The area is great, close to the Iles, Notre Dame, the Metro, and the river. There are a lot of cute little shops and restaurants around, and, of course, everything is walkable. There are three grocery stores within view from the building. One of the reasons for renting a flat rather than a hotel is having access to a kitchen, especially with kids. I was happy with the look of the kitchen and seating provided, and the fridge was clean. However, once you open the cabinets there are not enough bowls for a family of 4. The plates were dirty, not poorly washed but unwashed at all. Same for the silverware. We ended up hand-washing everything we used before using it and setting it aside so we knew what was clean. There is a dishwasher, but it is rusty and needs maintenance for anyone to feel like it could clean dishes. It obviously has not been used in a long time, or, if it has, it does not do any type of cleaning job. The pots had buildup on them, not sure if it was just hard water, or if they were also unwashed. There was a sponge and dish soap, a 1/4 roll of paper towels, and three kitchen towels whose cleanliness was also questionable.
I’m used to staying at well-stocked, or at least minimally-stocked places, and this place was neither. There was a bag of sugar, and a couple more bags of something we didn’t use or need. No food storage products or containers are provided. There was a coffee pot. The bedrooms are cute, with big Parisian windows looking into the street. There are two single beds in one room, and a full-size in the other. The host graciously let us add two more people, so we had two of the kids sleep on the couches in the living room. There are plenty of sheets. We opened the bedroom windows to let the air flow, but regretted it immediately as the lights coming from the street are very bright, and this seems to be a very busy street at night. There were people, sirens, cars and trucks blaring their noises all night (and day) long. The mattresses are fine, as are the couches, but I would not recommend a stay on the longer side. The pillows are dirty, they smell, and don’t offer any support. I think the price was fair for a place to call your home-base in the Saint Germaine district, though there are many places to improve. For me, the location is not worth the hassle of poor sleep and the extra work of cleaning and stocking the pantry ourselves, so I would not recommend to other families staying longer than a weekend’s time.
