I'd read the reviews but was still pleasantly surprised by the appt. Travelling with my 75 year old mum who was very pleased with it, and comfy place to relax after full days of exploring in +30C heat! Quiet, safe, lots of amenities, so easy for Museum mile and subway makes it easy to get mid/downtown.
QUIET - yes background hum of big city traffic, but otherwise it's a v quiet street for traffic, and no noisy people even on Sat night. I could hear the neighbour above on the floor sometimes but it wasn't often enough to really trouble us.
AMENTIES - the appt had good utensils, crockery etc for cooking, toaster, oven, hob, freezer, coffee maker etc. You could certainly do self catering here. The double bed is very comfy, the sofa bed not quite as good. Linen good quality. Loads of towels. Decent showering space (no shower curtain sticking to you!), toilet is too close to the wall, but we managed just fine and it didn't bother us because everything else was great. Aircon is very effective in bedroom & relatively quiet, takes longer in the larger living room space and is a bit noisier. Bedroom is 'dark' because it faces onto a wall, living room is light but blinds and curtains keep it dark enough to sleep.
SAFE - arrived Sat night out of the subway and just felt like a nicely buzzing part of any city. Felt able to walk alone into late evening.
RESTAURANTS & BARS & supermarkets nearby (german, burger, noodles, italian, mediterranean, pizza etc.
NEAR MUSEUM mile - 10-15 mins walk from Met Museum, Guggenheim. NEAR Central Park & local Carl Schurz park (Gracie Mansion or a short stroll). NEAR the 6 and the Q subway lines (and the supermarket is on way home from the 6 line!).
COMMUNICATION - Sara was excellent at keeping in touch and made us feel like we were personal guests. Key collection & drop easy, late checkout was a big BONUS!
Just a final note that in the 5 days we were in NYC we met NYorker after NYorker who were friendly & helpful until we went to Jaxx cafe (opposite appt) where they struggled to smile and gave me a mediocre coffee because they just didn't listen to what I was asking for. Obviously nothing to do with this lovely appt, but wanted to share so no-one else gets a poor coffee!