We stayed at Alma's place and we were positively surprised! The location is perfect - just around Sol. Because of this, we thought that the apartment would be quite loud - but this was not the case. The World Cup final took place while we were there and a huge party went on in the Argentinian restaurant next door. We did not hear ANYTHING in the apartment!
We had a delayed flight and they waited for us there. The apartment is a great alternative if you want to be near major attractions and like to walk everywhere. We recommend Alma's place and will most certainly stay there the next time we visit Madrid.