Paris apartment rental

Agreed.

I also rented from an apartment rental service in Paris. It was only for 3 days, but the room and service were terrible. I also did this in Amsterdam with similarly disappointing results.

Thank you for the warning, I’m sorry this happened to you.
We rented an apt from Paris Best Lodge in 2017 that was so bad we walked out immediately and stayed at an amazing and wonderful hotel at a great discount who welcomed us like family after hearing about what happened to us.
I’ve rented apts in Paris before with no issues but haven’t rented since that terrible experience.
I hope you’re able to get your money back somehow.

Susan:
I also rented from ParisBestLodge in 2016, and the same apartment in 2017.
It was the one on B. St. Michele....no longer offered.
It wasn't bad, but could have been a wee bit cleaner.
I did tell the agent about the iffy sofa bed that my friend slept on, (it tilted downhill) and the broken laundry rack, but they were not fixed by the following year.
I rented it a second time as the location was perfect.

Hi SJ, the apt we rented was on Ile de la Cité facing north with the Seine river in front of us. It was February, snowing and very cold.

1) The 1800s bedroom window did not close well and there was a one inch gap all along the top and bottom letting freezing cold air come in

2) The shower tiles, many missing, were moldy

3) Mold throughout the bathroom

4) A plastic water tank above toilet and large exposed plumbing pipes that all looked very sketchy were covered and held together with duct tape

5) Dirty, torn and shredded sheer curtains in living room

6) Sofa bed so filthy dirty and stained the Goodwill wouldnt take it

7) Sofa Bed mattress stained, dirty and had bits of popcorn all over it

8) All the towels were soaking wet in the washing machine. Mgr had told us not to use the W/D until the next day when he’d come and show us how to use them

9) Bedspread on master bedroom mattress old and filthy dirty

10) The place REAKED of mold and mildew

There’s more but those were the dealbreakers. I took photos to prove what we found.

I booked it one year in advance. Mgr was supposed to meet us when we got there. I confirmed 1 week before, then day before. Yes, he’d be there he said. Got off plane, called him and told him we landed and would be there in 1 hr.
His response was, “I’m at a restaurant with my family and cant be there until tomorrow” in the most blasé way imaginable. He added not to use any appliances until he came the next day.

Finding soaking wet towels (all of them) in the washing machine meant we could not take a shower… after an 11 hr flight and being up for over 24 hrs. I forget the mgrs name but he was despicable.

It turned out well for us though because we got to stay in a fantastic hotel on Ile St Louis for the same cost of the apt and treated like royalty for our 15 day stay.
We’ve returned and stayed at that same hotel ever since (or at a friend’s apt).

If you found home-rental.fr (a.k.a. home-rental.com) in an RS book then you should use this --- https://www.ricksteves.com/forms/guidebook-feedback-form

to alert RS staff to the problems of the entity.

Wow, Susan;
That was beyond appalling for you.
Looks like they only have 3 left on their site, when they had about 10 when I rented.
I'm glad you found a better place!

Thank you SJ, it was a harsh welcome to Paris for sure, but ended up a blessing in disguise. Interesting there are 3 apts still available with ParisBestLodge. The website looks the same so i assume it’s the same despicable mgr. His behavior after we left was further proof of how despicable he is. A more truthful name for his business is “ParisWorstLodge.”

Blvd St Michel is a convenient area but there are so many better choices than ParisBestLodge.

We rented from Paris Best Lodge in 2013 (Abelard) and it was wonderful. The host then was Thierry who had been lovely. I believe he still is the host. The flats they advertise now are all different from the ones offered in 2013 and the photos look quite shabby and not at all chic like the original ones. However, I did find those very same original apartments on Airbnb by the Superhost, Michel. They are entitled, "Tenderness at Notre Dame", "Notre Dame in Full Colors", and a few others. They are all in the 5th and are superbly located. Things certainly did appear to change for the worst with PBL!

Lindy, our experience in 2017 was horrendous. Thierry was the mgr, he was the opposite of lovely with us. He was viciously nasty, and a liar. Good to know to find the good apts on AirBnB with Michel, and stay away from ParisBestLodge.

Considering the comments in this thread, are there any reputable apartment rental firms in Paris. Looking for late summer/early fall 1 bedroom apartment.

Wow I can’t believe opinions like that about rentals hasn’t gotten Rick sued. I know nothing about the rentals but we also know nothing about the people who are giving opinion. Like they say rent a room in a fine hotel.

Well I know something about one of the people relating her experience at the Paris Best Lodge apartment, because I have been seeing her posts for years here on the Forum, and she has a lot of experience in Paris (including growing up here).

Because I have seen her reliable posts for years, I have confidence that what she is saying is true.

We rented from Paris Best Lodge in 2015 and stayed at The St Germain Studio and loved it. Thierry was very reliable meeting us at the arraigned time, taking my luggage up the stairs, responded to a maintenance request the same day. I did think the place was not as clean as I had expected but otherwise was a good value and an excellent location. It was quiet, we felt safe and had a great nights rest, so it ticked all my boxes. So sorry to hear that it sounds like they are not delivering the same quality as what we experienced.

We've had two good apartment rental experiences in Paris and also several good hotel experiences. Either option can be hit or miss, but the stakes are lower with a hotel. If the room doesn't work, you can try for another room. Or another hotel if necessary. With an apartment you've probably prepaid and have no recourse. Both options have pros and cons.

