Paris Perfect - help!!
 

Hi, We have been lucky enough to get a new Paris Perfect apartment for our honeymoon in September. Our dealings with Philippe and Madelyn have been wonderful with one exception. At first we provided out credit card information as required, then we were contacted and told it would take at least a week due to a change in banks, then a week later we were asked to wire the money for the payment because it would take months to get the transaction put through - my Fiance is now a little leary that these wonderful people can't put through a credit card transaction. Are we being to cautious? I have found NOTHING but wonderful posts about Philippe and Madelyn and their apartments, but this leaves us a little leary. Any thoughts?

I am sorry to hear that you are having problems dealing with Paris Perfect as we have never had a problem in the four years we have rented from them. They used to take personal checks and this is the way I usually go as when you use most credit cards there is an extra 3% charged by the bank and if you wire transfer you have about a $25 charge to do so. We have rented many houses and apartments over the last eleven years throughout France and Italy since my husband semi- retired and believe me many owners do not take credit cards at all. Hope you can resolve this matter and enjoy your trip. By the way, which apartment did you rent? I have seen all but about three of them and have stayed in Champagne,St. Emilion, and Romanee. They have a few that they have yet to add to their site.

Hi Operator,

We rented from Paris Perfect in March 2003. At that time they didn't take credit cards at all and we had to pay by wire transfer. Yes, there was a fee from the bank to do that but it was nominal. I think their taking credit cards is a new development and they don't have it together yet.

I would stay in one of Philippe and Madelyn's apartments again in a heartbeat. They're super helpful and their places are gorgeous. Go for it! You won't be sorry!

Have fun!

Patti

Laidback, thanks for the reassurance, we will be staying at one of their new places, The Fleurie, we are booking it sight unseen with only Madelyns description to go by. It is in the process of being renovated as we speak, hence no pictures, apparently ready for occupancy in mid July I believe. This is one of the things that is leading to my sweethearts uneasiness. I have read everything I could find on the web about Paris Perfect and Philippe and Madelyn, only once seeing something that was remotely negative about one of their places. But Rey feels that we could be taking too much of a chance - he couldn't understand how they could run such a large operation and not be setup to take the payments. I don't at all mind the fees associated with the payment - we just kind of took astep back when he kept changing the method of payment. I told Rey to call Philippe and get some clarification if he felt it would help. I have my fingers crossed.

I can attest to Madelyn and Phillipe's good reputation, and will also add that they are probably mired in some typical French bank bureaucratic quagmire with respect to the change in banks. I would not be concerned.

I cannot tell you how wonderful they are. I would trust them, and have trusted them, when it comes to deposits and the like. You will not be disappointed. If I were going on a honeymoon right now, there is no place else I would rather go than Paris and no place else Iwould rather stay than with Paris Perfect.

Another vote of confidence for Paris Perfect.
We were sent our deposit within days of returning home from staying at the Pomerol.
They were there for us if we had any questions, Carolyn is great if you need something.
Don't worry, enjoy!

I've had wonderful experiences with Philippe and Madelyn as well, though we paid by check. Earlier this year, I simply forwarded a check (in American dollars to a bank in Chicago) for the deposit. We paid the balance the same way.

I recently sent another deposit, though Philippe asked that I mail it to him in London, mentioning that he had been having problems with the bank in Chicago.

I'm sure the Fleurie will be just as beautiful and comfortable as their other apartments. I was astonished at the dozens of nice and thoughtful touches throughout our apartment (a cube of memo paper with a pen next to the phone, for example).

Thank you all for your help - this is exactly what we needed to solidify our decision. I could not be more excited. I'm on my way to the bank!!

We rented a couple of months ago from London Perfect (the same couple/company; we stayed in the apartment beneath their home in London and they are every bit as nice as you've heard) and did everything by personal check. No problems at all.

Wire transfer are a bit of a nightmare on the U.S. side (and you'll generally have to pay a fee), so you might want to see if there's another option, but I wouldn't be worried---everything will work out in the end.

You might ask about paying in Euro travelers' checks.

Another wonderful report for Paris Perfect and Phillipe and Madelyn. We also had to wire funds to them so credit cards must be fairly new. Our stay was for a week in 2003 and the apartment was just as beautiful as the picture on the internet. Trust them - they are wonderful people and they attend to the smallest details. She is a fabulous decorator. If you haven't seen the new apartment I'm sure it will be as beautiful as all the others. Next time we are in Europe (they also have one in Florence) we will contact them again.

We rented one of their London flats and I chose to wire transfer the money. Please rest assured that Philippe and Madelyn are very trustworthy and if their Paris flats are comparable to their London flats I am sure you will be extremely pleased.

We stayed in Cabernet for a week last month and everything was truly Paris perfect. You will enjoy the time spent in their apartments. As far as the financial arrangements are concerned, our story was a bit different. I was happy to give a credit card (for expedience sake) when we put a deposit on the flat, but in the intervening months the exchange rate became so unfavorable that I was planning to send the balance by check (in US dollars) to their partner bank in Chicago, since this was one of the original stated payment options. Philippe soon informed me that the balance of payment must be made in the same form as the payment deposit, so I chose one of my credit cards with a more favorable rate and promptly completed the transaction. In future, I would opt to pay by check to their Chicago bank to avoid currency/credit card/wire transfer issues. As far as their accommodations are concerned, it was heavenly. They provide all that you need with style for a very comfortable stay in a very lovely neighborhood. You will surely love it. You might want to take a look at my trip report for some details on the neighborhood. Enoy! ((#))

French banks are extremely snooty about granting merchant accounts and credit-card processing facilities to small businesses, so you should not be surprised if a small business has trouble dealing with credit cards. Just use a different form of payment. It is also true that French banks tend to gouge customers on bank charges and commissions for many forms of payment, so stories about 25% loss for some payment methods are probably true.

It would seem that Philippe conducts all of his banking in London, not France. For USA guests, he has been using a bank in Chicago (where he has an account), but reported that he's had recent problems with that bank.