Alcove & Agapes Bed and Breakfast in Paris

4. The shower was awkward and very old. Seriously needs an upgrade. The room with the toilet was quite bad also. 5. Our kids' bed was very hard and uncomfortable. Both of them had backaches every morning. Our bed was nothing to rave about either. 6. The website says that laundry is free for all stays that are longer than 4 nights. When I approached Claudine about it, she went absolutely hysterical and started screaming away about how hard it is to do laundry, and how in France, people don't wash their clothes very often, etc. Our load was small for a family of four. She said that she would have to charge me 10 Euros. I paid her, while reminding her that the site says that laundry should be free. She said that rule no longer applies. She continued screaming and started throwing our laundry everywhere – underwear ended up in the kitchen sink, socks on the kitchen floor. You get the picture. It was actually quite comical, but maybe now others will understand that staying at B&Bs in France, or at least, in Paris, may not be the best idea. 7. We were never really able to use the TV, since Claudine was always there watching it first. WiFi was only available in the TV room where she would always sit. WiFI was not available in our bedroom.
8. I honestly don't believe that this lady in particular is cut for this job. She's elderly and is unwilling to change. She walks around at night and starts turning off lights while we are using them. She's of the post-WW2 generation of cheapness, yet the rates are certainly not cheap. We definitely did not get what we paid for. This establishment is stuck in the 70s, but charges 21st or possibly 22nd-century prices. I would never recommend this company. Their customer service is good at first, until they receive payment. After that, they really do not care.

Negin, I wonder what Rick would have done in this case! I think I would have bought her some chocolate. She seems like an unhappy person. I feel for you. I probably would have nixed the breakfast so the woman could save her spoiled juice and bread. She obviously needed it more than you did. And would have spent as much time away from the place as possible. Hope you have positive memories of your time spent away from A&A B&B.

Bets and Lynette, thank you both so much. Bets, the company emailed me back and has given me a voucher for 25 Euros to use for our next stay that will expire in a year. Not much good for us. First of all, it's not like we visit Paris very often. Secondly, we won't be risking it with this company again. We had a fabulous time in Paris nonetheless. Lynette, the funny thing was that I did take her a few bars of local Grenada chocolate as a gift when we arrived to her place. And yes, we spent VERY little time there. We were so uncomfortable and it was very obvious that she didn't like us to be there. She wanted us out of there in the morning and would start slamming doors and shouting if we stayed longer than 10 AM. We were almost always out before then and we wouldn't return until 11 PM or so. Every. single. night. With 2 kids, mind you. It was that bad. We'd get so tired (and hot) that we'd go to the movies to take a break from all the sightseeing.
Our time in Paris was great other than this. I was and continue to be upset that this company is recommended in RS's book. I hope that it is removed in future issues. I will never stay in a B&B in Paris again and would discourage others from doing so. They're not like the ones found in the U.K., etc. We had a wonderful time in one in the Cotswolds. Absolute heaven and the lady was an angel.

Negin, Please write to Rick about this as it was recommended in his book. He says he wants to get feedback, and it sounds like this was such a bad place to stay, he might need to take it out. I would also suggest going to TripAdvisor and making a comment there, because that's what I'm going to do for the place I just stayed at in Croatia.

Elaine, thanks so much. I would love to write to Rick, but don't quite know the best way to get in touch with him or his staff. Since we've only just returned, I've been too busy to search, but I will. I tried to post on Trip Advisor, but there are no listings for that company. It's very hard (almost impossible) to post a review on a company or site that they don't list. I posted on their Paris forums, but the strong, very negative and hostile reaction I got there was hurtful and personal. I was shocked. They kept reporting my posts as inappropriate, even though nothing was. Nothing more than what I've stated here. I'm glad that these forums are not like that.
Hope your experience in Croatia wasn't too negative.

I too read the TA posts. Yeah a tough crowd compared to us but some were supportive and helpful. James does have a point about being able to get a super apartment for $243 a night, which I hope you do next time. One would think that a listing in a RS book would be enough of a recommendation.

You can post feedback on Rick's guidebooks here: http://www.ricksteves.com/books/feedback/index.cfm

Paris is not known for Bed and Breakfast spots. You would have had far better luck with an apartment and for that price, a lovely one, I'm sure.

Thank you all for your very kind support. This place is so much friendlier and kinder than the TA forums. James, we couldn't find anything during our time period. I searched and searched for suitable accommodation for 2 whole months. I read negative reviews about some of the apartment rentals and others that seemed okay were fully booked for our dates. So we thought either a B&B or a hotel. Hotels were our initial first choice. We couldn't get anything suitable. Some of them looked really quite bad and/or were overpriced. I am not usually a B&B type. And I have to agree w/you. It was ONLY because RS recommended this company and we had little choice in the matter.
You said it perfectly - small town, small accommodation, big town, big accommodation. Your words are gold. Kathy, thanks for the link. Debbie, I wish I'd know that sooner. Thanks again, everyone.