This apartment is amazing! Considering this was my first airbnb experience, Sara's apartment has set the bar extremely high for any future rentals. First off, the apartment is even lovelier in person than in the pictures associated with the profile (hard to imagine). The renovation resulted in a perfect blend between the traditional aesthetics associated with the convents origins - the architecture, the tile, to stone stairway, etc - with modern design and functionality. (Worth mentioning: the kitchen appears to be fully stocked and functional in case you get the urge to cook. We did not…but I can assure you the coffee machine works just fine.)

As for the location, it's a great spot for someone who wants to be within walking distance of great bars and restaurants (most a literally 2-3 blocks away). Yet despite being this close to nightlife, the apartment is actually very quite. The neighborhood does attract it's fair share of tourists, but it's far more balanced than other areas like Baxia. Baxia is beautiful and worth checking out, but it's very close to the cruise port, which drops off literally thousands of tourists a week. By default, the area gets a bit overwhelmed with the fancy camera tourist crew. (No disrespect, I'm a tourist as well). The convent is only about 10 walking minutes away from this area in Barrio Alto, and yet the tourist-to-local ratio is far more balanced. Lots a great little spots (bars, parks, etc) to have share a drink and watch the world around you go by…

As for Sara, she's a great host. Very responsive to our various questions. She also hired a driver for us the morning of our departure to ensure we made it to the airport on time. (Hailing a taxi in this area can be challenging - the roads are fairly narrow and the often shutdown to outside traffic. There's a few main roads not terribly far away, but if you have more than a back-pack, dragging a suitcase across uneven cobblestone can be a pain. We also discovered that most of the taxi drivers in this area will charge you double than the actual rate. Especially if you've got luggage with you…)