We stayed for a bit over 3 weeks in June 2012, and had a great time.

The apartment was clean and comfortable, and the location was fantastic.

The tempurpedic bed (foam matress) was not my personal favourite, but it is what it is, and I got used to it by the end. The air conditioner in the bedroom managed to cool the living room even on the 37°C (around 100°F) days, though I turned it off when we went to bed as it was fairly noisy.

The apartment itself was quiet, with only the general background noise a huge city audible through the bedroom window. If you don't mind white noise when you sleep, this will be fine - if you need silence, you'll need to shut the window.

It was also fairly dark, as the only natural light comes from that same window, or the door to the courtyard. Other than sleeping in late a few times, that wasn't a problem.

The smell in the corridor that the previous reviewer mentioned smelled more like cats to me (or it could have been two different things). Note that if you enter at street level, you have to come past the bins instead, which may require more breath-holding.

The restaurants in the area were fantastic. Pick anything on Columbus Ave, and you can't go wrong. Grocery stores were pretty close as well, and subway access was fantastic.

I would recommend this area to family and friends looking to stay in New York for any amount of time, but especially for stays of a week or more.