Apartment Suggestions

[jo]

Well, we finally have our dates for our trip next May! This trip will be a bit different and we had to wait on other people before finalizing our dates. I work with a group of investment advisors and one of the guys has very generously decided to rent a houseboat in Amersterdam for a month and invite his 3 associates (of which I am one) to spend one week with him at no charge. In addition, he is paying for our airfares as part of our year end bonus! The other 2 IAs are also going for a week or two. While this is very exciting, I had to co-ordinate times with all my other colleagues as the whole group cannot be out of the office at the same time (in case clients want to trade, etc). We finally agreed to a schedule and Den and I will be in Amsterdam from May 16-23. Of course, as soon as we first heard about this idea, Den & I knew we would add a week in Paris to the trip (especially with free air fare!) so we will be in Paris from May 23 -30. This will be our third trip to Paris in as many years and our fourth week. We have stayed in apartments on Ile St Louis and the Marais in our last 2 trips and enjoyed both areas very much.

We are now looking seriously at booking our Paris apartment since we know our dates. I have sent out a few inquiries about availability and will ask your opinions once we know if the places are open for those dates. I checked out Luc's apartment, but it is already taken for that week. I'm not sure about Truffault's since I don't think the calendar is up to date (all of May seems to be open, and I know some weeks are booked from our previous conversations).

I know there is so much expertise here, if anyone can suggest a place for us that would meet the following criteria, I would be forever in your collective debt:

internet (preferably wifi, but broadband is OK too ~ we have a mac laptop)
washer/dryer
washroom on same level as bedroom (no lofts ~ I'm a woman of a certain age and have certain needs in the middle of the night, enough said )
preferably in the 4th, but we are willing to expand our horizons a little to the 5th, 6th or 7th. Truffault's place would probably be the only exception to this, but I still have to convince Den about not being in a central arrondissement.
1 bedroom (not a studio) ~ Den gets up earlier than I do and likes to read or watch TV while I get my beauty sleep (and believe me, I need as much of it as possible)
We prefer not to have a large amount tied up in a security deposit. We don't mind giving our credit card # or a cheque which will not be cashed unless required, but we don't like to have our vacation money tied up needlessly.

I know these are many and some may sound silly, but this is what we ideally would like to find. I will be searching on VRBO, this site, Slow Travel and TA for recommendations, but if anyone has any suggestions that meet all my silly criteria, please let me know. (Gitte and others, sorry, no Montmartre apartments, Den finds it too far away from everything, we like to walk and walk everywhere and like to walk back to our place at night. He really doesn't want to have to take a bus or metro every time we go somewhere ~ although if anyone read my blog, you will know that we did cover a lot of ground in our May 2 week trip and we did take the bus and metro a lot. He just doesn't want to have to take it every time we leave the apartment. I know there are some great places in the area, so maybe I will get him convinced in the next few trips)

Also, if anyone has been to Amsterdam and has great restaurant or sightseeing recommendations, please pass them along. Amsterdam was not on our list of places to see right away, so I don't know a lot about it. Of course, being the anal control freak that I am, I will start researching it, but it's always great to get ideas from people who have been. My colleague has been about 15 times and loves the city, but I want to do my own research as we may not have the same ideas on how we spend our time there. We're taking the train to Paris and back, so any suggestions on when and how to book that are also welcomed.

I've taken up way too much of everyone's time here, so I will go back to my apartment hunt and look forward to your ideas (and Gitte's next post!)

Merci beaucoup!

JO

[Sandy M]

Hi Jo,

What an exciting trip for you! I'm really happy for you that you get to do this! Free airfare - and a week on a houseboat! You'll love it! Do you have any idea where the houseboat is located?
I have been to Amsterdam several times and think that a week on a houseboat would a wonderful experience. Amsterdam is a fun city with lots of interesting things to do. I now have friends who live there who own and operate a very nice hotel, the Hotel Piet Hein- would love for you to meet them. I met them a couple of years ago through a friend of mine from Florida. I'll send you a PM later with their names and phone numbers. Amsterdam has many wonderful restaurants from which to choose and there is also an outstanding restaurant outside of Amsterdam so you would need a car to get there but it would definitely be worth the effort. I'll get busy and try to find my notes and let you know more info.

