This was our last stop on our 8 city tour of Spain where we experienced 8 different apartments so have much to compare it to. It was the only one I was disappointed in. Despite a good location within walking distance of the train station (all uphill though, so if you are carrying luggage beware!) and also near Sol and other great areas of central Madrid, there are 3 HUGE garbage bins in front of the building directly below the living room balcony which were overflowing with garbage during our stay. So much garbage it was strewn all over the sidewalk too, and the stench carried into the apartment if the balcony doors were open.
Also I learned a very important lesson about renting anything other than a hotel from this stay and that is the importance of having an escape route from every bedroom in case of fire. We found ourselves locked in our bedroom at 1:30am when my husband tried to open our bedroom door to let our son in the building. The door would not open. My husband used toenail clippers to remove the handle to discover the latching mechanism had broken off inside the door. (Also learned the need to carry small tool kit in the future!). It was then I realized there was no other way out of the room. The window in the room led to an enclosed small courtyard with shear walls on all 4 sides (the apartment is on the 1st level). Thank goodness we had our cell phones in our bedroom because I was able to contact the owners who promptly responded. Given that it was 1:30am we were very relieved that they were able to send a competent person to get us out. My daughter who has special needs was sleeping in the 2nd bedroom and after much yelling and wall banging we were able to wake her up so she could toss the keys to my son who was waiting outside. While the owners did get us out, their response (which seemed unsurprised) and that of the person who ultimately got us out (who commented that what he was doing usually works) led us to wonder if this had happened before. But maybe it was just the language barrier? Nonetheless, I suggest always asking about the ability to get out of bedrooms before renting!!! (And travel with a mini toolkit and keep cell phone close at hand!)