This is a quite adequate apartment located very close to public transportation in a safe neighborhood, although walking to many places, including the historic areas of Geneva, is perfectly possible. Two groceries and a wonderful patisserie are only about five minutes walk away if you turn to your right leaving the building. It should be noted that entry is at the back end of the building, a fact not immediately apparent as you approach along the Rue Malagnou.
Information and instructions are always a very good thing to have for visitors to a new apartment, but there were none here. Although we were ultimately able to familiarize ourselves with how things worked both in the apartment and in the building, the advantage of knowing this from the very beginning is obvious.
The door lock can be a bit tricky. First of all, there are three possible places to insert the key, so you have to figure out which one to use. The mechanism itself is a little balky, but if you pull gently towards you when locking or unlocking the door, things are a bit easier. Also be careful to align the key in a perfectly vertical position when removing it from the lock – if it’s even slightly off the vertical, it will not release from the lock mechanism.
Shades can be lowered or raised using the hand cranks in each corner of the room, but on warm nights you’ll have to decide if you want darkness or air since the fully deployed shades make opening the windows useless. There is no fan available, and, as is true in much of Europe at the moment, no air conditioning.
You will, at times, hear the upstairs neighbors. Rue Malagnou is a very busy street. Traffic sounds will decrease for most of the night but pick up again significantly starting around 5 AM.
The furnishings are good, the bed comfortable, and there’s plenty of closet space. Both the kitchen and bathroom are adequately equipped.
We did not receive the Geneva Transport cards which would have allowed free access to public transportation, although it was our understanding that short-term renters are supposed to automatically be provided with them.