I had the pleasure of staying at Alvaro’s apartment for several nights over the course of two weeks. First, the value of the square footage cannot be expressed highly enough. I was traveling alone, but the apartment can easily accommodate more — couples, friends, families, etc. The location could not be better and allowed me to walk everywhere I wanted to go including the Prado, the Reina Sofia, the main train station, etc. Granted, some of those distances might not be walkable for everyone, but they are otherwise a very short Uber/taxi ride away.
There is definitely no shortage of restaurants and bars within close vicinity, no car needed for that at all. Just downstairs is Honest Greens — similar to Tender Greens in the USA, only better — and being vegan it was very nice to have it right there after a day of running around the city. (They serve plenty of meat there too, and it can get quite busy with what appeared to be a primarily local neighborhood crowd.)
There are also several small markets and a few larger ones should you need to stock up on basic items. There was a lack of toiletries supplied in the unit, not that I was necessarily expecting any, and one can only fit so much in those quart sized TSA approved bags. I always find it interesting to shop for such things in foreign countries anyway and have often made new discoveries of brands and products.
The photos of the shared front patio in the listing gave me the impression the unit was on the ground floor, but it is not. One must ascend a single flight of stairs to access the unit. There is an elevator, but I did not use it. As mentioned in the listing, the front patio is shared, and there is a lovely family with two young girls and a friendly cat named Max, all of whom are gracious and will greet you whenever you see them. I’m a somewhat private person, so I simply closed the exterior shutters during my stay. Doing so did cut down on the amount of natural light in the kitchen/dining area, but the living room still had light from the private interior patio. Again, others might not be bothered by this at all, and it was in no way a dealbreaker for me.
The kitchen was adequately stocked with all the utensils and basics one might need to prepare a meal. The second bathroom has no shower curtain. I did not use it, but I can imagine water will go everywhere, so be prepared. The clothes washer and dryer are also in that bathroom. The machines are new and work fine, at least once I googled an English manual so I knew how to set the controls ;-)
All in all, it was a wonderful experience, and I would not hesitate to book Alvaro’s apartment again. It would be great to return to Spain once I feel more comfortable about going to bars/clubs, of which there are many given that the unit is in Chueca, the gay center of Madrid. (It’s a bustling and very diverse neighborhood and should not be off putting to anyone of any persuasion.) It’s still a bit of a bummer to travel internationally when one has to pass a covid test within one day of departure. I found that limited my willingness to subject myself to certain social situations where I might get infected and have to remain in Spain for an additional two weeks. Still, Alvaro’s would be a lovely place to spend a quarantine!
Highly recommended.