My partner and I stayed here for five nights in mid January 2014. It is about the 15th place we have stayed in on airbnb in Europe and by far the best. It was more expensive than we usually spent being more than $100 Australian dollars a night but it was worth every cent. We strongly recommend staying in this apartment, depsite the four floors of steps, as it is comfortable and satisfying.

People who host on airbnb they could learn a lot from Raul. The hard lesson of airbnb- litterally hard in the case of many mattreses- is that like everything else in life, you get what you pay for. If you take the budget option to save a few pennies, as we have, then you get a hard bed, small bathroom and a thin, crappy pillow. This has happened to us all too often over the last three months in Europe.

Raul's place is a model of a successful airbnb rental because it offers a good shower and bathroom, a very comfortable bed, good supportive pillows, fast internet (not shared), a functional kitchen, good heating, and a washer and drying machine. It is all quality. There are plenty of things to cook with and to make a meal as you require. The location is excellent, with supermarkets nearby, some great restaurants and walking distance (or subway) to all the sites and museums of wonderful Madrid.

We have been to places with kitchens that only provide small, useless pans; blunt knives; no cutting boards; crappy plates; odd glasses; showers that flood easily; slow, shared internet; etc. Most places have one of these things (or more) but they were entirely absent at Raul's.

There is a good reason. Unlike most hosts, he cares because he has to live there. Most hosts would not bother spending a night in the places they rent out so they are not forced to confront the fact that an Ikea mattress they would never buy for themselves is uncomfortable or that it really hurts your neck to sleep with next to no pillow.

None of this is personal. We have never had a bad experience with a host- they all seem like decent people- but they are happy to make a buck as easily as possible and that means cutting down on comforts. Frankly most reviewer-guests are not publicly or privately honest about the shortcomings of their experiences; they would be if they ordered a meal at a restaurant and it was cooked in a microwave, so why not be honest about the hard bed, crappy shower or inadequate kitchen? Good hosts, which we have had a few of, genuinely appreciate the feedback.

In summary: this is the best airbnb experience we have had. If it is within budget and you are physically fit enough to walk up the stairs (excellent exercise) then you should not hesitate to book this place immediately. If it is slightly over budget - book it anyway.