richardab

Providing you do your research, how could an apt rental be any worse than a rooom at the Hotel Jeanne d'Arc, which is pretty rustic and complete with smelly carpet and threadbare towels?

epi

Ive posted on this before, but the apartment at 3 place bourg-tibourg (bienvenueaparis.com) would definitely work for you. It is in the Marais, one bedroom, and you pay in dollars because the owners are American. We have stayed there twice and are about to schedule our next stay. it is $980 for a week in November, i think. The location is wonderful, the apartment as pictured, with an enormous bedroom in European terms. Staying in an apartment is absolutely the way to go if you don't need hotel services!

eedwards

Another recommendation for vacationinparis.com. We rented a two bedroom this past April. Started the process about 5 months earlier. They stayed in contact, were easy to reach by e-mail. They mailed us the keys and a map about two weeks before we left. A second set of keys were in the apartment. The owner lived in Paris and was easy to reach. The apartment was very clean, don't remember if towels matched but we had plenty. The apartment was exactly as advertised and I know they have at least 1 apt. in the Marais because we had contemplated renting that one before we chose one in the 1st. Good luck.

missypie

We rented a two bedroom flat from parisholidayapts.com and were pleased. The owner is Canadian, so communications for English speakers was a breeze. The apartment was nice but not fancy, it was great to have kitchen facilities and was just what our family of 5 needed.

The only unpleasant surprise was the advertized "washer and dryer." It was actually a combo, so one load had to totally wash and totally dry before you could start another load. And it was TINY...two pair of jeans filled it up. If you put the dryer on the longest cycle (2.5 hours) the jeans would still be damp. Of course, that may be just what French washers and dryers are like, but had I known, I would not have counted on using it so much.

Back on topic: for a group exceeding 4 people, a flat is the way to go.

richardab

epi, The apartments at bienvenueaparis.com look great and have decent prices. It looks like if you cancel 45 day prior to arrival, you lose 50%, within 45 days you lose your shirt.

richardab

They also want a $800 security deposit that they say will be returned with 4 weeks after departure. 4 weeks? How about 10 days?

Ronda

Very informative thread. I would like to rent an apartment for a longer stay so I could take advanatage of all that "take out" food from little shops.

Danna

I have reserved a one bedroom through VRBO in the 16th. http://www.vrbo.com/60877

I'm very excited to be out of the main tourist areas and able to actually buy and cook things from the markets and butchers.

I have paid 1/3rd via Paypal and will pay the rest in cash on arrival.

There is a good thread started from the apartment owner's perspective. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

I'm really looking forward to this change from our previous B&B's, Hotels and Guesthouse experiences. Next time, Amsterdam!

bizzyb

I'm renting the apt. at 3 Place Bourg-Tibourg from bienvenueaparis.com Sept. 10-17.
I'll post a report about it when we get back.

richardab

bizzyb, thanks! Take some photos too. I would love to see them. You can email them to me. That place looks nice and it's in a great area. Lots of local shops, markets and take-aways! Check out my blog for restaurant ideas in that area.

The bistro L'Endroit is one of my favorites. There is another good one called Le Caveau de l'Isle which is on the Ile St Louis a short walk away. Right nearby your apartment there is a romantic and cozy place called Le Relais Saint Paul at 33 rue Francois Miron which is a street running parrellel to rue Rivoli. The have a nice set price menu and are very friendly. It's actually run by a man who moved to Paris from Atlanta! These are all described on my blog. Once you go to the site click on the PARIS - EAT button on the left column to bring up all the restaurants.

http://richardab.typepad.com/iheartparis

richardab

Has anyone ever used parisbestlodge.com?

epi

richardb,
Well this inspired me, and we have now reserved the apartment for a week in May. I will go to your blog for restaurants. Thanks. We have some favorites too, but like to take long walks to dinner, so they are all over Paris. Our favorite roving market is Sunday and Thursday on Boulevard Richard Lenoir, a 10 minute walk from the apartment.
I actually don't find the 4 weeks for a security deposit unreasonable. I suspect they need to give themselves time to get the phone bill.
bizzyb, I hope you enjoy yourself. When we were last there, there was a small roving market across the rue rivoli from the apartment. I think it was Wednesday and Saturday. Also fyi the patisserie at the top of the place is not our favorite. You are better off walking turning right at the top of the place, go to the next street, I think rue de vielle temple, and go to either of the patisseries about a block up. If you want some other recommendations, post again. I'll check here.

lucygirl

I don't think I've seen www.rentparis.com in any previous answers. I used them just over a year ago and really enjoyed the experience.

shellio

bizzyb-

Any chance we could come over and take a look at that apartment while you're there? We're renting on the Left Bank, but I always like to see places for next time if possible.

Patrick

Wow. After staying at a couple places and reviewing thousands of other apartments in Paris (yes, literally), the 3 Bourg Tibourg is at the top of my list and is on hold with the owners for 10 days next July while I await confirming my flights (still too early to do so). Looks like I'd better get on it right away as it is rapidly gaining in popularity.

While there are thousands of apartments available, my list gets very small once I've eliminated the following:

apartments that are above the second floor with no elevator.

apartments without air-conditioning if I'm going in June, July, or August.

apartments with no real bed -- either a futon or fold down thing, or a bed against a wall so that one has to climb over the other to get in or out.

apartments with no shower, but rather an open tup with a hand held device good only for flooding the bathroom.

apartments that are way expensive (over $200 a night and I'd just as soon stay in a really nice hotel).

I'd say a good 90% or more of all the listings I look at get eliminated for one or more of the above reasons.

Suzanne2

Patrick, your criteria is similar to mine. I will not sleep on a futon or fold out sofa bed for a week. I also like to read in bed so I look for night stands with lamps. We are stayin in vacationinparis.coms No2 in November. It was not my first choice but it was the only one of the three I wanted that was availble. I saw alot of apartments with loft style beds. I dont climb ladders much anymore so I rule those out too. A DVD player is always nice too. Watching CNN can get old in a hurry. The apartment we had last year had a VCR and we watched a couple of movies at night.

richardab

My criteria is the same but i added a few things...

-no apartments with Ikea furniture
-no apartments in obscure locations in the north part of Paris
-no apartments with excessive pillows on the bed. Especially if they are from Ikea.
-no places that are painted orange or with orange bedspreads.
-no excessive knick-knacks
-hot pink, NO! (http://www.newyorkhabitat.com/paris-...ation/2880/100)
-unless you are renting in a palace, don't try to make your apartment look like Versailles!
-shower curtains are a must! What is it about France that they don't have shower curtains?
-What the hell is this? http://www.newyorkhabitat.com/paris-.../vacation/2054
-Leave Grannys "junque" in the attic.

Well that narrows the list!

wliwl

richarddab:
Re: http://www.newyorkhabitat.com/paris-.../vacation/2054

That is absolutely hilarious.

richardab

Yeah it looks like I would be staying at Betsy Johnsons house!

I just found another agency and this one has some interesting places. They also don't charge a cancellation fee...

http://rothray.com/index.html

kathrynj

Rented a place in Paris, 6th arr, with Chez Vous and was happy with them (I think it's www.chezvous.com) They are based in California. It was much better than a hotel for a week long stay.