There are so many reviews for this apartment, I’ll try not to be too repetitive.
Things I liked:
Good-sized bedrooms, comfy beds (but uncomfortable pillows), two bathrooms, good location, photos/description matched apartment, wonderful views from huge deck, attentive host, the washing machine was very convenient as was having a taxi stand right downstairs and metro close by.
Things I didn’t like:
It’s pretty noisy, since in a popular area with two restaurants just below the bedrooms. I’d be woken up multiple times each night by outside noises, but the trash pickup(?) was especially loud most mornings between 6-7am, so bring earplugs if you’re a light sleeper. Also, the room didn’t get dark enough for me, so eye shades are also helpful.
The deck was huge with great views, but I think I missed that it was on a separate floor/not attached to the apartment, so you had to go out the front door, climb up a flight of stairs to get to the door to the deck. That also meant I didn’t want to leave my niece alone and w/o keys downstairs while I was on the deck. With that and the July heat, we didn’t use it very much.
Other than the deck, there was minimal common area—just a small/somewhat cramped eating area vs a living room, so when my niece and I wanted to relax and cool down between outings, we were in our separate bedrooms, which wasn’t ideal.
If your group wants to split up at some point, you’ll need to ask for another set of keys.
To Consider:
If you can’t do stairs at all, this apartment won’t work for you. It’s a straight six floors (US) walk-up from the street, or you enter from around the corner for the elevator, then through a door to a landing, then up more stairs to the main deck (just over 20 steps), then back in another door and down about 20 steps to the apartment. The owner was kind enough to take our luggage all the way up to the apartment via her unit, which is attached to this unit, so didn’t have to carry luggage up/down stairs.
I originally booked a more luxurious apartment, but when we had to change dates, that was was not available. This one was significantly less expensive—half the price—so doesn’t seem fair to rate it based on what I would have expected if I paid more. I went back and forth on 4 vs 5 stars, but for the value, I went with 5.
Overall, it’s a good apartment at a very good price, assuming the downsides aren’t deal breakers for you.