We enjoyed walking to all the sights- dinner in Chueca and Malasaña, enjoying Retiro Park, checking out the Royal Palace, El Prado Museum, Plaza del Sol, Plaza Mayor, etc. You can’t beat this location. Never used the Metro!
The apartment is very spread out, making it easy to have private space. We were two adults with two kids and the space worked great for us.
The only issues we had were a broken window shade (which let the sun pour in) and a broken AC in the main living area when it was 100 degrees in Madrid every day. We had great AC’s in each bedroom, but the living room was not livable. Hopefully this will be fixed soon! Also FYI there is a major construction project going on right outside which is crazy loud and started some days at 6:30am- not an issue for sleeping in the bedrooms because they are in the back- but it would be an issue if you were sleeping in the living room (Also you would need an AC). The construction that WAS an issue in the bedrooms seemed to be happening in the apartment above us- the very loud drilling began early in the morning.
We had a nice stay because the bedrooms were very comfortable and we had lots of space in a perfect location. But if construction noise is going to drive you crazy and you plan to sleep in, maybe don’t book this apartment until the construction is complete (we were told by locals the exterior construction around Gran Via is to be completed in November 2019).