Appart’City Classic Aix en Provence – La Duranne

Valerie and the whole team made my stay at Apart City Hotel feel like home. They were kind, professional, attentive, and always ready to help with anything we needed. I had a wonderful time, and I’d happily recommend the place and come back.

For what we paid, the value was poor. We spent 1,000 euros for a seven-night stay for four, and then had to pay another 5 euros per day for parking. The rooms were prepaid, so the deposit policy felt like an unnecessary hassle. The place seems better suited to a brief stop than a vacation. Our comfort was affected by cooking smells from neighboring apartments. Better ventilation or air fresheners might help. The common areas were dirty, and the building and apartments are outdated and need modernization. Renovations are needed to improve the accommodation and guests’ experience. The television didn’t work, either. Cleaning was inadequate. Even after we asked, only a little was done, and we had to handle the garbage ourselves, despite promises of comprehensive service for stays over five nights. Breakfast was limited and repetitive, mostly eggs, ham, cheese, and croissants. The Nutella ran out on the second day and wasn’t replaced for three days. At 7 AM, maintenance cleaning the sunbeds disturbed our rest and privacy. Getting in was cumbersome too, since we had to get out of the car to enter the access code. A keypad would make that easier.

The apartment was good for preparing basic meals, though the kitchen was small. I could hear people in other apartments from the corridor, including noise I wouldn’t want my kids to hear, but the soundproofing against the outside world was good. The room was fine and cleaned once a week. I stayed for a few months for work in a T2 apartment, and while the place is good, I wouldn’t choose it for a long stay.

We had a nice stay from 19 August to 23 August, but the check-out experience ruined it for us. The other staff were super friendly, including the very kind man who checked us in on 19 August and didn’t charge for parking, even though he knew we were using the lot. But the woman at reception on the morning of 23 August wouldn’t let me explain things and kept saying “okay, okay, no problem.” She printed a refund for 32 euros, even though we hadn’t eaten eight breakfasts and expected 68 euros back, at €8.50 each. The weekend breakfast was a real disappointment: just bags, without fresh bread or croissants. The staff member working that day kindly let us cancel the weekend breakfasts and understood our complaint. Since there was no breakfast service, we had to drive around looking for a bakery, which took extra effort. When I asked for the 68 euros to be returned to my account, the receptionist said, “you want you want????” Then she brought up an extra parking charge, which had nothing to do with the refund issue. We shouldn’t have to pay for staff mistakes. If we hadn’t complained about the food, she wouldn’t have asked for parking money. She even tried to charge us for two cars, though we had only one. In the end, she said she’d refunded 52 euros, but it hasn’t appeared in my account, so maybe she paid it to herself? She finished by saying, “for me its okay now.” It isn’t okay with us for paying customers to be treated this way. She didn’t even try to make up for the poor breakfast bags. Good service would have refunded the money without hesitation, left out the extra parking charge, and offered some gesture to make things right. It’s horrible that someone so unfriendly works there. We’ll make sure to tell other people about this experience.