My time at Ana's sunny apartment was cut short due to the state of emergency Spain faced with the spread of COVID-19. First and foremost I have to say that Ana was a huge comfort during this time. She maintained great communication with my wife and I and made sure that we had everything we needed while we were on "home lock-down." She even sent us the most up-to-date mandates issued by the Spanish Government. I cannot speak more highly of Ana.
In regards to the space, it is very small, but the trade-off for the space is your location. Gracia is a fantastic and trendy location to spend a holiday. There are so many restaurants, grocery stores, markets, plaza's, bars, and stores that you won't want to spend time in the apartment. You are in the heart of Barcelona and central to everything. The metro is close by, you can walk to the top attractions within 20-25min. The apartment building is quite as Ana describes. The neighbors are very respectful and quiet. Although the noise from the street can be pretty disturbing at times. Ana's apartment had everything we needed for our stay outside of an espresso machine (but I'm a coffee guy).
CONS:
1. Cleanliness - the apartment was not cleaned prior to our arrival. We found mold in the kitchen trash can (yes, the trash was not taken out) and in the microwave. There were dirty dishes, the cabinet space was dirty and dusty, and the refrigerator needing a full cleaning prior to us putting any food in it. We spent a good hour cleaning the house before we felt ok to put our things away. There was a lot of dust and other people's hair found in multiple surfaces within the apartment.
2. The bathroom - the shower door has trouble staying shut (it is held together by a magnetic strip), the shower head has a big leak, and the toilette makes an extremely loud noise when you flush it. Towards the end of our stay it became a joke between my wife and I and we couldn't stop laughing every time the toilette flushed.
PROS:
1. Location, location, location!
2. Bed is comfortable
3. Kitchen has everything you need for a long stay
4. Quiet apartment building (although noise from the street is pretty noticeable)
5. Great internet - which is what I needed to work from home
Overall - the experience with Ana was great, and although we had some issues with the cleanliness of the apartment, it was one of few locations within the area in our budget. If the cleaning service Ana uses where to do a better job for future guests I would have no issue highly recommending this apartment!