Assiati was the perfect host - so welcoming, and kindly waited for us to arrive so that she could greet us, even though our flight was very delayed, and even offered to carry our bags up for us. We felt incredibly welcome. We were a little nervous when we arrived, as the taxi driver who dropped us off did not have nice things to say about the area, and warned us to be careful after dark. However, we need not have worried - our experience was fabulous. The neighbourhood was fine, and very friendly, and the apartment was very close to a subway station which took us straight into Manhattan. The apartment itself - wow. It is even nicer than in the photos! It feels like you have have just stepped into the pages of an interior design magazine, it is perfectly decorated with gorgeous pieces of African art dotted around. I loved it. There is a lot of beautiful wood and stone - even the trash cans are carved wood. The bed was huge, and the most comfortable I have ever slept in - I didn't want to leave. I am just sad that we couldn't have stayed here longer. On our last night, Assiati's cousin, Danny, who lives underneath very kindly directed us to some great take-out food restaurants. I would definitely recommend this fab apartment to anyone visiting New York.