We had a really great 8-night stay. From the first minute of inquiry, I could tell that the hosts were great. They were very quick to respond to inquiries. Good communication makes a huge difference to me. Our flight was delayed by 7 hours, which required adjusting who was available to meet us at the apartment, but Sven was extremely gracious about the inconvenience to them and quickly arranged another person to tend to us during the week, and Shpresa was the perfect balance of friendly, quick to reply, and conveniently available when needed. Great thanks to her for being available on short notice and helping us when needed.
The apartment is exactly as pictured. The main living area has very large windows with great views onto the cityscape below. The two double-bed rooms are facing the back of the building, which is very quiet. I am particular about noise, and I was very pleased with how quiet it was despite being on a busy avenue in city. There is a major road in the front of the apartment, so the occasional emergency vehicle drives by with a siren. But the windows are excellent and provide very good sound insulation. Note that the room with twin beds is on the front of the building, facing the main road, so there may be occasional noise at night for that room. But for the two double rooms in the back, there was no noise at all.
The electronic keys are great, and are on a lanyard. Four sets are provided, which is great and unusual given how hard it is to get keys in Berlin (there is a funny comedy sketch routine on this). The key fob also has a proximity sensor so when you approach the building, the exterior doors automatically unlock, which is convenient. The building was very quiet and clean. We very rarely heard any sound from adjacent apartments, and sleeping was wonderful.
The beds were very comfortable. We were told that the mattresses can be flipped for a different firmness level, which is a very smart amenity. The pillows are a style that I was not familiar with but found very comfortable. I am a fussy sleeper and I was very happy with the bedroom. Another issue usually found in apartments is the lack of electrical outlets. In many rentals, I have found the outlets to be fully occupied by lamps, but in this apartment, they use power strips so there are plenty of places to plug in your charger cables. They even provide adapters in case you forgot to bring your own, which is a nice thought.
The bathroom was very clean and functional. A washer is convenient if you are staying for longer periods. There is a drying rack as well. I loved the shower and spacious counter behind the bathroom sink. A very large mirror extends about 6 feet wide. There is plenty of place for everyone to put their things.
The neighborhood is conveniently located, but as seen in the photos, which accurately describe the area, it lacks some charm. It is an area of large, clean residential apartment buildings where people actually live, so it has that vibe. Just a couple of blocks to the west, it transitions to the more charming neighborhood often found in European cities with several good small eateries and tiny hotels. I liked the area around the Markisches museum, which has a subway stop on the important U2 subway line and is a short 6-minute walk away from the apartment.
Getting on the U8 subway line was almost directly outside the apartment, which is extra convenient for getting anywhere in the city (or rainy). If the weather is nice (which is wasn't in February when I was there), it is a modest walk 15-minute to Alexanderplatz, which is visible from the large bright windows in the apartment. The S-bahn is also just across the bridge north of the apartment which is great for getting to the central train station (hauptbahnhopf). We went on a day trip to Potsdam, and it was a very short 6-minute walk to the S-bahn train, or the one stop on the U8.
Finding a two or three bedroom apartment for rent in Berlin, was a challenge for me. Most Airbnb apartments that were listed as 2 bedroom apartments actually had only one closed door bedroom, and the 2nd "bedroom" was actually a conversion of a sofa to a bed, which I found misleading. But this apartment is accurate described as a 3 bedroom, and each bedroom is a real bedroom in a separate room, not in the public space like the others.
There were only two of us in this 3 bedroom apartment, so we under-utilized its potential. But for adults traveling together, this apartment is a great value.