Charming studio in the heart of Paris

Guest: Yvy (Boston, MA)
Date of Stay: 01/14/12 Review Submitted: 01/18/12

I loved my stay in the Soleil apartment. The studio was spotless and charming and fabulously located right in the center of Paris on a quiet pedestrian street yet close to everything. I loved the almost floor to ceiling windows that let in lots of light all day. There were plenty of towels and linens and the laundry machine sure came in handy. I could walk to many of the Paris attractions and was a couple of blocks away from a street market, lots of restaurants, the metro and buses. Even late at night I felt safe walking around the neighborhood and to and from the metro. My hosts were delightful - thank you for the delicious clementines you left for me!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, families with young children.

Best price and location for any Francophile!

Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 12/10/11 Review Submitted: 01/18/12

If you are someone who loves all things truly French, then this is the perfect apartment for you. Located only one street away from the now-chic rue Montorgueil, this apartment is the perfect base for exploring Paris. The apartment itself is clean, contemporary and includes a well-equipped kitchen. The bed is a large futon-style couch that is surprisingly comfortable. Two can sleep comfortably in this bed. If you know and love Paris, then you will love the value, location and setting of this cozy flat.

Owner response:Our guest stayed in "Petit Nuage."

Recommended for:Sightseeing, adventure seekers.

Citron

Guest: EMCJr (Stewart Manor, NY)
Date of Stay: 11/20/11 Review Submitted: 12/04/11

We recently had almost a week's stay in Citron. We had a great time, loved the apartment and the location, and the whole Rue Montorgueil area. It was a wonderful opportunity to actually feel like we lived in Paris, even if it was for such a short time. The apartment was clean and neat, easy to maintain for our time there, and right in the middle of everything, including easy access to the Metro and RER lines. The nearby cafes, restaurants, and boulangeries were all very good. I would recommend this rental highly.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers.

We love Paris!

Guest: Susie (California)
Date of Stay: 08/01/11 Review Submitted: 08/30/11

Recently stayed in Paris for several weeks. This studio was perfect. Comfortable accommodations, clean, quiet, well-supplied for our needs. Location is in a wonderful, safe at all hours neighborhood. Great market streets and we could walk to so many attractions. Easy access to transportation. Owners speak English and we don't speak French, so that was a big plus. Helpful with suggestions, too. Loved it and will definitely return.

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing, girls getaway, age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers.

Authentic & FUN

Guest: Manny (St. Louis, Missouri)
Date of Stay: 07/01/11 Review Submitted: 08/25/11

As a frequent business traveler, I've become accustomed to staying in a variety of hotels. When we decided to take a vacation in Paris, we took a gamble and chose this studio apartment -- naturally, we were apprehensive since it's seemed outside our "comfort zone." Now, we would never consider staying anywhere else in Paris!! The neighborhood feels very "authentic," with little restaurants to explore and yet it's walking distance to so many of Paris' big sights. The apartment itself is cozy, clean, with very simple furnishings ... but looking around at how people must live in these ancient cities we really felt we got a taste of the "real thing." Above all else, we had FUN & we loved this little home-away-from-home!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers.

Great Stay!

Guest: Paris is Fun (Los Angeles, CA)
Date of Stay: 08/20/11 Review Submitted: 08/24/11

We had a wonderful stay in Paris at this studio apartment at a great price! The location is terrific...just footsteps away from restaurants, cafes and shops. Everything was clean and ready for our arrival. We would definately stay here again and would highly recommend!!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway.

Best apartment we have ever rented!!!

Guest: Michael (-)
Date of Stay: 05/17/11 Review Submitted: 08/24/11

To start off, this is the best apartment we have ever rented!!! Check-in: 5 minutes and we were done. Cleanliness: Very clean and cozy apartment. Size: We stayed at Petit Nuage, and the apartment is exactly what its called. A little cloud :) It was big enough for the 2 of us. The only thing is it is on the 3rd floor. We were fine with it as well. Service: Fantastic. In the apartment we found a book about the apt and the area. I travel a lot and usually do a very thorough research. With this place, the book had answers to all my questions even if I didn't research the area Staff: Everybody is VERY nice. Check-out: it took us two minutes to complete the checkout

Recommended for:

Disappointment

Guest: Pam (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Date of Stay: 06/23/11 Review Submitted: 08/14/11

I have taken a while before writing this review to see if my feelings would change over time. They have to some extent. I am no longer angry, just profoundly disappointed. My best friends (a married couple) and I spent one night in the Citron apartment in June. We were to spend 3 nights but that wasn't to be. When we got there from London, the owner and manager were in the office and seemed very cheerful and helpful. We were then taken upstairs and given instructions as to the use of the apartment. The stairway, though indoors, was dirty and looked like it had not been swept in weeks. We left to see the area and when we got back the office was closed. We started settling in for the night and found that the futon frame had be put back together wrong and had to fix it. The futon mattress had several stains and smelled of urine. I put two comforters on top of the mattress to sleep. The shower had a couple of long hairs stuck to the tile and the pipes, and toilet paper holder in the bathroom were dusty. In the "instructions" it said to let them know if you found anything wrong so the next morning we talked to the owner and manger both of whom could not smell the urine and in so many words, called us liars. The owner became very upset and told us he would arrange for other lodging because we could no longer remain there. He did arrange for us to move to a hostel a couple of blocks away. He said he covered the difference in price, but there really wasn't a difference in price. All we wanted was for the place to be cleaned while we were away that day. Instead he told us that the place was old.........and our expectations were too high. We had stayed in "old" both in Ireland and England, but at least they were clean. The plaster walls had chuncks out of them and the mirror was broken and taped. The place is smaller than it appears in the pictures but that was fine, and the manager did all he could to assist us. My advice to anyone wanting to take this apartment is to check it out thoroughly before taking it and for heaven's sake don't complain, the owner does not use criticism to make Citron better, he becomes insulted and does not want to hear about it. The hostel did not have as may comforts but it sure was cleaner. I have never been thrown out of a place before for any reason, let alone complaining about the cleanliness.

