Cinema Verité

Description from the owner

What an amazing street, what an amazing location! You’re steps from the Square St. Michel and the Place St. André des Arts, close to the Seine and just about everything else. Nestled above the colorful “Cinema St. André des Arts”, it is up one flight of stairs from the street, a narrow entrance that opens up into a beautiful space that wraps around two sides of a tranquil, secluded courtyard.

The 75m² apartment is composed of a large living space with an open kitchen along one side of the courtyard, a corridor to the large bedroom along the other side of the courtyard. The kitchen has everything you would need including a d...ishwasher. The toilet and bathroom are separate rooms - a French oddity, in my opinion – very common in apartments here. The bathroom has a clothes washer/dryer. The apartment can sleep four - the bed in the bedroom is very large (180x200), the sofa bed is standard for two people (140x190).

We supply all of the towels and sheets. There is a thorough cleaning before you arrive and upon your departure. There is high speed internet and WIFI, television and telephone including local and long-distance calls to most countries.Read more

Additional Location Information

Close to metro St. Michel, where you will have a direct line for the RER going to Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, and the metro line 4 which is a direct line for the Gare du Nord.

Location Type City, Downtown

Additional notes from owner

All of our prices include everything - including telephone, high-speed internet access and Wifi
Please ask about "last-minute specials"!

What Past Guests Are Saying

• Julesinbrno
  Cologne, Germany

  Filthy Vacation Rental

  Left on 10/31/2012 for a stay in October 2012
  
  

  I have been to Paris many times and haven’t stayed in a hotel there for years, always opting for an apartment rental. So, I am very familiar with the price standards for apartment rentals in Paris and have always been very pleased with the state of the apartments I've chosen. So, when we had the opportunity for a last minute trip to Paris, we were happy to have found Cinema Verite, which seemed to be of the same high standard, based on the price.
  
  The owner, Naomi, was pleasant and easy to work with, but from the second we stepped into the apartment, we knew it was not of a standard that we were used to.
  
  As soon as Naomi left, we started to inspect the apartment and the first thing we found was a smoked marijuana joint on the kitchen table. Next, we quickly discovered that the entire apartment is filthy; the dishes, floors, windows, linens; everything is black and smells of must. The carpets are black and stained and we never felt comfortable taking our shoes off, much less our socks! The worst discovery was the huge, repulsive stains on the futon cover, where one of us had to sleep, that we took it off and threw it in the corner for the weekend.
  
  The bathroom had mold growing in the shower and missing tiles on the bathroom floor (that white rung on the bottom of the picture hides it). I can’t speak to the quality of the shower since I couldn’t bring myself to take a shower while I was there, but the tub looked dirty.
  
  The bed in the main bedroom was comfortable, but the linens were mismatched and well worn (not acceptable in this price range when Ikea sells inexpensive bedding). The futon bed in the living room is small, filthy and so hard that the floor would be equally comfortable.
  
  The kitchen was stocked with plates and cups and even pots and pans, but I wouldn’t have wanted to cook a meal there.
  
  We were so disappointed and grossed out by the state of the apartment that we looked for another hotel anywhere in the city. Unfortunately most places we checked were entirely booked or too expensive, so we had to stay.
  
  After returning from dinner one night, we were shocked to hear the movie from the theater down below. Naomi assured us that the apartment floor was soundproof and there was no theater noise. I can assure you that if we spoke French, we could have told the story over again. And during a loud action scene, you can actually feel the floor vibrating. But staying in a city is noisy, so I could forgive the theater noise, if everything else wasn’t so horrible.
  
  One more quirky thing; the toilet is separate from the bathroom, which is not unusual in Europe, so that wasn’t a problem for us, but using the toilet was a problem. There is a low bar across the ceiling and a step about 1 foot out from the toilet, so it is very difficult to maneuver once you close the door, and I can’t believe that anyone over 6 feet tall would be able to use the bathroom.
  
  All in all, we were extremely disappointed with the Cinema Verite apartment rental and will never rent it again. The location of the apartment is good, but there are hundreds of good locations all over Paris! A rental price of no more than 100E a night would be appropriate for this 1 star vacation rental that is dirty and worn but well located.
  
  It is a shame, because with a little bit of improvement, paint, new futon, new linens, and a thorough cleaning, the apartment could be better, perhaps even nice. But it’s clear that the owner’s interests are maximizing her profit at the expense of her guests. Naomi did say the apartment was “somewhat new to her”, so maybe her other apartments are better? But I will not be taking that chance in the future. Cinema Verite is depressing, dirty, worn down and not worth the money.

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? No

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  Response from Naomi Benamy - 11/29/2012

  

  Naomi Benamy

  Owner

  I am so flabbergasted, I do not even know how to respond! I am first and formost extremely upset that nothing was said to me - these people seemed quite happy when we met at the apartment and I showed them all around. I saw no reason to be uncertain of their continued enjoyment of the apartment. Even if all of the concerns only became apparent to them after I had left, I always - ALWAYS - stress that I should be called with any concerns, any questions, any problems - yet I heard nothing from you until I read this review!
  
  I just cannot believe that a smoked marijuana joint might be found on the kitchen counter - that is purely too far beyond the realm of possibility! However, if the cleanliness were not up to standards, I would without hesitation have the cleaning lady come back and reclean - I had just given a cursury overlook, I always give the guest's feelings 100% credit. But I cannot rectify anything if I do not hear anything.
  
  Yes, the way the toilet is situated is a little peculiar, I will have to get a photograph of that onto the site. I hadn't thought of that as needing a warning - but I'm neither tall nor a man, I could see it being awkward.
  
  I have been assured - repeatedly - that the noise from the theater does not come up into the apartment, but apparently I will have to spend a night or two here myself to judge. If I feel a noise warning has to be added to this apartment, I will add it.
  
  Likewise, I have never slept on the futon here, but futons are not usually soft. However, there is enough room here for me to store a little mousse or feather mattress that could go over the futon which people who need a softer bed could choose to use. Again - I have several of those for other apartments, I am only sorry I had no indication that the people here were suffering - so much could have been done to help them!
  
  I am so very sorry these people apparently spent some of their precious vacation time looking unsuccessfully for another place to stay. Instead, one call - just one call - to me during their stay would have been sufficient to rectify just about everything they were unhappy about. Any of the people who have stayed at my apartments will tell you what I always say - and really mean :
  
  "Any questions, any problems, any anything - please, please PLEASE do not hesitate to call me!"

• Tamara I
  Burbank, California

  The beautiful apartment in the heart of Paris

  Left on 10/09/2012 for a stay in September 2012
  
  

  We visited Paris for 2 weeks with young children. I must say that the apartment was lovely, convenient and clean with one huge living room, a bedroom and a nice kitchen. The location was very good-5 minutes to Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle, 20 minutes to Louvre and Orsay museums. Moreover, we could easily use metro and other types of public transportation to visit other parts of Paris.There was a big supermarket nearby and many different cafes. I thank You, Naomi, for the wonderful apartment. We really enjoyed our stay in Paris.

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  Would you recommend this vacation rental to a friend? Yes

  Recommended for: Families w children

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