I have not stayed in an apartment in Paris so I don't have any suggestions for you in that regard but I'm sure you'll be able to find what you are looking for from ideas posted by our forum members.

What fun you will have planning this trip!

Sandy

[Sandy M]

I forgot to mention about train transportation to Paris and back. I have taken the TGV from Paris to Amsterdam a couple of times and it is very easy to do. I booked right on the TGV site rather than Rail Europe. If I remember correctly, you can't book more than a couple of months ahead but if you get online on exactly that date, you will find some pretty reasonable rates. The special rates are booked rather quickly so I just marked my calendar and got online at 12:01AM on the day that I could make reservations.

[Jody]

Jo , you might want to look at this apt. www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_122.htm

I meets most of your criteria , has a bathroom on the bedroom level and a half bath downstairs. It does have a washer but no dryer. I probably won't use either as there are 2 laundrmts within 2 blocks of apt. and I can have it done and folded for pickup. I'LL TAKE MORE PICTURES AND POST A REPORT WHEN we get back in Nov.

We'll also be in Amsterdam for 4 days so I'll try to keep good notes

[jo]

Thank you both for your replies.

Sandy, here is the link for the houseboat:

www.vrbo.com/125595

My colleague rented it last year and says it is in a very central part of Amsterdam. We are looking forward to this week as it will be a completely new experience for us (plus it leads us to a week in our beloved Paris!). We will probably need a hotel room for our last night in Amsterday, May 30, since we will return from Paris that day but probably not fly home until the 31st, so I would love the contact info for your friends. Thanks for the heads up on the train, I will go on the site and figure out when is the best time to book. I'm looking forward to your notes on Amsterdam.

Desmarais, that looks like a great apartment, I will send them an e-mail re: availability. I'm also going to check out a few of the other apartments on the web site. Have you ever dealt with this agency before? It looks like they are very thorough and efficient in their procedures. Thanks for the link.

I've sent a few e-mails through VRBO today, so we'll see what happens.

Jo

[denise]

:)Isn't it exciting when you book your tickets?...... THEN the mind spinning task of finding an apartment!

So pleased for you, your trip sounds wonderful, and free flights too, very lucky. I went to Amsterdam some years ago and loved it nearly as much as Paris.

So we are both apartment hunting. If you find any apartments that do short term lets at bargain prices please let me know.

I wonder if you have checked out the apartment we stayed in last October. I posted a review here. it fits your criteria.

http://www.ourparisforum.com./index.cgi?board=apartments&action=display&thread=1637

Denise
Love from England

[Truffaut]

Jo,
Thanks for pointing out the our calendar isn't up to date. I didn't realize it had been so long since I had updated our rentals. It's all fixed now, but alas, our dates still won't work for you.

Truffaut

[jo]

Hi Denise,

Just checked out your apartment, it is now up to 186 euros per night for our time period, ouch! A little too much for our budget, we are looking for something between 800 to 1000 euros for the week. It does look very nice and the location is great.

The site that Desmarais gave us has several apartments that have us interested, I will send an e-mail today re: availability. Has anyone else ever dealt with Vacation in Paris?

Truffault, maybe next time! We plan to return to Paris again and again.

The search continues!

JO

[Jody]

Jo, they are a delight to work with. Very efficient and the prices as noted are in dollars. The deposit is around $300.00 , part if which is a key deposit that is returned when they get the key back after your trip. I like it that you have all your info and the key and don't have to be prompt abot meeting someone. I've been checking the location for nearby sgopping and have found a Paul that's even closer than the one I planned on using, there is a Picard just a block away , in case we feel like eating in and I don't feel like cooking!

I also liked that I could pay with my FF credit card so got a nice bunch of miles that way!

[jo]

Thanks, Desmarais, I have just sent them an e-mail requesting availability on several of their apartments, including the one you suggested. I really liked how they have all their info and details on line, it seems like they know what they are doing. I like the idea of the $29 insurance fee, I don't mind paying that at all, I realize apartment owners have to protect themselves, but we've seen where some places want to tie up almost 1000 euros in a security deposit. I need that money to eat and drink while in Paris!!

