Maria, the host is very helpful and responded very quickly to our WhatsApp messages. When we let her know that the kettle was not working, she sent a new one the next morning - just in time for tea! (As we don't speak Spanish, we used Google Translate - that seemed to work ok.) She also provided a list of local places to eat. Follow the list - we found it great.The El Cabanyal area of Valencia is a really great area to stay - a wonderful beach, loads of good, affordable places to eat. If you want some city life, downtown Valencia is a simple bus ride away. There is plenty of good, affordable public transport in the area. If you want to take a cab from the airport, it is about €25. At the end of the trip, we asked our host to book the taxi to the airport and it was very prompt. If you are staying longer, there are plenty of coaches and trains to other areas of Spain from the central bus station.
The apartment is really well located. There is a fabulous bakery, deli and Dia supermarket just around the corner (not even 1 min.) A large central market and a bigger supermarket are about 10mins walk. The apartment is very clean, spacious and reasonably equipped. The outdoor terrace would be great for warm days. The whole apartment has really nice design touches, which makes it feel quite homely.
We found the apartment itself a bit cold (we stayed in Dec/Jan). (This is probably because Spanish homes are built to be cool for the hot summer months and not equipped for the winter.) The sun does reach the sitting room for a couple of hours - about 11am-2pm, but its not enough to warm the space. There are aircon units and a portable heater, which helped. Some of the equipment in the kitchen could do with updating. The oven and hob are tad slow, so not great if you are planning many meals. Similarly, the dishwasher is a bit tired - we struggled to get the glasses and cups clean. The TV is Spanish-only and doesn't have the facility to log-on to the digital streaming services. Good speed WIFI, though the signal won’t always reach the bedrooms. The shower is hot and powerful. Great sofa for lounging about. Big shout out for the main bedroom - the huge double bed was really comfortable.