Owner response:We regret that our guests had such a difficult time. This affair was mystifying to us.  We never figured out what they wanted, and they never, at any point, told us! A factual correction:  they were re-lodged at our expense in a hotel, not a hostel, in the same, prized neighborhood.  We walked them there, carried their bags, checked them in, made sure the room was suitable, and paid for it.  The price was substantially higher than the rent they paid for their studio (since we paid, they have no way of knowing differently).  And we lost the revenue from the studio. So the financial cost to us of this accommodation was high. But it seemed necessary. It is true, we could not find any trace of the cleaning deficiencies the reviewer describes.  After two of us, separately, buried our noses in every part of the offending futon, I turned to the gentleman with whom I had climbed the stairs, and asked if _he_ could smell urine.  "No, but we cleaned it up."  "I thought it was in the futon?"  "Well, there was a yellow puddle on the bathroom floor."  I certainly did a creditable Tex Avery imitation at that point. Be it was not possible to doubt their sincerity! We are distressed to learn that our efforts to make them comfortable in an environment suitable to their needs fell short.  But it was not for lack of trying! We took several precautions upon their departure: - We had a cleaning team work for 6 hours... on a one-room studio. - We sold the offending futon (which did, indeed, have three distinct coffee stains from previous tenants — beige had possibly not been the best color choice), and bought a new one.  The 240€ sale price of the old one testifies to both its initial quality, and to its condition upon sale.... - We now inspect the building's public stair before every arrival, to ensure that it has been swept. We did not repair the mirror, which has a story.  And, we promise to future guests that we will continue to care for them as best we can.  But we join the reviewer in one observation:  our studios are not appropriate to everyone.  We try to be as clear as we can on our web site, we keep them economical for the center of Paris, and (we do insist) we clean them carefully.  They certainly have their fans (as other reviews here will suggest).  But they are in a building built cheaply in the 15th century, and that has its limitations.

Recommended for:

Stayed from March 15-23, 2011

Guest: May (Montebello)
Date of Stay: 03/15/11 Review Submitted: 04/01/11

Recently stayed in "Citron" with my husband. We are around 30 years of age, with no kids. We stayed in the apartment just above the office and it was cute, adorable, and cozy. I kept on taking pictures of the old locks on the doors and windows. The Citron bed is comfortable. It was okay for my husband who is 6' 3". We didn't use the pullout futon. The stove is not tricky and easy to use. There is a plentiful supply of matches. The water in the bath runs hot for a very long time and the shower head is adjustable for height. Basically, the apartment was put together with a lot of love and consideration for your needs. One thing to bring from America is soft Charmin toilet paper. The staff at Blue Marble were so very friendly and helpful. I loved, loved, loved, the helpful info manual provided. We "rented" a power adapter and bought the airport metro tickets from them. We brought our own linens and towels to avoid the cleaning fee and the laundromat. Since this is an apartment and not a hotel, there is no hair dryer, so, girls, be mindful of that. Paris is not crowded in the spring. It rained for one day and was cloudy about half the time we were there. The metro was extremely convenient, there being something like 4 metro stops within a few short blocks of the apartment. The area around the apartment, the streets of Rue Dussoubs, Rue Montegueril, and Rue Tiquetonne, is ideally Parisian with its little shops like Royal Cheese (young European fashion) and Episode (vintage chain store), the restaurants like the Les Trois Cochons (The Three Pigs) being very atmospheric and charming, and the market street of Rue Montegueril is just wonderful with all its chocolatiers, patisseries, cafes, fishmonger, butchers, and flower shops. If you want to go a little more inexpensive (like we did), it's just a short walk down the Rue St. Denis (which is not dangerous or scary for all that it's traditionally a red light district) and you can sample all the crepes, kebabs, and pizzas for about 5 Euros a meal. My favorite restaurant was the L'Esplanade St. Eustache, which is right next to the church at Rue Montorgueil and Rue Turbigo, a short walk down next to the shopping at the Forum at Les Halles. Other short walks would also be the Louvre and Notre Dame, and Seine. There is graffiti, trash (despite the city placed trash "bins" every 50 feet), and homeless (with a pet) everywhere, but the city is so beautiful that these things only add depth, a sense of the edgy urban life.

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway.

Ideal Vacation Hub

Guest: Antonio (Houston, TX)
Date of Stay: 01/30/11 Review Submitted: 02/21/11

These apartments are ideally situated within a short walking distance from the Louvre museum and the metro, and is within a 30 minute walk of several popular attractions. The metro lines which run through the nearby station connect to almost every major train station in Paris to connect to regional, high-speed, or international trains. The nearby street is filled with restaurants and local grocers and is brimming with activity well into the night; the area is definitely a favorite hangout for many locals and frequent visitors. The apartment itself is very quiet, clean, and well-equipped for your stay. The owner and staff are downstairs and are also well prepared to handle any of your travel or touristy questions. We will without a doubt stay here for our next trip to Paris. Thank you for such a pleasant stay!

Recommended for:Romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing, adventure seekers, girls getaway, age 55+.