In short: this is a pleasant place to stay, but is currently overpriced.
This place certainly is a penthouse, and has the luxurious layout, furnishings and facilities one would expect. The kitchen is especially well equipped.
However, for the high price we paid, there are a few issues that I feel should not have existed. Here they are, listed roughly in order of importance:
- The WiFi was slow, intermittent and unreliable. I had to find the router and manually reset it twice during our one night stay
- There is a risk of locking yourself outisde on the balcony if you close the balcony doors after you. This is an issue that shouldn't exist on a place of this price.
- Shower pressure is low, and the showers take a very long time to get to temperature. When I first stepped into the downstairs shower, there was a foul smell from the drain. This smell disappeared after the shower had been running for a couple of minutes.
- The beds are comfortable, warm and wide, but they are too short. I am 6'1", and the downstairs bed left my feet hanging off the end. I had to sleep diagonally. My friends slept in the upstairs bed, where my 5'8" friend had the same problem.
- There is insufficient sound proofing. I had the TV on in the downstairs bedroom with all the doors closed, and it could be clearly heard by my friends upstairs.
- In general, some aspects of the apartment seem a little run-down. A big deal was made about the highly secure front door and it's sophisticated locking system, but we found the lock and handle mechanism to be sloppy and showing their age. This made locking and unlocking the door a little tricky and time-consuming.
Aside from these issues, this is a very nice place to stay in, and the host is great. Perhaps if the price was lowered to a more realistic level, or if some work was done to bring the penthouse up to standard again, I'd be able to grant a 5 star review. As it is, 4 stars.