Nice apartment, great neighborhood

Guest: Marlowe55 (New York City)
Date of Stay: 01/02/12 Review Submitted: 01/23/12

My wife, 17 month old son and I enjoyed a three week stay in the apartment. Nachlaot is a wonderful area, as others have pointed out. It's a delight to walk to the nearby market --my wife was there every day bargaining for vegetables. The more immediate neighborhood is also quite nice -- there's a small coffee shop, a bar, and a few small markets right around the corner. The apartment is located in an area of pedestrian streets, a maze of alleys that is quite exotic. It's a huge plus -- unless you have a lot of bags or equipment that need to be carried to the street. It's an easy walk to the Ben Yehuda area and the Old City. The apartment itself is quite nice. It has been tastefully furnished and thoughtfully equipped. The living area includes a fairly substantial kitchen (the stove is an electric hot plate). There's a very small bedroom on the ground floor and a loft bedroom and bathroom on the second floor. It seems strange that the internet connection is just via a single network cable -- a bit of an inconvenience for a smart phone user needing wifi. The owner is responsive -- when our water kettle stopped working, he brought a replacement over right away.

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, sightseeing.

highly recommend

Guest: Daniel (Chicago, IL U.S.A.)
Date of Stay: 12/20/11 Review Submitted: 12/27/11

We were looking for a place to have a nice Christmas vacation, but didn't want to pay high prices to stay in a small one bedroom hotel room. We are from the U.S. and never traveled to Jerusalem before, so we were a little worried we could be renting a place that was far different then the description. Reviews are great, so that is why I am taking the time to write up one for this rental property. When we arrived the taxi driver called the owner, and he directed him to an intersection where we met. David was very friendly and he gave us the keys, showed us his condo, and then walked us around the neighborhood. This initial introduction was really helpful, but after it was over David departed and we didn't see or talk to him the entire trip. The location is central to most things. You can walk 20 minutes and get to the old city or walk about 5 minutes to the new train system that will provide you access to most major tourist spots in the city. The main Central bus station is a 10 minute walk where you can go to a number of different places. We walked there and jumped on tourist bus #99, which tours you around the city giving you a commentary in six or more languages. This is very good if you want a big picture of the city. There are a few main shopping centers only a few minutes’ walk from the condo. It was fun seeing them come alive at different times throughout the day, and never knowing what we might find. There is a great frozen yogurt stand around the corner that we visited twice. The girl who worked there was from the U.S. and she was teaching me all about Jewish culture and the local neighborhood. The actually condo is two floors with a large bedroom on top with bathroom. The bottom bedroom is significantly smaller, but it was perfect for our daughter. The kitchen has everything to cook a few meals of your own if you wanted. Everything was really clean and the shower is nice with lots of hot water. David had tour maps and brochures for us to look at, and he even bought us a bottle of Israeli wine. For our daughter he borrowed a pack n play. The neighbors are very quiet as well as the street. A synagogue is on the street and they always had their windows open for you to see the menorah candles. We went for Christmas, but getting to experience Hanukkah at the same time was seriously like being in a movie. All the candles, traditions, and foods are wonderful. For the price we paid we can't complain, and would highly recommend.

Owner response:Great review !

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, romantic getaway, tourists without a car, adventure seekers, sightseeing, families with young children.

A lovely location in Nachlaot

Guest: Phyllis (Toronto Canada)
Date of Stay: 07/22/11 Review Submitted: 08/10/11

We just spent 3 weeks this summer at this property. The construction is over, and it was lovely. I loved the location, and being able to wind my way to Mahane Yehuda to pick up fresh produce, and more, only 5 minutes away. It is centrally located with easy access to most buses on Agripas, 10-15 minute walk to to Ben Yehuda and King George streets. Lots of restaurants nearby too, once you get out of the narow streets of Nachlaot. We rented a car for a few days when we went out of town and were able to park a few blocks away at a parking lot. You don't really need a car in downtown Jerusalem - you can take taxis, buses or walk. The apartment was generally as pictured - not sure about the existence of a hot tub, or a garden. Property was clean and well maintained. Internet access was not wi-fi, but it was easy to log into when you plugged in the cable. I would recommend this property to others

Owner response:Thanks for the review. I'll change the wording from "hot tub" to "hot bath"

Recommended for:Tourists without a car, sightseeing.

Great location, nice apartment....but..

Guest: Inna-Diego (New York / Russia)
Date of Stay: 12/28/10 Review Submitted: 01/08/11

We stayed in this apartment from Dec 28th January 4th. David is great with communication and very accommodating. Unfortunately we booked the place on December 12th and did not see the review above until recently. The construction is unbearable , the noise is too much. Literally they are not just "brick " laying like we were told. They are drilling , hammering and JACK-HAMMERING, at 7am on the dot every morning. It feels like they are trying to make a hole through the wall every morning, we could not hear each other at times the noise was soooooo loud. If you want a nice and peaceful vacation, this apartment is not for you until the "renovations" next door are over with. The noise is totally unacceptable by any standards. Inna and Diego

Owner response:Already at my first response to their inquiry I mentioned the construction next door. Please have a look at my response to previous comment (Inna & Diego are the Gimenez's mentioned there)

Recommended for:

Next Door to Construction

Guest: Italophile (San Francisco USA)
Date of Stay: 12/01/10 Review Submitted: 12/16/10

I would strongly suggest that people thinking of renting this apartment demand that the owner provide very specific information about the status of the construction next door, a major house renovation. Before renting this apartment, I wrote and asked the owner if the apartment was quiet, He replied in a joking way that it was not as quiet as where he lived in a village, that the apartment is on a pedestrian street (true), and that we should expect only the regular sort of urban background noise. We arrived at night to find the apartment pretty much as shown in this listing, although I never saw a garden as depicted in one of the photos. At 7:15 the next morning, we were jolted awake by drilling and hammering of such force it actually caused dishes to rattle in the apartment. In a subsequent exchange of emails with the owner, he variously stated that he would take care of the situation and that he had thought there wouldn't be any work next door during our two-week stay. He did not address my question as to why he had not earlier revealed the existence of the construction, which clearly had been going on for many weeks. Eventually, the owner agreed to refund one week of our stay, and we moved to a much quieter apartment after having been forced to spend 7 days that was quiet at night but unusable from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. I am a ten-year veteran of renting apartments abroad through VRBO and other websites and of exchanging my own home with people from other countries. This was, without doubt, the worst experience I've ever had.

Owner response:For three months prior to the arrival of Italophile and partner I had a couple staying in my apartment and they did not complain, either the noise was not so bad or probably because, like normal tourists in Jerusalem, they left early in the mornings and returned late afternoons. A week before the expected arrival of Italophile I visited the apartment and immediately wrote notifying him about the situation. Then, a day after his checking in and when he complained about the noise, I immediately suggested he may leave when it suits him and offered a full refund. It goes without saying that all inquirers are notified about the renovation next door – see for example the Gimenez couple due to check in on the 28th.

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