Royal Regency

Great timeshare apartment for a stay in Paris. Way bigger than expected. We were in a studio but it was more like a full 1 bedroom. In a suburb of Paris (think Brooklyn to NYC) but very easy to catch Metro into center of Paris (10 minutes...3-4 stops). Suburb was still in city so it's like downtown Paris with less neon. Great shops, open air markets, restaurants etc. all around the timeshare. Inside, separate kitchen only missing an oven, separate bathroom, nice facilities. And...it's a little cheaper in Vincennes than in downtown Paris.

This is really an apartment building in a small, attractive suburban town of apartment buildings and some townhomes on the outskirts of Paris. It's rather basic accomodations; but quite acceptable. Nice, but small kitchen with full sized fridge and dishwasher, (medium sized fridge & Dishwasher by USA standards though), microwave, toaster, coffee maker; basic dining table and chairs, TV (with cable: BBC and SkyTV available) in living room (only), sleep sofa (though not comfortable to sleep on) and cocktail table in the living room. Living room has sliding glass doors to a small balcony. Our one bedroom unit had a very small bedroom with two twin beds and a small night table; but no dresser, closet or chair(s). Only closet was in the hallway; (more a linen & coat closet, but also had some shelves and a small safe that rents for 12 Euros per week). Bedroom had one small window. Unit lighting was somewhat inadequate except in the hallway between rooms. Bathroom was spacious, but only a single sink and a combination tub/shower; AND THERE WAS NO SHOWER CURTAIN to keep water off the bathroom floor and the shower pressure was really low - barely a trickle of water came out of the removable (for hand holding) shower head. Built-in wall mounted blower/dryer was in the bathroom.

There's a small fitness room off the lobby with a small (non- commercial) treadmill and stationary cycle. A small restroom off the lobby too and a lounge area with a wall mounted flatscreen TV and billiard table. One lousy internet-connected PC was in the lobby for use at 1 Euro per 10 minutes; but its speed was SLOWER than a dial-up connection. Also, the PC not fully accessible; when front desk is unmanned (ie: nightime) then the Internet connected PC is not available for use. Better to go during business hours for a 10 minute walk down the street to the electronics/cell phone/internet cafe. Also, no laundry facilities onsite, but a laundromat is available a 5 minute walk away. Did not see or use the free garage parking. A grocery store was a block away and a wine shop next door. Metro is about a 20 minute walk; rather far, but it is a pleasant walk on the local streets. The RER train station is about the same distance but it's cheaper to take the Metro subway to Paris (especially if you buy 10 tickets at one time (a "carnet" for around 11 Euros) than the RER train, which is more expensive to Paris from Vincennes than Metro. Metro is one price, no matter how far you travel; (note that within Paris proper you can transfer without charge from Metro to RER train and vice-versa, but cannot go to the suburbs like VIncennes without paying extra on the RER train, while you can using just Metro). In any event, DO NOT rely on getting a taxi at either Royal Regency or at the Vincennes Metro station as even though there's a taxi stand at the Vincennes Metro station, there's almost never a taxi waiting there. Instead, taxis must be called for from Paris and they start their meters when they get the call in Paris (or wherever) and head to Vincennes, not when they pick you up in Vincennes. There is a large bus station at the Vincennes Metro, but, because of one-way streets, the bus only goes within a few blocks of the Royal Regency, not directly past it (except if you're taking the bus to the station from the Royal Regency, where there's a return stop a block away). A bus ride costs the same as a Metro ride (one interchangeable (Metro or Bus) ticket). One word of warning: BEWARE of PICKPOCKETS in the Metro stations, especially at the Vincennes station at night, (ie: after the evening rush hour), when it's rather desolate.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Royal Regency; mainly because of the small town feel of Vincennes and the only 30 - 40 minute commute (including a 20 minute walk) to the heart of Paris.