The apartment itself is just as portrayed in the photos, light, airy, stylish. I appreciated the care with which they decorated it. What I love is that it is on the top floor, so the main room has a skylight! The high ceiling makes the main room feel very spacious.
I also appreciated that they had steel cooking pots in the kitchen, and there were NO pots with non-stick surfaces (which are toxic, and which a lot of Air BnB hosts unfortunately provide). The bed is comfortable, and the shower is hot, although the controls take some experimentation to figure out.
The apartment is quiet, even though it is in the heart of the city. There is a grocery store on the corner 1/2 block away, and it even has some organically (bio) produce. There are lots of restaurants close by, even on the tiny street near the entrance to the apartment house - including a Lebanese and a Vietnamese. (FYI: Joe got very sick from the food in the Vietnamese restaurant! But I did not. He had a beef dish and I had a vegan dish.) There is a taxi stand at the bottom of the street - very handy for getting from the apartment to the airport or train station. The Santo Domingo metro station is also within a block. Many thanks to Oleg for explaining what is in the area!
The series of locked doors coming into the building are cantankerous and complicated. As Oleg put it, "You have to jiggle the key a little." It seems like it's not going to open, and then, mysteriously, it does. When you unlock the door from the street, it also unlocks the inner door to the hallway, BUT ONLY FOR A FEW SECONDS! So, if you enter slowly, you might have to go out to the street and try unlocking the front door again. And, if you enter quickly, and don't lock the front door behind you, you might have to start all over again.
The elevator is small, and it does not indicate what floor it is on. When it's on your floor, you can open the outside door to the elevator and walk in. When it's not on your floor, you can't. But, hey, this is MADRID, a magnificent, historic town with wonderful OLD buildings, many with antique elevators, and many with no elevators at all.
I appreciate very much how attentive and helpful Juana and Oleg were to us, whenever we explained we needed help.