gladfon

Hi Everyone,
We canceled our trip to Greece with my husband which would have been this May, I am now going to Paris with my sister in October. For the first time, I am looking at rental apartments in Paris. We will be there for 8 days. What do you think of Paris Best Lodge and the apartment on Rue Grenelle? The street looks nice on Google. I was also considering the apartment near Luxembourg, but it is a bit pricey for us. I've seen several threads on apartments, and I remember reading that a family rented an apartment and found the owner there when they returned one day. I would not like that. That wasn't Paris Lodge was it? Thank you for your help. Gladys

ParisJo

We rented from Thierry at Paris Best Lodge last year and were very happy with both the apartment and the agency. Thierry has a very easy booking system, you only have to send him a cheque in your home currency to reserve the apartment. He doesn't cash the cheque and gives it back to you on your day of departure. You do have to pay him in cash when you get there, but there are no security deposits, cleaning fees or any other extra charges besides the weekly charge you see on the website. We really like not having our precious vacation dollars not tied up in security deposits and not having any surprises at the end of the week.

Thierry is very quick to get back to you and is available the whole time you are in Paris. We were so happy with his services that we have rented from him again this May.

Good luck whatever you decide on, just make sure you do your homework before you book with anyone, there are lots of very reputable agencies out there but unfortunately, there are also people who are not so honest or trustworthy. We are very happy we found Thierry from Paris Best Lodge.

Jo

Guenmai

Yellowrose22 just rented an apartment through them last month and was quite happy with it. She has two threads. I'll pull up the first one as it's bookmarked on my computer. It's the "Which Apartment Would You Choose?" thread. The other thread is a trip report thread. I'll top the first one for you. Oh, rue Grenelle is a nice street. Happy Travels!

Guenmai

That's yellowrose477, not 22. Someone else must have the number 22. Smiles. Happy Travels!

janisj

Here is the link to the thread Guenmai mentions

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...you-choose.cfm

(Guenmai - it is usually better to post a link to the thread instead of topping it. W/ all the activity on the forums it could quickly sink out of sight)

lilaki

hi there,

we rented from PBL last fall...and are returning again this fall to thierry's property in the 6th. if you click on my name, you can scroll down to find my paris trip report...

ditto to what parisjo mentioned...thierry is great to work with ... i didn't even bother looking at any other agency/company for our return trip!

if you're interested in a PBL property, act quickly ... they are snapped up early!!!

Guenmai

Janisj-I have no idea how to do "link" functions on the computer(Mac) and haven't had time to figure it out. Someone once said something about cutting and pasting which went in one ear and out the other as I'm not into computers, so it's all Greek to me. When other posters don't use links to threads, I just use the Search Box to find threads. Happy Travels!

janisj

I'm on a mac too - that makes no difference really.

When you open a thread - notice the URL. This one for instance is <i>http:// www fodors com-community-europe-who-has-rented-from-paris-best-lodge</i> (same as the title if the thread)

If you highlight it and click apple+c (the command for copy) that will copy it and keep it on a sort of "clip board" in the background. Then go to the thread where you want to post and click apple+v (the command for paste) and there it is. No need to type the URL - just a couple of key stroke.

OR - if you don't use keyboard commands - highlight the URL, click COPY in the edit drop down menu, then in your post click PASTE in the edit menu.

These are really basic functions - not some "techy" secret.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...odge.cfm#newli

Guenmai

Thanks janisj- I'll try it. I'm sure these functions might be basic to many, but I'm really not into computers, so it's all high tech to me especially as I've never done the function on any kind of computer. Smiles. Maybe one of these days, before the next decade, I'll have time to actually go to a computer course. However, not now with parents in their 80s and almost 90 and flying 3 hours back forth to care for one on weekends and working full time. I'm a bit swamped and if it's not in the Mac book, then I usually have to put it on the shelf unless I can find someone who knows how to do various functions. Smiles. Thanks again for taking the time to explain it to me. I'll attempt the function and hope not to cause a disaster. Happy Travels!

gladfon

Hi Everyone,
Thank you all for your replies. It gives me some confidence since I have never rented an apartment in Paris before. I am considering Paris Best Lodge's Luxembourg apartment. Has anyone stayed there? Are there any supermarkets, fromageries, boulangeries in the area around the apartment?
Thanks again for your help. Gladys

abranz

is this the apt. that is on blvd. st. michel?

if so, you are in a fabulous area.

blvd. st. michel is a busy street with lots and i mean lots of cafes, bakeries and shops.

i have a terrible memory and lousy at directions, but there a great little market on rue de buci (i think) which is literally around the corner from st. michel.

i stayed at #122 from vacation in paris. they are very easy to work with as well.

Guenmai

Gladfon-What is the street? And if it's near Blvd. St.Michel, what part of it as it's a long street? I also stayed in #122 as this is my area of three decades. If you have questions about the areas north of rue St. Suplice, then ask and I'll try to answer them. But, your apartment is south of rue St. Suplice if it's near Luxembourg.

As for rue Buci being around the corner from St. Michel, from #122, it's a good 2 block walk west. Whereas St. Michel is a short block east. #122 is on rue St.Andres des Arts. The supermarket and open-air markets are both on the corner of rue Buci and rue de Seine. That would probably not be the closest market to an apartment if it's located near Luxembourg which is way south of there. I'm sure there would be be markets and other food stores in that area that would be a lot closer. There are food places, easy to find, in neighborhoods all over the city. So, I doubt if you'd need to go all the way up to rue Buci/rue de Seine. Happy Travels!

lilaki

gladfon ... check out slowtrav.com. i think you will find some reviews there.

gladfon

This is Pbl's Luxembourg Apartment on St Michel right across from Jardine Luxembourg. We want to do some cooking (light), and want to know if there are stores in the vicinity where we can buy groceries, etc. I know that rue Buci is a distance away--probably still walkable. Perhaps there are some Monoprix or similar stores around. I'm going to look on slowtrav. Thank you all. Happy Travels!

yellowrose477

gladfon - I'm glad that guenmai's told you about my earlier. It was difficult for me to make the decision about which apartment to rent. I almost drove myself crazy until one day guenmai told me to just take the apartment on rue Callot since it was in such a great location. So we did and were very happy. Thierry from parisbestlodge was so easy to work with. He answered emails timely and was available the whole time we were there for questions, etc. He assured us if we had problems in the middle of the night that he would be there for us. Plus even though the apartment was small, it was spotlessly clean and with the washing machine - we didn't need anything else. Good luck and enjoy your trip. We LOVED Paris.