Guests at the B&B, and other travelers, take advantage of the fact we now make
available our two personal apartments in Paris when we are not using them.
They can be combined to make one large apartment for 6 persons.
NEW : we now have high speed internet
(54 Mb), accessed by Wi-Fi in either the studio or the apartment, or
by RJ-45 cable in the apartment. You will need to bring your own laptop to use
this. For the moment there is no extra charge for this. NEW : Free telephoning from the black
phones in either
apartment to 70+ countries including US, Canada, UK, Australia, China, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany,
Austria, Holland, Ireland, Israel, Singapore and of course anywhere in France.
Here is a current list.
NOTE : A rarity in Paris, both apartments are
AIR CONDITIONED
Description
and location of
the apartments
Our apartments are adjacent, on the same floor, one flight up in a 1902 building at 27 Rue des
Bluets. This is a safe neighborhood in the 11th arrondissement a five minute walk from the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery, and a 15-20 minute walk from the Bastille and Place de la République. The building is about 100 meters from the Boulevard de Ménilmontant where guests enjoy
an open air street market Tuesday and Friday mornings. With three Métro stops (St Maur, Père Lachaise, Ménilmontant) a five minute walk away it is within half an hour from anywhere in Paris. In the last
few years the
Quartier has been "discovered". Trendy bars and coffee shops are
opening up along the main thoroughfares, especially on the Rue Oberkampf, two streets over, but even there the clientele still tends to be French. Saint-Germain de Près we aren't, and proud of it. So far the Quartier has kept its
multi-cultural charm. The most common sentiment our guests express after staying here is "I love the quiet and not seeing tourists
everywhere".
Studio apartment
(more
photos)
The studio is a very private place, with its own little patio at the back of the building, thus no street noise.
It was completely renovated in 2001. It is about 230 sq feet
(22 m2) and the patio another 130 sq ft. The patio is green with year-round plants on the graveled
border, which surrounds decking in the center. There is a table with two chairs for quiet candlelit
dinners in warm weather. Or, with the outdoor light and electric plug, it's a nice place to answer your email or write that novel we all have in us.
The studio sleeps two on a
regular double bed (140x190cms) that is firm and comfortable. From the bed or anywhere else in the
studio you have full control over the air conditioning/heating unit mounted
between the windows with the Toshiba/Carrier hand remote. I should point out
that air conditioning in Paris accommodations is a rarity and, at the rates we
offer our two apartments, unheard of. Please correct me if I am wrong.
There is lots of
storage where you can hide your suitcases, a separate bathroom, newly renovated and tiled, with shower (excellent pressure with plenty of hot water),
an iron, hair dryer and scale in kilos. In the separate kitchen is a fridge-freezer,
2 burner gas cooking surface, microwave, coffee-maker, hot water boiler, toaster, clothes washer-dryer and a full set of dishes. To escape doing your own cooking there are many fine and inexpensive restaurants within a ten minute
walk.
In the studio you'll also find a multi-zone DVD player with the TV. Hone your French by watching movies in the evening
in French with English subtitles, or vice versa, which you will find on a shelf
by the French door too the patio. There are reading lights on either side of the bed. There
is also a speaker telephone. For your peace of mind, a safe bolted to the wall
in the closet is large enough for a laptop or several cameras. For what it's worth we've never had an intrusion
since we bought the studio in about 1990. There is also an indoor/outdoor thermometer by the patio door so you know how to dress for going out.
Besides Meredith's valuable collection of books on Paris history and
architecture, the decoration consists of architectural engravings and poster images of
Paris by Henri Cartier-Bresson. There is also a collection of guidebooks and maps for touring Paris and France.
Extras: We appreciate your leaving the studio as clean as you find it
for the next guests and
forego paying the cleaning fee of €50. In any case we replace the
linens free. Non-local phone calls are at your
expense except for calls to countries listed
here. For other international calls it's good to come equipped with a phone calling
card or you can buy cards in any 'tabac' or press kiosk.
Frankly though, unless you want to spend the day on the phone to places like
Bhutan or Paraguay, just use the free phone (after checking destinations!)
One bedroom apartment - also air conditioned
This 350 sq foot space (33m2), with white walls and hardwood floors, is washed with light from three
luminous, two-meter high, sound-insulated windows facing the rue des Bluets. It gets direct light March through September, indirect light the rest of the year. The decor is reminiscent of the 20's and 30's.
The distinguishing characteristic of the bedroom, which doubles as a study for
one or two persons, is its two built-in oak desks and shelving on either side of a turn-of-the-century black marble
fireplace. Above it, framed in black, is Brassai's evocative photo looking down the Montmartre steps at twilight.
For sleeping a firm, non-allergenic latex double bed (140 x 190 cms)
accommodates two comfortably. There is also a floor-to-ceiling closet in the far corner with space for clothes and a steel safe bolted to the wall that is large enough for a laptop or several
cameras. For additional peace of mind note that this apartment has not been broken into
in 1990 from folks in whose family it has been since construction in 1902. Touch
wood.
The living room has its own decorative marble fireplace with Art Deco mirror, as well as two chairs which deploy into single beds
and can be pushed together to make a kingsize. Four or five people can dine at the
flip-open table near the kitchen.