We'll see what happens. I've now spent the better part of the weekend checking out apartments and sending requests, so I will wait and see what replies we get. Also, my grandson is coming over in a few minutes, so grandma is over and out until later tonight when I will be back at it.

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend, everyone..............Jo

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Hi Jo - how fun and exciting is that! (And could you please drop a hint to my firm about how to please the troops?? ;D)

Good luck with the apartment hunt - I was all set to recomend Rose (from Guest Apartment Service) until I saw your budget comments, as it would tick all the boxes for you. Oh well - I know that there are places out there, especially in the 4th, that should meet your criteria. Here's one from Vacation In Paris that might fit your criteria: www.vacationinparis.com/apts/sub/122_photos.htm . I haven't stayed here but have it on my list for future reference because I like the look and it's a great location.

Further: okay, I see Demarais has spotted the same place. Well, that does it, you need to check it out! (Many of us have used the agency, and been very happy with them.)

[jo]

Well, # 122 is already booked, and so is our second choice, #145

These are our other choices that would be available:
www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_39.htm
www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_201.htm
www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_209.htm

What do you guys think, or are there any others you would suggest?

Thanks again for all this imput, I love this board!

JO

[mez]

I have also used VIP - last year for the first time and this year again. I am booked to stay in www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_16.htm in November. It's a one bedroom with a washer/dryer and wifi. It's on the 2nd floor (your 3rd) and I can't recall if there's an elevator. It's USD160 per night.

And congrats on scoring the trip! This is definitely an example of a welcome bonus.

[jo]

Hi Mez,

# 16 would be available for our dates. Have you stayed there already, it looks great, but I'm not sure about staying so close to Les Halles (although we did really like rue Montorgeuil in May).

We are waiting to get back a few more replies, hopefully by tomorrow and will then make our decisions. I'll probably post the links here to see if anyone knows any of the apartments we're considering. I have to say that I really like the Vacation in Paris ones and they seem to have a great reputation.

This is so much fun, I love planning and researching, it's almost as much fun as the trip again.

BTW, Denise, I forgot to congratulate you on your December trip. This will be what, # 3 this year? I'm very envious, but also very happy for you. Happy hunting, I'll let you know if I see something interesting for you.

JO

[mez]

Jo,

I'm not staying until November. I have no idea how noisy it might be - I sleep like a log, so it's one thing I don't need to cater for - lol.

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

I think (not sure) this is the area where Denise was this summer - she may have some noise insights.

I like all of these possibles although would have a hard time warming up to the really modern one - I mean, this is PARIS, not a NYC loft . . .

I think you've got lots of good choices, and will be very happy with whichever one you choose.

[jo]

Becky,

I know what you mean about the modern one, but we are really attracted to the terrace. I'm going to get out others that are available for our dates and report back,

Jo

[Jody]

Those are all nice, the lack of an elevator would rule out 2 of them. My old legs can't do that many stairs.

[Happygoin]

jo, I concur with demarais that VIP is a great company to work with. I use them when I visit Paris as well.

[jo]

Here are a few more that are available for our dates and 2 we haven't heard back from yet:

www.vrbo.com/159394
www.topstayinlemarais.com/ (the one bedroom, not the studio)

www.parisbestlodge.com/napoleon.html (we rented from Thierry last year and were very pleased with the apartment and his services. The only issue was the bed was on an upper level with a very steep set of stairs ~ well, see my comment about no more loft bedrooms!)

www.vrbo.com/49273 (We haven't received a reply yet. I really like the look of this one, I'm just wondering if it's too far North in the Marais to be considered central)

So far, these are our choices, including the 3 from Vacation in Paris (actually, Den feels the one in the 6th would be too many stairs, so it's not high on top of the list). I'm hoping to get a few more responses today. Oh, the fun (and agony) of so much choice.

Between this and awaiting Gitte's weekend report, I don't know how I'll get any real work accomplished in the next few days!

JO