Bottom line: We had a wonderful stay at Philip's, and will definitely stay there again if we ever wander to that neck of the woods again.
Philip welcomed us upon our (early) arrival, even though we were about an hour and a half late due to big lines at the airport. We had a burnt light bulb in the living room when we came, and Philip said he would take care of that - and he did. He was also very flexible with arrival and departure hours, allowing us to leave quite late on the day of our flight back home.

pros:
* Neighborhood is GREAT! I found west village to be possibly the best neighborhood in Manhattan. Location is great - only about 7 minutes from the subway.
* Apartment has all facilities needed, including dish washer (but no washing machine).
* Philip is very hospitable, accommodating and nice.
* The bed was perfect! One of the most comfortable beds I've slept in. We still miss it.
* TV has all the channels you could think of
* WiFi was great.

cons:
* Apartment is a par-terre (floor) apartment. Meaning: very poorly lit. But we didn't find that very problematic. There's also garbage right outside the window of the bedroom, but we also didn't find it noticeable from the inside, and the garbage is collected every Monday.
* Toilets are very sensitive - tend to get clogged - but that's an issue with practically all Manhattan apartments...
* Not that much place to eat dinner at. There are small boxes used as tables in front of the TV, and a big desk right next to the TV, but no actual eating corner. We made it work, but maybe some people could find that a tad restricting.
* 2 minutes walk from the Magnolia Bakery - so kiss your diet goodbye.