When we looked at the airbnb photos of this central-Madrid flat, we considered whether or not to take a leap of faith because it was newly listed and had no reviews yet. We texted owner Vicente and he assured us the place was as advertised.
We took that leap, and landed in a fantastic place! An 18th century manor house, developed in to modern flats.
The beating heart of Madrid is literally at your feet in this three-bedroom, two bath, two story flat. Vincent has merged the 18th and 21st centuries with an interior that reveals this building's Old World structure, while embedding within it a new state-of-the-art kitchen (cooktop, oven, dishwasher, clothes washer, refrigerator - all newly installed) - baths, and lighting. Not to mention strong and reliable wi-fi, and flat screen tv!
Each bedroom has its own air-conditioner, and the ground floor is amply served by a large wall-mounted air conditioner.
We were a party of three in our 60s and 70s and being able to walk to everything was wonderful. The flat is a few minutes walk to many of the major sites of Central Madrid - the Royal Palace, the Plaza Mayor, Plaza del Sol, the fantastic San Miguel Market- 20 minutes walk to the Prado Museum. Around the back of the building, up a park-like staircase, is a meandering plaza with charming cafes and restaurants - all within a 90 second walk! Within a few blocks are grocery stores, pharmacies, shops, etc.
The ground floor of the flat combines a living-dining area and the great kitchen, plus a 1/2 bath with sink and commode. Upstairs are three bedrooms (Master, Double, single) and a full bath with shower. The short connecting upstairs hall includes great storage for clothes, luggage, towels, etc. The flat's thick 18th century walls combined with triple-paned noise-mitigating windows in each room keeps the vibrant city-scape noise at bay.
Vicente is extremely accommodating and answered every email question we had, and even brought over extra towels and and extra set of keys.
If we had one caveat it would be that this flat shares an adjacent wall with a small pub in the same building. On a couple of occasions this "hole-in-the-wall" pub hosted big parties which lasted until 3am and spilled out in to the street. We came equipped with Bose earplugs and the white-noise app on our cell phones, which worked pretty well. To be fair, you don't come to Central Madrid in the High Season - or any major city in the world, for that matter, for the peace and quiet of a Monastery!
All-in-all, we would highly recommend this charming, convenient and perfectly-situated flat to enjoy the brilliant, vibrant, city of Madrid.
Take that Leap of Faith!
Bravo, Vicente!