Transparent Marais — Local services in Paris

AWFUL! SCUMMY! STAY AWAY! BED BUGS! We checked into Transparent Marais' lower-level apartment the last week in March 2024. First of all, the photos pictured of the unit online were taken when the unit was first renovated several years ago. The place is scummy, to say the least. The photos that the owner posted online are very misleading. When we pulled out the sofa bed to get ready for sleep, we saw BED BUGS crawling on the sheets near the top of the mattress area!!!! We hadn't even unzipped our luggage yet. We immediately put all of our luggage and belongings outside and contacted the Owner of the property. He was very unapologetic about the bed bugs and said that we mut have brought the bed bugs into his unit. BULL$%T*!!!! We hadn't even unzipped our luggage because the place was so scummy and were there for a total of only 3-hours! 2.9 of those hours we were gone out of the apartment having dinner and exploring the neighborhood. We requested a full refund from the Owner, and he stated that we had to go through the major online booking company we used to reserve the place. I believe his sofa bed rarely gets used and from the looks of his place, it looks like a haven for a variety of insects. When we saw the bugs, we immediately gathered our belongings and stood outside of his unit for an hour trying to find a hotel that would accommodate immediately for the next 4-nights. Fortunately, we were able to do that, but not without extreme stress, aggravation, and worry that we may have become victims of the bugs ourselves. When we contacted the online booking company the following day, they stated that the Owner of the unit had already contacted them and said we were a "no show"!!! WHAT!!!??? We have had to provide car ride receipts that show us arriving to the property, screen shots of text messages to the Owner, and photos of the bed bugs to get our money back. I am appalled and disgusted by the way the Owner of the property conducts his business and the online booking company seems to definitely favor the owners of the properties. You have to jump through hoops for something that should be extremely simple. We will continue spread our story about what happened to us on every level. I am not an unreasonable person. The Owner could have made this much easier by simply apologizing to us, and not lying to the online booking company. He could have easily rectified the situation courteously and professionally. I would never recommend staying in Transparent Marais to anyone!! HORRIBLE...

Absolutley beautiful! I would 100% recommend staying here. This place has such a facinating history and has been recommissioned from an old jewellery manufacturer in the 1800s to a cosy set of holiday apartments in the centre of Paris. The price is very reasonable; for 2x huge king size beds, both with bathrooms + a sofa couch + a toilet (total sleeping 5x people in the apartment) we paid €780 for 3x nights (€260/$400AUD/$312USD/£230 per night for 5x people). There is a fully equipped kitchen (with laundry washer dryer under tabletop) and a huge loungeroom with a tv, 2x couches and beautiful floor to ceiling windows across the walls. WiFi is included (but is only about 70 kbps) so beware as it is a little slow. Good enough for facebook and maps etc.

Most of the popular tourist attractions are within walking distance from the appartment;  The Eiffel Tower: 1hr, The Palais Garnier (Paris's central opera house): 30mins, The Panthéon (church and tomb of a number of France's most famed men and women): 30mins, Basilique du Sacré-Cœur: 45mins, Notre Dame de Paris: 45mins. Centre Georges-Pompidou (Paris Museum of Modern Art): 5mins, Musée des Arts et Métiers (Museum of Arts and Crafts): 10mins, Muséum National D'histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History): 30mins, Parc de la Villette (Cité des Sciences et de...

We stayed as a family of four for four nights in October and absolutely loved it!

The location is fantastic - close to everything but far enough away to be quiet. It's a short walk to the metro stations and also not too far at all from Chatelet-Les-Halles train station which has quick and easy trains to PDG airport and to Disney.

The appartment suited us far better than a hotel and it was great to have two bathrooms and a kitchen so we could buy snacks etc form the supermarket literally around the corner.

Marc, the owner, was very helpful and gave us a few tips; including to eat at the Strada cafe beneath the appartment which was fantastic.

We can't...