We recently spent nine days at Luca's place and it’s everything everyone else raves about in terms of comfort, style, function, cleanliness and location. Luca was away but he had a super helpful friend, who does this for other apartments and knows the city well, check us in. Not only is the apartment in a great neighborhood with lots of good restaurants, bars and the huge indoor Ruzafa market just down the street + a small convenience store on the corner for nights and weekends, but the apartment itself is large, well-equipped, super clean and comfortable (we were just two, but it would be good for a small family and also for anyone who might want to cook at home). It was the middle of a pretty intense heatwave so we were extra grateful for the well-working ACs in both the living room and bedroom (and that's saying a lot because as NYC'ers we're used to refrigerator-like air con even in the subway) and shutters and curtains that keep everything dark, cool and quiet when needed but allow gorgeous light in when desired. There’s also a small patio off the bedroom for drying clothes or letting air in. Luca himself was a thoughtful host, making sure we had everything needed and keeping in good contact from a distance, even giving us restaurant tips that we took advantage of. A couple of things if you’re thinking about neighborhood: It’s only a 10-15 minute walk to the center and much more charming, less touristy than staying there. Also, if you may be thinking of day trips to other places (we took two) it’s walkable to the north station (local trains) and a longer walk/short cab ride to the Sorolla station for the high speed trains to Barcelona and Madrid (and places in between). (Love Spain’s Renfre trains—they put ours to shame!) There’s also a bike path right in front of the apartment plus affordable bike rental docs or companies everywhere. Because of the unusual heat, we unfortunately didn’t use them—but Valencia seems like an easy place to bike everywhere. I can’t recommend Luca’s place enough—wish we didn’t have to come home!