This apartment was in a great location, close to the East Village/Lower East Side divide. It's a pleasant residential street with a public park at one end. It is in easy walking distance to three subways and there are lots of bars, restaurants etc nearby. It was a little bit smaller than we thought and there was some street noise - but that is all part of the NYC experience. It would've been handy if it had a TV but then again we were out exploring most of the time.
We never met the host but she was contactable at all times, with check in and check out an easy process. She was also kind enough to allow us to store our luggage on our last day when we had a late flight.