Luxury apartment finding service Paris?

February 9, 2006 6:34 AM

ParisFi: Looking for an apartment finder service to find me a high-end place in central Paris this spring (2 weeks). Its a gift for elderly relatives and I don't have time or expertise enough to do it myself and its got to be a special place.

I've checked this other thread but haven't found what I'm looking for.

It really needs to be a special place. I need serious hand holding on this and would prefer to talk to a real person to guide me through my options.

Thanks a lot.

posted by johoney to travel & transportation (5 comments total)

I've used Owner Direct for a few out of country rentals. It seemed to work pretty good for me.
You get to talk to the actual owner/agent of the property. The OwnerDirect people just match you up and host the listings. (They do more than that, but that's it in a nutshell.)

I plugged in Paris during mid-April for 4 nights and quite a few availabilities came up. Give it a look-see.
posted by whoda at 7:45 AM on February 9, 2006

You can ask the poster of this AskMe question.
posted by theora55 at 9:42 AM on February 9, 2006

The poster of the above-reference question chiming in! I would say they could stay at my place except that mine is a real budget option, and has no elevator which wouldn't work for elderly folks.

So I pass the buck and reference this thread.

Since I have my own apartment here I haven't tried any of the services. Sorry about that! I can certainly provide ideas of areas to stay in and things to do, though. Email in profile.
posted by hazyjane at 11:06 AM on February 9, 2006

We got my parents an anniversary gift of a week in their own apartment near Montmartre through parisluxeapt.com. They were pricey but had real upmarket apartments and were good at meeting my/their needs - done by phone calls. Good part was that they had friends and family drop in and stay for the occasional night. They were also really helpful with the 'what to do' and 'where to go' questions.

My cousin (with 3 teenagers) subsequently used the same service which turned out to better value than a hotel and without having to stay in touristy neighborhoods, thus allowing them to get to know Paris a bit better.
posted by libelula at 11:47 AM on February 9, 2006

Just a caution about choosing Montmartre for the elderly - it's called "Mont"martre for a reason - there's a lot of climbing to do when you're walking around there. It's very charming there, but it's also a bit of a hike from the center of Paris. If it were me, I'd choose a place in the 4th or the 5th. Flat, near the center, and an easy walk to a lot of great places.
posted by hazyjane at 2:58 AM on February 10, 2006