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Review 5323: Owner, Classic Haussman Luxury Apartment (#269400)

www.vrbo.com

Recommended
Review by Tessmar from CA

2bed/2bath apartment in 2nd arrondissement, Paris

When

May 2012, One week

Location

The apartment is on Boulevaard de Sebastapol about 50 feet south of rue Reaumur and just north of rue di Turbigo. This is in an area of other haussmanian apartment buildings on the right bank side of the Seine, about a ten minute walk from Ile de Citte and a little bit further from the Louvre. The area is also just outside the pedestrian streets of the Montorgueil with its shops, restaurants, and cafes. There is also plenty of commercial business and "life" on Sebastapol itself.

Nearby Amenities

A car is not only not needed, it would be an extereme hassle. The nearest metro stop (Reaumur) is 50 feet from the door of the building. There is a Monoprix complex at this corner with everything you could need inccluding a supermarket, clothing, and cosmetics. There are boulangerie shops and cafes within easy walking distance as well as more refined dining without even tapping into the Metro.

The House/Apartment

The building is historic and in excellent condition. The apartment was restored less than five years ago and features wonderful wood floors and floor to ceiling windows in both the living area and both bedrooms. The apartment is quite big at 1100 square feet. The dining area is part of the living room.

Rue de Sebastapol is a busy and noisy street, but the double paned windows keep out 90+% of the bustle when closed. However, see comments below about the bedrooms in terms of noise.

The building, like all the similar ones I have seen, has a keypad external door access as well as an electronic fob for opening the inner lobby door.

Garden

There is neither a garden area nor a pool.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

This is the personal residence of the owners when they are in Paris, and is furnished accordingly in excellent taste and condition. There was plenty of seating space for two couples, and the amenities and conveniences made it obvious we were sharing someone's residence rather than renting some sterile income property.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

The beds were quite comfortable and the rooms were nicely appointed. A possible issue for some people might be noise in the bedrooms. The apartment fronts on Sebastapol in the living room, and rue de Palestro in the bedrooms (which runs parallel to Sebastapol). There is a culinary school and other commercial businesses on Palestro that are active at night and in early morning hours. If the weather points to the need to open the windows for sleeping comfort it is fairly noisy from this activity and might be a problem for some. We were forced to keep the windows closed except for a slight crack to facilitate air circulation and still allow us to sleep without disruption.

A note on the bathrooms. While there are indeed two of them ... there is a single toilet that is in a very confined space across the narrow hall from the baths. Also the front bathroom step-over height for the tub is quite high and might be an issue for some people with mobility problems. We were not bothered by either of these but have suggested to the owners that they might refine the descriptions in their listing. There are no bidets in either bathroom.

Kitchen

The kitchen was very nice-reasonable size and completely supplied with dishes and flatware that didn't look like it was leftover from someone's garage sale. Again, this is the owners' personal residence and was supplied accordingly.

Problems or Bonuses

While the listing does mention that the elevator goes to the second floor of this fourth floor unit, there is also a second lift that goes from the second to the sixth floor, so it is possible to (for example) move luggage into the apartment without dragging it up stairs.

Agency and Representatives (and price)

Since this was a VRBO listing we booked directly with the owner. They do have a local manager as they no longer live full time in France. Her English is basic but adequate for the tasks required and she was quite thorough in showing us how everything worked and where things were. The reality of the apartment was a good match for the photos in the listing. We paid €1295 for the week, which I consider a bargain for a place in this location, size, and condition.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

I would definitely stay here again and would recommend this to anyone. The only qualifications is that they think about my comments regarding the bathroom situation and noise issues.

Things to do in this area

Too much to mention. Easy walking distance of Notre Dame, the Louvre, L'Orangierie, St. Chapelle, the Pomidou, the Montorgueil, etc. Plenty of little shops and places to make us feel like we were actually living in Paris rather than just visiting

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.

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