings in NYC do not have "central" AC. To put a "central" system into a building already built is cost prohibitive. Most apartments built after WW2 have wall-sleeve units or units installed in a window, which is less desirable. And there's plenty of competition in the AC market to help you choose a good one.

I've been in many overly cold pre-war, regulated apartments in France and in Italy that were much too cold for my liking. I have been in Venice during some serious record-breaking heat waves in September these past five years, and on two occasions, I had to ask the hotel and an apartment owner to turn down the air conditioning unit because it was too cold.

AC technology in Europe has changed a lot in the last thirty years. Everything depends on what AC unit you're working with, and there are plenty of units that meet code requirements for older buildings. Good AC will always come down to money and who is willing to invest in it.

this is just a battle about pro/con of AC. Hope the OP has found another spot. Paris Perfect is not even called that anymore...it is Paris Made Perfect and in this case they really can't live up to that name.

NYC is not "typical" of the US in many ways. It seems that AC is another of them.

NYC is not the alien place that several Republican candidates would have you believe. There are plenty of pre-war apartment buildings and homes in cities throughout the U.S. that did not come with AC. The art-deco apartment building on Fountain Ave near Beverly Hills, where I once lived, was not originally wired for AC. At substantial investment, the building owner re-wired the building, adhering to strict codes which the city oversaw. Many hotels in Europe are located in designated historical buildings. Most have serious construction restrictions, however, I know from personal experience that many of these hotels offer ductless AC units throughout their historical buildings, and the AC is often much too cold for me.

NYCFoodSnob - do you own (and actually live in) property in Paris? I do.

You don't seem to have bothered to read the information I mentioned regarding the regulations of the co-propriete and the city's preservation rules regarding air-conditioning.

Nobody is asking about NYC.
The rules in NYC do not apply to Paris.
It's doubtful that how you feel about your personal body temperature would be a factor in someone's choice of an apartment in Paris.

If you may want/need a/c during a stay and you'd be miserable without it, best bet is to simply choose accommodations with effective a/c without restrictions.

Without a/c, if there's an unexpected spell of very hot weather or a heat wave, cannot imagine going shopping (at the worst possible time) for and purchasing several oscillating fans to blow very hot air around.

So, avoiding the pontificating and instead speaking from experience - especially at the rates commanded by PP, I would not rent this property in summer.

Mobile units can cool a room quite well. The one apartment we rented which had them but prohibited their use after 10 pm is not one we will recommend or re-use. It was during a warm July in Paris, and after the second night I told the manager to deal with whatever repercussions might ensue, I was running the unit all night to assure comfortable sleep. Yes, rather typical ugly American behavior but if a place is advertised as having AC I expect it to have it full time.