Post by Laura (paris4) on Jan 19, 2009 16:18:19 GMT -5
Thought I would add to our growing list of apartment reviews with my experience of this apartment
www.homelidays.com/paris-20/apartment-flat49625en1.htm
I stayed here for two weeks in August 2005 with my husband and our son, then aged three. (He actually celebrated his third birthday on this trip!)
For those who don't know Homelidays is not an agency but a site for owners to advertise their apartments. This means you are dealing directly with the owners which has the obvious advantage that there are no agency fees.
My email correspondence with the owner, Frederic, was very good. He was very friendly and helpful, answering all my questions. We communicated in French via email, but he and Yann who also met us the apartment had a good level of English. We were sent a contract which we signed and returned along with a deposit (Although, I can't remember exactly how much.) There was also a security deposit which we paid on arrival and had returned in full on the day of departure.
The apartment is located on Rue Olivier Metra which is just off Rue de Belleville, the border of the 19th and 20th arrondissements. The closest metros are Place des Fetes (line 11 and 7bis) and Jourdain (line 11). It is probably worth me pointing out that Place des Fetes is NOT the terrible, scary place it has been portrayed as. It's just an ordinary square with a children's playpark in the middle and a market on Fridays and Sundays. The neighbourhood is definitely working class and a little scruffy in places but we always felt perfectly safe. (Gitte has done a great trip report on the area www.ourparisforum.com/index.cgi?board=reports&action=display&thread=2170)
Everything you need is within easy reach on Rue de Belleville: supermarkets, patisseries, chemists, cafes etc. The apartment is also very close to the small Chinatown area of Belleville so lots of yummy Chinese and Thai restaurants. Also within walking distance are the two lovely parks Buttes Chaumont and Parc de Belleville.
The apartment itself is on the ground floor of a secure, modern building. The main advantage of this is that there is a gorgeous, private terrace outside. It is a one bedroom apartment and both the lounge and bedroom have access to the terrace. This was particularly good for us as it meant we could use the terrace without disturbing our son who slept on a camp bed in the lounge.
There were no worries about security as all the windows and doors and doors had locking shutters.
The lounge had a little tv and dvd player with a small selection of dvds. Internet access was also provided but we weren't able to get it working as it was set up for an Apple. (This was 3 1/2 years ago so may well be sorted now!) ;D
The kitchen was the 'cuisine Americaine' style. It was small but had everything we needed. (I don't think there was a dishwasher but we managed!) There was a washer dryer in the bathroom (or more correctly the showerroom as there is no bath.)
The whole apartment was spotlessly clean and tastefully decorated. The only minor problem was a slight smell that came from the drains in the bathroom occasionally (no, hubby's not to blame this time!) ;D
We really enjoyed our stay in this apartment and would highly recommend it.
Sorry, there's no pics but obviously you can see it on the link I gave at the start. I did manage to find a couple of my own pics but Photobucket is playing up just now and I can't get them uploaded! I might try again later...
Laura x
www.homelidays.com/paris-20/apartment-flat49625en1.htm
I stayed here for two weeks in August 2005 with my husband and our son, then aged three. (He actually celebrated his third birthday on this trip!)
For those who don't know Homelidays is not an agency but a site for owners to advertise their apartments. This means you are dealing directly with the owners which has the obvious advantage that there are no agency fees.
My email correspondence with the owner, Frederic, was very good. He was very friendly and helpful, answering all my questions. We communicated in French via email, but he and Yann who also met us the apartment had a good level of English. We were sent a contract which we signed and returned along with a deposit (Although, I can't remember exactly how much.) There was also a security deposit which we paid on arrival and had returned in full on the day of departure.
The apartment is located on Rue Olivier Metra which is just off Rue de Belleville, the border of the 19th and 20th arrondissements. The closest metros are Place des Fetes (line 11 and 7bis) and Jourdain (line 11). It is probably worth me pointing out that Place des Fetes is NOT the terrible, scary place it has been portrayed as. It's just an ordinary square with a children's playpark in the middle and a market on Fridays and Sundays. The neighbourhood is definitely working class and a little scruffy in places but we always felt perfectly safe. (Gitte has done a great trip report on the area www.ourparisforum.com/index.cgi?board=reports&action=display&thread=2170)
Everything you need is within easy reach on Rue de Belleville: supermarkets, patisseries, chemists, cafes etc. The apartment is also very close to the small Chinatown area of Belleville so lots of yummy Chinese and Thai restaurants. Also within walking distance are the two lovely parks Buttes Chaumont and Parc de Belleville.
The apartment itself is on the ground floor of a secure, modern building. The main advantage of this is that there is a gorgeous, private terrace outside. It is a one bedroom apartment and both the lounge and bedroom have access to the terrace. This was particularly good for us as it meant we could use the terrace without disturbing our son who slept on a camp bed in the lounge.
There were no worries about security as all the windows and doors and doors had locking shutters.The lounge had a little tv and dvd player with a small selection of dvds. Internet access was also provided but we weren't able to get it working as it was set up for an Apple. (This was 3 1/2 years ago so may well be sorted now!) ;D
The kitchen was the 'cuisine Americaine' style. It was small but had everything we needed. (I don't think there was a dishwasher but we managed!) There was a washer dryer in the bathroom (or more correctly the showerroom as there is no bath.)
The whole apartment was spotlessly clean and tastefully decorated. The only minor problem was a slight smell that came from the drains in the bathroom occasionally (no, hubby's not to blame this time!) ;D
We really enjoyed our stay in this apartment and would highly recommend it.
Sorry, there's no pics but obviously you can see it on the link I gave at the start. I did manage to find a couple of my own pics but Photobucket is playing up just now and I can't get them uploaded! I might try again later...
Laura x
Let the riot begin! LOL - 
hahahha