We ended up needing to stay in Samir’s ‘hood on St Pattys. To boot, there street construction noise was right out front - complete with crane. Though as soon as we closed the apartment door, it was as if all that noise vanished. My teen daughter said it was “like the apartment was wearing noise canceling headphones.” In fact it is the triple pane windows which really do their job if soundproofing. We felt safe there too. The apartment is spacious and comfortable. The neighborhood is full of interesting people, artsy shops and a menagerie of eclectic restaurants. There is something for everyone. My daughter could have stuffed ice cream. I could gorge on gourmet vegan, everything no more than a block or 2 away. I was disappointed that the garbage could not have been taken out before we arrived as food started to turn a bit smelly but I’m not reducing my rating because it is an exceptional apartment and that is truly a Manhattan trash pickup dilemma. (I have been there; Manhattan is tough!). Samir is a clever host and will figure out a solution. What we most appreciated was his immediate response and help when we found ourselves locked out (our own fault). Any other host, and we would have missed our bus out of Manhattan completely. Samir was attentive to our needs and quick to respond. We hope we are lucky enough to stay there again.