Iris was a very sweet and organised person, who made me feel welcomed and at home but with all the convenience of a normal hotel. She provided towel, soap, shampoo, room in the fridge, even her excellent espresso machine and variety of teas, and let me do laundry without an extra fee, and helpfully let her other guest and me use her ironing board and iron. The room looks just as in the picture, and has a bunch of maps, guidebooks, a pocket map, even a pitcher of water and glass. While the building is old, the staircase is modern and spacious, the elevator works perfectly, there are working lights on every floor, and Iris' apartment is extremely modern, with a great, easy to use stove and laundry machine, and a comfortable, sparkling clean bathroom. As in the pictures, the living room and balcony and dining area are exquisitely decorated, sun-filled, a great place to sit and relax. Finally, I could tell how extremely courteous Iris and her husband (I forgot his name) were being, whispering at night, being very quiet in the morning as they left - I was a bit worried that such a central apartment would be noisy, but it was one of the quietest, darkest (there are black out curtains for nighttime) places I've ever slept. Finally, the location: not the prettiest part of Madrid, but undeniably convenient, and close to supermarkets, restaurants, and the art triangle. And the metro station is Atocha, which connects to everything and had Cercanias (local trains) as well - I had a conference on the other side of Madrid (far northwest) at nine AM, but it only took about 25 minutes to get there. Thank you for the great experience, Iris!