2/10 Terrible
Andrea S.
30 Jum. I, 2017
What we have here is failure to communicate
The apartment was beautiful and quiet and the location private and picturesque - Monet painted les falaises des Petites-Dalles between 1879 and 1885.
However, we received no communication from Mathilde except how to pay her. I messaged her the day before our arrival, the morning and afternoon of, and as we sat outside the apartment waiting to get in -- with very little gas in our car, almost no cell reception, the sun setting and no place to sleep.
Fortunately for us, there was one neighbor who was at home, and I was able to communicate with her in my broken French our situation. She happened to know one of Mathilde's property managers who lives nearby. He came by - was extremely nice and helpful - and got us settled. After we were let in, there were instructions on how to check in and what number to call to do so. Useless information once you're already inside. Then, after we had been in the apartment for a half hour or so, we got a rather rude-sounding message from Mathilde's mother that THEY were waiting for US to check in.
On top of it all - despite paying a housekeeping fee - we were instructed for check-out to strip the bed, tidy the apartment, do the dishes, and sweep the floor. I have no problem with and I think it's prudent to ensure you treat someone else's apartment as your own, but this requirement was over-the-top.
Next time we visit France, we will surely come to Normandy. I was told by several friends that Étratat is stunning, and the nearby city of Fécamp that we visited was nice. However, it will be a cold day in hell before we rent from this owner again.