Staying with Ana was my first airbnb experience. From the moment Ana opened her front door with a warm, friendly, welcoming smile, I felt as if I had come home. As if I belonged in that place. In other words an amazing experience staying at Ana's place. The room is a sanctuary of peace in one of the most lively neighborhoods in Madrid. On Sunday mornings , turn left out the door and you are plunged right in the midst of the Rastro street market and all the discounted treasures that await. Turn right and in less then 3 minutes is the Calle Toledo on which you can literally eat your way up and down from el Cheapo donner kebabs to percebes, Galician goose barnacles from the briny north coast that can run hundreds of euro a kilo. All the while Ana's room replete with Spanish translations of the great plays of Chekov and other masters serves as your point of Stability. A place to recharge, venture out and assimilate what Madrid has to offer.
I'm not saying it's the Taj Mahal. It's a cozy private, quiet room with a shared immaculately clean bathroom and comfy towels. Ana with her astute insights of Madrid's nuances is offering space to let you define yourself in one of the most vibrant cities in the world and also a place to recharge or perhaps take a siesta and dream with Don Quijote of those wild windmills. If you come here, come for the experience not just the rate or centrality. You will be rewarded as I was.