Nikolai gets great reviews and unfortunately I didn’t have the opportunity of meeting him. Seems from his many books on travel and the culinary arts that we would have much in common.
Unfortunately though I cannot honestly recommend his place. I should add that I was a solo traveler and for a group of budget conscious friends it might be different...
But, firstly the layout was very strange but not in a good way. The toilet was on the right as you entered the apartment; it just contained a toilet but no sink. To wash ones hands it was necessary to cross the hall and go to the metal sink in the kitchen. The shower had also been rigged up in the kitchen and although it worked perfectly well the set up was not very convenient.
The kitchen was also quite dark . In order to shave I used a shaving mirror on the kitchen table as it was brighter there and the mirror was closer than the one on the wall next to the sink.
The stove which was gas again worked well but the cooker hood did not seem very clean and the Teflon pots and pans were in the main badly scratched.
The ‘sitting room ‘ was the nicest room and was bright and quirkily furnished. The second bedroom seemed fine but I did not use it.
The main bedroom / living room was large but again poorly lit. Bulbs were missing from the main ceiling light for example. The room was next to a major highway and even with the windows closed the noise from the road was constant. I was not disturbed by any of the other residents however.
In short the layout is not good and I don’t suppose much can be done about that. The place could benefit from a general ‘sprucing up ‘ though and that could be achieved quite easily . As it is the effect is quite dispiriting though .
The area though is good and there is a great gluten free restaurant called Zum Wohl nearby and also a very popular Vietnamese place. The metro is close by and all areas of the city are easily reached.
I have tried to be fair in this review and clearly many people liked the apartment but for me it did not work.