The flat is the best solution if you want something inside Manhattan, it's in Midtown and 5 minutes walking to the subway, 10 minutes to the empire state building, and 25 minutes to time square. I have never met Shell, but he was really helpful for everything we asked for. The room is comfortable and the bed is new and comfortable as well. There is a large living room. The flat is shared with two people. One of the room's wall is shared with an Italian girl, she is nice but the wall is so thin that you can see the light on the corners. The room is on the second floor of a building in a busy area, so it would be a little bit noisy. But if you don't mind those things it's a very nice place to stay in new york.