Susan is very reliable and very knowledgeable about Paris (and other things too I'm sure). And I urge the OP to let the RS organization know about the bad experience you had if the recommendation came from them.

As for Thierry, I don't know what to think. Maybe he has his good days and bad days. Or maybe it's a common French name.

The short term apartment rental market has changed dramatically in Paris, primarily due to recent enforcement of new rental laws. Overall, there are fewer available units than there were just a few years ago, and a few owners might be milking tourists for the last few euros they can get out of illegal investment properties before they are closed by city inspectors.

I would be cautious about any apartment rental.

This is the flat that my husband and I rented from Thierry (Parisbestlodge) in 2013. It was called Abelard then and was 1/2 the price that it is now. It is now rented by Michel on Airbnb. Several of his apartments are the same as the ones Thierry had managed. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13592311?source_impression_id=p3_1672511144_0lcNyCI8jM7bnjyP.
This is the information about Michel on his Airbnb site: "I'm a publisher, passionate about the history of Paris, Notre Dame and its historical neighborhood and I manage 10 apartments all in the same small block Rue Galande and all filled with a lot of antique furniture and artifacts while incorporating the latest technology, air conditioning, wifi and internet.

Our gouvernante, Linda, takes great care of our guests when I'm away."
As you can see, several of the flats are on rue Galande, a central spot in Paris (5eme) which was just ideally located. I could see Notre Dame from the window. The ac was excellent. Even though it was just in the bedroom, it cooled the entire flat which was superbly decorated. Michel's flats also have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
We just left Paris having rented a different flat at a lower price than Abelard. It was very spacious, had a true American king-size bed, another bedroom with a queen bed, a top sheet, duvets, washer, separate dryer, dishwasher, bath towels, hand towels and wash cloths located in the 2nd eme. (American creature comforts). https://www.vrbo.com/340100ha?adultsCount=2&noDates=true&unitId=3130514. The owner, Hadia, was a dream to rent from.
I do appreciate that Rick Steves makes recommendations about hotels/apartments, restaurants, cities, sights to see, etc., after all, that's what a guide book is, mainly. I do think his organization would appreciate hearing about your experience, however. It breaks my heart that you ended your trip early. So sad.
Hope this helps anyone looking for a Paris rental.

“ Wow I can’t believe opinions like that about rentals hasn’t gotten Rick sued“

Wow, I can’t believe anyone even wrote this. statement. Why would you be able to sue Rick because he recommended an apartment you didn’t like? Do you sue restaurant reviewers if they recommend a restaurant that you don’t like? So now you can sue book writers if they write anything in the guidebook that you don’t like. And we wonder why our court system in the US is a little behind 😂

It’s a guidebook- it was not a contract where you had to go use a company

That said, I have rented with 2 agencies in Paris, and I would not hesitate to recommend either one of them. one of them is very nice and very upscale, guest apartment services, and one of them is more basic but you do get what you’re promised, Vacation in Paris.

I will not do Airbnb in Paris, because of the ever increasing risk of a “plumbing problem”
which means they got caught illegally renting and had to take it off the market. Or they got an offer for more money neither one of which is good

To bad the writer can’t read. No one said sue Rick because of information in his guidebook. you did. Relax it’s a New Year. What was wondered was the attack on rental agencies with only some writer’s opinion. This opinion is the renters with no avenue to defend by the agency. Obliviously Rick found a decent place to rent and wrote about it the OP decided it wasn’t and slammed it. I could sit here and decide to slam something and cause it to lose money all day long. I just wondered if the person or persons running the website are legally responsible for lost income because someone decided to infect revenge using the website. I don’t know why I even thought about any of this. Sorry

Time For Travel: the people who run into a problem (example no refund), try to inflict damage ( post the same outrage or sob story on every available forum) and claim the foreign government is targeting American drivers because they received a ticket in the mail are usually one-time or first time posters. We have seen it all. This group doesn’t let cow dung go unchallenged. The others call them out for their attitude or point out that they could have avoided losing $10,000 to FlyByNight travel website if they had come to this forum and asked questions before. Sometimes there are tips on procedures to follow to get some remedy or advice to suck it up, quit belly aching and move on.

Susan has been around here a long time and has proven reliability.

Well this has been interesting! We have a month-long rental planned in Paris in May thru AirB&B (Bastille area). Been in touch with owner a few times and reviews seem solid. We shall see!

Rented Airbnb without any issues in Paris a few years ago in the 4th. We are planning a trip next September and looking at apartments again.
Looking at several options for apartments and possibly hotels. I liked Airbnb because you have some recourse if there is an issue.
Looking in the 6th or 14th arr. if any one has ideas for me.

Paris Best Lodge and Thierry have been around for years. There used to be 10+ listings but with the crackdown on short term rentals and Covid, the offerings have shrunk to a few. We rented apartments from PBL 4 times 2010-2017 and friends did twice in that time span. We had no difficulties with Thierry and he had to fix a few things for us; one of our stays was a month. Like anything folks can have different experiences. What I think the changes with PBL also illustrate is that renting short term apartments from any source has become more challenging and unpredictable.

Family members recently stayed at one of the apartment hotels and had a good experience. A bit more accountability is often available with a larger business.

Paris Perfect is an option.

Cobblestone is another reputable option (https://cobblestoneparis.com/).