We had been traveling in Europe for two weeks and staying in hotels. Renting Matias's apartment in Madrid on our final five days of the trip was our first time using AirBnB. What a difference! We will now become loyal AirBnB users. We had the usual concerns--would we be safe, would the apartment be unkempt, overun by bugs, saggy bed, noisy neighbors. We had absolutely none of the problems. It was far more than we expected. Truly, we felt like we had died and gone to heaven. The apartment was modern, spotless, the bed firm, the water pressure strong and we were very safe. We had two nice size rooms instead of tiny hotel rooms we had before. The kitchen was well appointed, even including a dishwasher, mixer, expresso machine, French press, dishes from Ikea, a potato peeler and sandwich maker. We made use of all of it.

Matias was working when we were expected to arrive so he sent his friend, Jesus, who was at the apartment to greet us when we arrived. He was warm, friendly and helpful--not to mention very handsome! Jesus showed us how to work the appliances and actually walked with us to El Corte Ingles so we could buy groceries. He gave us great suggestions on where to go and what to do, all of which we did. The apartment is extremely well located near the Callao subway station, only a short walk from Plaza Mayor and Puerto del Sol. Before we left, Matias called to make sure everything had been fine. It was fantastic!

We had some very small issues. One was that the stove and other appliances were digital and we had a little trouble figuring them out. A phone call to Matias straightened it out. Also, the water pressure for showers and dishes was very strong but we had to shower at different times, not one after the other, to make sure there was enough hot water. In all, we are not given to high praise but would give the ultimate rating for Matias.