We had an awful experience with this Plum Guide rental - Art Maze in Paris, and I would not recommend it. Also don’t trust the Trust Pilot reviews. Please go to forum like Reddit, Rick Steve’s and Facebook for actual, truthful reviews. The reviews here most likely are not sharing all the horrors. Plum Guide will not support you!
Days before our arrival at Art Maze, the hosts suddenly told us the laundry, one of the main reasons we booked this apartment, would be unavailable for a month. When I said that was not acceptable they threatened to cancel our booking. Later they changed their story and said the laundry would work but only if workers came in during our stay to install lights and a ramp to reach it. None of this was disclosed when we booked or in the listing. When I booked in May, I asked about the laundry and was told it was wonderfully lit and in the basement. The listing mentioned a steep staircase with no railing. It never said the laundry was down there or that guests would need to use them. So at the time, it didn’t sound like that “home truth” applied to anything guests would actually access. Since Plum Guide vets their homes, I assumed the property had been checked for safety. In reality, the laundry is down a steep, dimly lit staircase with no railing. This was never made clear in the listing, and we would never have booked this home.
When we arrived the female host who greeted us was cold and unwelcoming, she also accused me of telling her we were checking in at 13h and our arrival time would mess up her day. I never said we’d arrive at 13h though! She confirmed my message weeks prior that we’d arrive after 16:30h. She apparently thought the general Plum Guide check in time of 13h was when I’d arrive. Again, I never told her this and after chastising me for something I never said, she just replied with a “mea culpa 🙏.” Again unacceptable and hostile behavior before we even arrived in Paris.
Once we arrived, she refused to shake my hand. She even left her luggage in the apartment and just told us she’d come back (after we had already checked in and took over the apartment) later in our stay. So that was incredibly intrusive and not what we agreed upon. Her husband, the male host quickly became intrusive as well. It got worse as the heat was not even turned on when we arrived, and we inquired about how to turn the heat on. Central heat was advertised and in fact it was radiant floor panel heat. To add only a few heat panels worked on their concrete floor, and the largest heat unit was broken. When the weather was very cold and rainy. When we turned the heat on, he would text saying our heat setting was “way too high,” that “it’s not even October yet,” and that heating “costs a fortune.” He also dictated which lights to turn on during our stay.
He repeatedly texted and called asking about our checkout time literally a day after we checked into our 8 day stay in the apartment! This man was literally blowing up my phone with calls and texts about our checkout out time when we were on vacation and spending time with friends. Even though we still over a full week left and pressured me to communicate through WhatsApp instead of Plum Guide. He also called and messaged directly after I asked for all contact to stay on the platform. Then the hosts said they needed to come back into the apartment during our stay to retrieve caviar they left behind for their kid’s birthday!
I spent days dealing with Plum Guide instead of enjoying our vacation. They kept saying the issues were resolved, but the hosts continued to contact me day and night. Clearly we were being harassed and these hosts wanted control of our stay and out the home. If you don’t want strangers in your home, don’t list it on a luxury vacation rental website.
Plum Guide made no effort to relocate my family even after I said we felt uncomfortable and unsafe. They only offered a refund after I threatened to file a dispute.