First, the positive: the location of this apartment is indeed ideal for sightseeing, and the views of the palace are lovely. But the location and view unfortunately do not make up for the dustiness and lack of comfort. This is indeed an old apartment. It shows. There are cracks in all the walls and ceiling and literal holes in the floor. During our stay, a lightbulb (not illuminated) exploded in the bathroom, shattering glass everywhere. There is so much deferred maintenance. We have stayed in many old buildings during our travels (an 18th century building in Venice, a townhouse in London) but those properties were well maintained and very clean, and the beds and sofas were comfortable to sit on. This apartment was worn out and SO DUSTY. This is apparently a private home that is vacated for AirBnB guests, and there are fussy knicknacks EVERYWHERE and old musty paperbacks lining every wall. In addition, the furniture is incredibly uncomfortable and not designed for a modern traveler: rickety bedside tables (on only one side of the bed in some cases), no place for luggage and difficulty finding enough outlets by the bedside to charge devices. Our hosts seems to be scrambling to receive us despite the fact that we had booked the rental well in advance; as a result, the cleaning was subpar. Moreover, after a short time at the apartment, our clothes were covered with little hairs (maybe an animal or just really mouldy furniture?). This reminded me of my grandmother's house: she was proud of it but hadn't updated it or reupholstered the furniture in 30 years and it showed. Upon entering the apartment and being surprised by its poor condition, we contacted Home at Homes to try to explain we were having terrible issues with my son's allergies given the state of the apartment. We were scheduled to stay for 9 nights but left after 4 (after an incredibly frustrating conversation with Home at Homes) and checked into the lovely Palacio de los Duques hotel just a couple of blocks away. A two bedroom suite at this 5 star hotel was actually less expensive than the apartment and was much more luxurious and accommodating. We have had great luck with many AirBnBs in the past but this one unfortunately did not meet our needs in any way. As I said, we have stayed in older buildings furnished with antiques but the buildings were well maintained and the upholstered pieces were comfortable. This apartment was not well maintained, was very dusty and overly fussy and uncomfortable, and not a place we enjoyed. Our experience in Madrid vastly improved after moving out of this apartment.