Raul was a very welcoming and flexible host who adjusted his own schedule to our time of arrival. He even left it to us to leave whenever we wanted on the day of our departure. The apartment was a lovely, very pleasant and clean place to stay in, quietly removed from 24 Street with sufficient day light and a well-functioning AC, which we enjoyed at the warm temperatures during our stay. Apart from being well organized with everything we needed from kitchen to bathroom, the apartment had the additional advantage that the sofa beneath the elevated platform on which the actual bed was based could be easily converted into a second bed. Both, the main bed and sofa bed, were firm, not the kind of hammoc-like hotel beds one sometimes experiences; they were very comfortable to sleep in. On the backside of the building, the apartment opens up to a patio with dining and grilling opportunities. We did not take advantage of this but it is easy to see that some guests might relish this.
As to the location, Raul's place is just a few blocks away from Herald Square, where there is a well-connected Subway station, shops of all sorts and from which it only is an additional short walk down to Union Square or over to ABC City. We were happy to explore the immediate neighborhood a little more since we hadn't had the opportunity before that much.