Just inside the apartment, is a small entrance hall that opens on to the
newly
renovated and tiled bathroom. It has a Grohe shower and a 75 liter electric water heater with good pressure. Also off the hall is a voluminous floor-to-ceiling closet. The kitchen is just off the near room. It also has an
large double-glazed window overlooking the street. Kitchen equipment includes a fridge-freezer, electric cooking surface
to plug in when you need it, microwave with grill oven, clothes washer-dryer, coffee-maker, hot water boiler, toaster, a full set of
dishes and an indoor/outdoor thermometer (C or F). phone, iron, hair
dryer. There are also guidebooks and maps for touring Paris and France in addition to an eclectic
collection of books and DVDs that play on the multizone DVD player/TV.
Extras: As with the
studio, above, we appreciate your leaving the studio as clean as you find
it and foregoing paying the cleaning fee of €50. In any case we replace the
linens. See above for telephoning.
Three room configuration
If you are renting both apartments they communicate by double soundproof, interior doors giving you one large apartment composed of two rooms each with its double
bed plus two single beds in the third room, accommodating up to six persons, as well as two bathrooms, two kitchens, the green and private patio at the rear and a pleasant view on the street at the front.
Rates for the three room configuration are arrived at by adding the rates
for each apartment here.
In general
If you are flying into Charles de Gaulle Airport, a frequent arrival point, many come directly out
to the B&B to shake jet lag, swim and visit champagne houses and Reims, then tackle Paris two or three days later, with Meredith's advice on what to see. Or you can do it the other way around, with Paris first.
If you are coming only to visit Paris we won't have a chance to show you our
France out here in the Champagne country but we understand completely. Paris is
a great city. See www.mapquest.com for
a map and the
travel links
page for other ideas.
Rental conditions
After you have checked with us by email that your dates are available and the price is agreeable we can block your reservation with
your Visa or MasterCharge credit card details (number, expiration date and 3
digit CVC code on reverse). We usually debit one quarter of the accommodation
fee upon reservation which would be non-refundable unless you or we find a
replacement renter. The rest of the accommodation fee would be debited upon
arrival. Remember also to add the 50 euro cleaning fee if you are not willing to
leave the apartment as clean as you find it. Note that all our rates are
calculated and payable in euros. Some people are reluctant to pay an
unrefundable one quarter of a rental fee up front to block a reservation.
Here
is the best explanation I've seen by a traveler from Montreal on TripAdvisor.com
which also has much valuable advice on renting in Paris, such as
this message stream concerning renting in our 11th Arrondissement.
Short stays (less than a week): These availabilities are hard to predict
more than a few weeks in advance and awkward for us to program. I'll be glad to do what I can,
however, to pencil you in for a short stay at any time during the year, and as
far in advance as you wish. What some who really want to stay in our apartments
do is reserve for the whole week although they know they will be staying fewer
than seven days.
Cancellation: Should you need to cancel your reservation with us in the two weeks before arrival we reserve the right to
debit the full accommodation fee unless a replacement renter can be found.
Emergency numbers: To finalize your rental we will need your name, home address, telephone
(and email address) as well as the name(s) of person(s) to contact in case of emergency.
Arrival/departure times: Normally departure is before 11 am and check-in
after 1 pm. This can be flexible if there is no one in the
apartment the day of your arrival or departure, or can be arranged between departing
and arriving guests. To balance your needs against the
needs of other guests it is very important for us to know at what hour,
and by what means of transport, you expect
to arrive and leave.
Final access information: Once we are agreed concerning the above I will give you access to another page about using the
apartments and enjoying the neighbourhood, with the "digi" code to enter
the street door and the apartment door. If you don't receive this accessing
information please remind me.
Availabilities
for our Paris apartments
Please email me to see if your dates are available. For a couple the two accommodations are
interchangeable. Some may prefer the studio for the private,
green patio. Some
may prefer the larger apartment because it has two rooms and big windows with
southern exposure. However, if you are a couple, and have asked for the
apartment, then a family or group of three or four need the apartment for the
same dates, I will appreciate if you take the studio instead.
In your email please put in the subject line "Paris apartment query", "start
date" and "number of nights". That way my spam filter will not boot you into
oblivion with all the emails that start "Hi", or "Hello".
(more
photos)
The studio sleeps two on a
regular double bed (140x190cms) that is firm and comfortable. From the bed or anywhere else in the
studio you have full control over the air conditioning/heating unit mounted
between the windows with the Toshiba/Carrier hand remote. I should point out
that air conditioning in Paris accommodations is a rarity and, at the rates we
offer our two apartments, unheard of. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Frankly though, unless you want to spend the day on the phone to places like
Bhutan or Paraguay, just use the free phone (after checking destinations!)
The distinguishing characteristic of the bedroom, which doubles as a study for
one or two persons, is its two built-in oak desks and shelving on either side of a turn-of-the-century black marble
fireplace. Above it, framed in black, is Brassai's evocative photo looking down the Montmartre steps at twilight.
For sleeping a firm, non-allergenic latex double bed (140 x 190 cms)
accommodates two comfortably. There is also a floor-to-ceiling closet in the far corner with space for clothes and a steel safe bolted to the wall that is large enough for a laptop or several
cameras. For additional peace of mind note that this apartment has not been broken into
in 1990 from folks in whose family it has been since construction in 1902. Touch
wood.