This apartment is in a fabulous location, very close to the Metro, local markets and shopping. Angel left us a bottle of champagne as we arrived New Year's Eve. Since we arrived later than planned (due to a cancelled flight from Paris) we never met him, and retrieved the keys from a neighbor.

The less-than-stellar items are these:

1. The lift is modern and large, but one must climb two flights of stairs to access it.

2. When we arrived about 22:30, the temp INSIDE was 15C (it was 0C outside). Although there were extensive instructions left for us, describing what to do with trash, recyclables, the 5Euro fee for the clothes washer, there were NO tips on heating. After 3 days, we got the temp up to 19C which we chose to view as a victory. Similarly, there were no instructions for the TV or DVD players, just an invitation to use them in our written instructions.

3. The bathroom was modern and spacious but unheated. Hot water was inadequate for a single shower, and the water from the showerhead turned brown when the hot water was exhausted.

4. The refrigerator housed an extremely foul odor but did have one shelf available for our use. The smell was so bad that we stored only pre-made items and juice in it.

5. Although the apartment was very clean (fridge excluded), it is very tightly furnished and there is no space to open luggage or access toiletries easily. My husband and I felt as if we had displaced a family instead of rented vacation lodging.

6. The dishwasher was broken so all dishes were washed by hand.

While we certainly felt welcomed by the champagne and Happy New Year note from Angel, we were not comfortable here.