Urban Flat 174 - Vuitton St Denis

The apartment smelled damp, seemed to have been smoked in by previous guests, and hadn’t been properly cleaned or disinfected before we arrived. Even after someone was sent to “clean,” the bed bugs were still there, and we had to stay in the infested place while being charged for the nights. One of my colleagues was bitten on the first night. We told the host straight away, but got no empathy, apology, or responsible response. They tried to deny responsibility and make it sound like our fault. Later, the host turned up with two other people, apparently to intimidate us and pressure us to leave. We were seven people in Paris for work and had nowhere else to go, yet they offered no alternative and made us feel unsafe in an already stressful situation. It was one of the worst accommodation experiences I’ve had. We were still made to pay the full amount despite the host’s complete mishandling of the problem. The conditions were unacceptable, and the host’s behavior made everything worse. I strongly advise future guests to avoid this property.

The apartment was in awful shape: dead insects on the floor, broken blinds, a wardrobe with a taped-up broken door, and pillows and blankets left directly on the floor. The sofa bed was falling apart and unusable. The listing photos don’t match reality. On top of that, the place is right above the metro. Trains passed underneath every few minutes and shook the whole floor, making it impossible to sleep. We went to the rental office in Paris to try to sort things out, but the staff were uncaring and showed no empathy. They talked about us in French while we stood there, and admitted they knew how bad the studio was but rented it anyway. We ended up leaving in the middle of the night and paying for another hotel, which meant extra costs and unnecessary stress. Don’t stay here.

We booked for nine people, including our 90-year-old grandma and a two-year-old baby, through Booking.com more than two months ahead. They took the money but never contacted us. We tried the Booking.com chat the day before, then again on check-in day, but got no answer either time. When we arrived in Paris and tried calling, the phone numbers were fake. I don’t know how they operate or how platforms like Booking.com allow this, but we can assure you this is first-rate FRAUD. Disgusting that people can make money this way.

I’m giving five stars because of the wonderful service from DENITSA. We couldn’t stay in the flat we’d booked because of a water leak, but nobody told us until we arrived to pick up the keys. They moved us to another flat much farther away, requiring a few train rides to gare du nord, where we needed to be by 6am on departure day. The woman helping us at first wasn’t useful. She said I could get a refund if I wanted or call the reservations team myself, but we needed somewhere to stay, preferably closer to gare du nord. DENITSA overheard, offered to make the call for me, and took the issue to the main office. With no other place available at the last minute, she tried to make it right by arranging a free taxi for our early checkout. That was a big help for our family of five, with three small kids and three huge suitcases. She also offered to hold our luggage before check-in so we could get lunch. It wasn’t her job, but she took charge and kept checking on us during the stay. Thanks again, Denitsa, you made things a lot better! The flat itself was decent and clean, with clear key pickup instructions, plenty of towels, and shampoo and soap. There was enough room for the five of us. It was farther from the main attractions and needed a few train transfers to get there. The cooking pans weren’t very clean, so we had to scrub them before using them. There was no microwave, though there was an oven that we didn’t use. No laundry on site either, but there were laundry services, grocery shops, and restaurants nearby. ❤️