Effi Appartement

The staff were attentive and great, and the location is central. The kitchen is small, and quite a bit of street noise comes through, but otherwise it was fine for what you pay. It felt secure, and the bedding was clean.

The location was the only good part. Check-in was poorly organized, and the lift didn’t work reliably. The facilities were uncomfortable, there were no towels, and there was no cooktop for making meals. The “breakfast” was just one slice of sandwich bread.

It was so dirty. Don’t be tempted by the price, you’ll regret it. I didn’t have much money, but if I’d read these reviews first, I’d rather have skipped Paris this time than stayed here. The Booking reviews looked okay, but after checkout the host doesn’t confirm your check-in, so you can’t leave a review. They also demanded an extra 10 euros. We arrived at 9 pm, exhausted, and didn’t have the energy to ask why. I posted some pictures on Tripadvisor, look at them. They don’t clean at all. Breakfast was sandwich bread and coffee that you had to make in the microwave oven. There was no stove or electric kettle. Water in the bathroom sink wouldn’t drain, which made taking a shower disgusting. Some people living there smelled of alcohol. I’d never stay there again.

In December 2018 I had the worst stay I’ve ever had. I’ve stayed in hostels all over and never had major trouble before. I booked for a week but left after one night because the place was a disaster and the staff member who worked there spoke only a little French and no English. They wouldn’t let me leave my bags two hours before check-in. I emailed in the afternoon to say I’d arrive after 10 pm, and they said that was fine. On the metro that night I emailed again to say I was on my way, then sent another message from outside. Neither got an answer. Eventually an older man who seemed drunk opened the door. He lived at Effi appartment, rather than being a guest, and could barely manage the door. The worker was asleep, which was why he hadn’t let me in. After the older man woke him, the worker came out without greeting me and was truly impolite. He directed me to a bed where a man was sitting in dirty clothes. I refused it, and he offered another bed, but that one wasn’t clean either. It was late and I couldn’t find somewhere else to sleep, so I had to take it. There was no toilet paper, soap, or towel. When I asked for a towel, the worker said they didn’t provide them. The toilet door also wouldn’t lock. The room had eight beds and no door, so you could hear everything. At midnight the older man asked me to go out with him. I said no. He went out alone, then came back shouting. The worker came out, but instead of calming him down, as I expected, he had an everyday conversation with him. He seemed not to care about the other guests or our safety. As a woman, I felt very unsafe sleeping in a room with an older man who was drunk. After the shouting and chaos, I finally fell asleep around 2 am. At 6 am a woman in the room answered a phone call as if nothing was happening. Another older man in the room got up and yelled at her to show some respect. The worker, who slept next to us and must have heard, didn’t come to calm things down. I only slept four hours, and the staff didn’t seem to care. There was no breakfast when I went upstairs, just very, very dry bread I couldn’t eat. The worker had told me the night before there would be milk, even though I’d specifically asked, but there was none. I’d emailed the worker about coming at night to collect a key, and since my reservation was still active, I thought I might as well get one. When I returned at about 8 pm, he came down after 20 minutes, perhaps because he’d been sleeping again, and was furious. I didn’t know someone could speak to me with such disrespect. The worst part was that I still didn’t get the key. I’d made the trip just to argue with someone who barely spoke French. A week later I called, and the woman on the phone hung up immediately. She told me to email, which I did four weeks ago, and they still haven’t replied. I don’t even know whether there’s a manager there; it doesn’t seem like it. I believe in karma and am sure it will catch up with the worker who treated me so disrespectfully. I’ve saved our conversation in case anything happens. He can’t deny what he did.