Carmelo's apartment was great and my wife and I really enjoyed our 2-night stay there. Carmelo's was nice to deal with, communication clear/efficient and he provided good advice for getting there.

The location is fantastic, perhaps 100m from Gran Via, which means the whole of central Madrid is walkable and the metro is right on your doorstep if you need to get further afield. We walked to Plaza Mayor and on to Mercado San Miguel one day and would highly recommend a visit; awesome food market and great fun. There is a Carrefour mini-market a short walk away (about 5 mins on Calle Hortaleza - there may be a closer one?).

If you are keen to find a cheap way of arriving/departing, you can take an express bus to/from the airport; it costs €5 per person and takes around 30 mins. It stops at Cebeles, which is about 10-15 minute walk from the apartment and we found it very easy/efficient.

The apartment was very bright and clean. We visited in mid-July and it was 41 C, so we kept the windows & shutters closed! When the weather is cooler, it will be a beautiful space in which to eat breakfast / start your day. Even though the apartment doesn't have AC, there was a fan which made it cool enough to sleep. Carmelo provided earplugs for the noise of the fan (I presume, as we couldn't hear any noise from the street), the bed was really comfortable and we slept well.

The apartment was well equipped in the kitchen and bathroom with everything that you might need should you fancy cooking a meal or doing your laundry. The shower was excellent, really good pressure, plenty of hot water, it was nice to use.

I would definitely recommend the apartment as a clean, comfortable, characterful and perfectly located base from which to explore Madrid. Carmelo wasn't around on the day we arrived, which was a shame but we met his son Marcos instead, who was very friendly and let us in. Hopefully we'll get to meet Carmelo next time!