Although we generally do not spend a ton of time within our accommodations when we visit someplace as exciting as Barcelona, we loved our stay in this apartment! We commented again and again when our heads (finally) hit the comfy pillows at night how at-home our family of 3 felt here.
Agus was there to meet us despite not living near by and our arrival being at 7pm. He was so warm and welcoming and offered more tips than we could possibly remember!
It should be noted that there is a significant amount of graffiti on the block which struck us instantly because we didn’t remember that being the case when we first visited Barcelona in 2005. But, once we began exploring, we realized that it is pretty much the case throughout the city and didn’t find it to be a harbinger of danger in any way. It’s a shame, but in a weird way you begin to embrace it (and even appreciate the particularly good pieces) as you see it more and more wherever you go.
Perhaps coming from the New York City area, we are not as easily shaken, but we walked EVERYWHERE (averaging about 10 miles a day) and did not once feel threatened in any way. The people were so incredibly lovely! That being said, pickpockets prey on the distracted and careless no matter where you go, so you need to be smart!
The apartment itself is a five minute walk to Sagrada Familia (you really CAN see the towers from the balcony), a two minute walk to Gran Via and twenty minute walk to the two Gaudi Houses.
When our legs finally gave out at the end of the day we easily hailed a cab and simply said “Gran via por Sicilia, por favor” and 8-10€ later no matter WHERE we were, we were back in our neighborhood. Could not have been more simple! Neither of us speak Catalan, but I do okay in Castillian and my wife is fluent so were able to get the cabs right to our front door if we didn’t feel like walking the two blocks from there. (Weirdly, we found the cabbies were the only people in the city who didn’t speak all that much english.)
Our daughter loved having her own private space (a small second bedroom right across from the kitchen with its own small bathroom down the hall) and there is even room for one more to sleep in the common area but I would suggest that if your group is larger than 4, this may not be the place for you.
One more thing… it was really hot and sticky in Barca while we were there and the A/C in the apartment was beyond sufficient to cool the entire apartment quickly. Gotta love that!