This place is a definite recommendation - Gerard and Laurence are excellent hosts and have thought about all the details (stocked kitchen, reading material for tourists, and a guide to the town). Their apartment is very clean and is situated in a quiet street around 3 minutes by foot from the local beach. The stocked and furnished house, complete with appliances, kitchen tools, and even baking paper, made it a very agreeable stay. We are very grateful for having been able to stay here. For visitors coming in by car, we would recommend to use the garage, the area is rather mountainous with small roads, tight corners, and significant inclines, and, having seen some damage on cars parked out in the street, we were happy to have used the garage.
Portbou itself is a charming small town, with a population of around 1000. Within it, you will find two supermarkets, three bakeries, a tobacconist, a small souvenir shop, a dockside/fishing/diving supply store, and has some different restaurants and bars, and there's a goods market on Fridays, as well as a produce market, and a market for meat and fish. Most of this useful information was already described in the handy guidebook the hosts have written, which also contains some recommendations for local tourist destinations, hiking trails, and even links for public transport (though the official sites are available only in Catalan and Spanish). There are also several beaches and you can always find a comfortable place for al your family. The beaches are clean and water is clear and warm.