Mariano was so helpful in getting us sorted out to come stay. He emailed back almost instantly once confirmed and was very friendly, gave us transport tips and generally just made things easy for us. Though he was away during our stay his friend Fabio welcomed us and showed us around. The apartment is gorgeous and very spacious. The wifi is useful for looking at maps should the ones provided not be enough. The shower is nice and high pressure. The bed is very soft (if you've a back injury like myself be prepared). You're right beside a playground so there can be some noise in the middle of the day, but nothing crazy. It's a nice space to sit and relax and read a book in.
It's a short walk in to the centre of town (about 15 minutes), the botanical gardens are nearby and they're free and wonderful to walk around. Gare du Noord is about 10 minutes away walking and from there you can get the metro (subway) across town, or the train to ghent, bruges, holland etc and it's also a 12 minute train ride to the airport from there (Belgian transport is awesome - and fairly cheap - €5 to the airport, €10 to ghent, €3 euro for a 60 minute bus or metro pass) . The walk to the station takes you through the red light district but it's otherwise fine.
There's a local carrefour and one other supermarket less than 5 minutes away at Botanique. There are also some very nice places to eat just 5 minutes away in Saint Josse Place.
Highly recommend the place. We had a really nice holiday, no hassle with the accommodation and would go again.