We stayed in this apartment from Aug 3-8, 2019. This apartment far surpassed our expectations. It is centrally-located in Barcelona, near Placa Catalunya, at one end of Las Ramblas. An easy walk to Passeig de Gracia, Barri Gotic, and El Raval. It is just a <5 minute walk to either the University or Placa Catalunya metro stations, and across the street from a taxi stand. I couldn't imagine a better location. It helps that there is a coffee store right next door too!
The apartment is a secret hideout on top of a six-storey building. You walk in through an inconspicuous wooden doorway, through a dark and dingey inside courtyard, and then take a tiny little elevator (or stairs) to the "attic". There, you find an amazing, modern, stylish luxury apartment with a big balcony overlooking the street below. It's got full A/C, a fireplace (just in case the temperature ever drops below 25 celsius), two walls that are really just big windows, and full-length window shades that you control by remote. The main bedroom has a gigantic tub/shower, and there is a separate shower for the kids or other roommates. There is a combined washer/dryer machine (have never seen this before!), and a fully decked-out kitchen with any utensil you could possibly want. We didn't eat much in the apartment, though, because the neighbourhood is full of amazing restaurants, tapas joints, etc.
Jon, the host, was fantastic! Our train got in late on a Saturday night, and he met us at 23:15 outside the apartment. Despite the hour, he showed us all the features of the apartment in excellent English, explained how to see the sights and how to use transport to get around the city. (One of the subway lines was closed for construction this week, and he explained how to use other lines instead. He even set us up with a subway app that the locals use.) It was very thorough and unhurried, even though we were all up until 1am getting oriented. He had stocked the apartment with some fresh fruit and snacks, and had stocked the fridge with water, pop, cold beer, and a bottle of cava (the local champagne). It was extremely impressive hospitality, which is what you will discover by reading everyone else's reviews too! Our daughter had her 7th birthday while in Spain, and he showed up by surprise one night to drop off a small birthday cake for her, which was a very special touch.
Jon also helped us find a particular show that we wanted to see, and offered even to buy tickets on our behalf (though it turned out we didn't need him for that.) Finally, when it was time to fly back to Canada, Jon sent us a text the day before notifying us of a strike that was going on at the airport, which let us get to the airport an hour earlier to avoid delays. It was very helpful to have a local "in the know" to advise us about these things.
Negatives: none. Literally none. And if there were some sort of problem with the apartment, I have zero doubt that Jon would come and resolve the issue immediately.
In summary, we highly highly recommend Jon's Barcelona apartment, and Jon himself.