Great location, nice apartment and perfect host!
Location
The location of the apartment is ideal, especially for a first time visitor to Madrid, being within walking distance to all the major tourist sites. The Prado is a 15 minute walk away. The Royal Palace about a 20 minute walk. The closest metro station (Sol) is 5 minutes away and the main train station a twenty minute walk. There are several grocery stores close by. Originally I was planning to buy a transit pass for my week in Madrid but I did not have to do so because everything was within walking distance. A better location in Madrid would be hard to find.
The Apartment
The apartment is a small one bedroom unit, perfect for a solo traveler or a couple that gets on well in a tight space. It is minimally decorated, which is appropriate, otherwise it would seem too crowded.
The kitchen is well equipped, including a washing machine but no dishwasher. There is a pod style coffee maker and the host provided a generous supply of pods (enough to last several weeks). The fridge is full sized.
There is an air conditioner unit in the living room and it works very well. The week I was in Madrid the temperature hit 30c every day but the AC cooled down the apartment within minutes.
There’s a three drawer dresser in the bedroom plus a large closet (with lots of wooden hangers) and additional shelves. The bed was fine but the foam pillows were a little stiffer than what I’m used to (a down pillow).
As someone who loves a long hot shower every morning, I was not disappointed. The shower has very strong water pressure (a big plus!) and I never ran out of hot water. Plus there is a good number of thick soft towels, which are always appreciated.
There's a TV in the living room but all the stations are in Spanish. However the wifi works well and I was able to access my Netflix account without any problems.
The apartment faces a small inner courtyard, so there are no exterior windows facing the street. I think this is a plus, given the amount of street noise you would otherwise hear and which continues up until midnight on weeknights and later on weekends, but others may prefer a “room with a view”.
Overall I was very satisfied with the apartment.
The Host.
Dulce is the perfect Airbnb host. She is very attentive, accommodating and generous.
My flight arrived in Madrid at 8:00 AM. Before booking I had contacted several potential hosts about checking in early or storing my luggage. Dulce responded immediately and graciously offered to store my bags until the apartment was ready for me.
When I arrived at the apartment, Dulce was there to meet me and even brought some treats and had cold drinks in the fridge.
During my week I had no reason to contact Dulce but she contacted me a couple of times to ensure everything was well, which I very much appreciated.
I was very satisfied with one week stay at the apartment and would recommend it to anyone travelling to Madrid.