We stayed in Guillermo's apartment for 10 nights during Dec, we expected it to be a bit chilly with it being a basement flat but it was lovely and warm and we didn't need to put the heating on much at all. The nearest subway was only a 5 minute walk away which takes you straight into Manhattan. On a nice day you can also walk to Williamsburg in about 30 minutes.
Guillermo was brilliant at communicating with us and check-in went very smoothly. There was also a handy list of nearby places for us when we arrived.
There's some great places near the apartment for food and drink, namely Roberta's, Blue Bottle coffee, Syndicated, Dun-well donuts (next to the subway), Eastwick and The Well (brilliant craft beers).
The only downside with the apartment it that the pipes/heating is a bit noisy so I wouldn't recommend staying here if you're a light sleeper.