PERFECT LOCATION!! This Airbnb is in a great location. So close to everything! La Sagrada Familia is literally a block away. I felt like it was in our backyard. There are an abundance of restaurants, coffee shops, supermarkets…etc that you can walk to. Everything else is only a taxi ride, bus or metro ride away.
This Airbnb was extremely clean and quaint. The host (Montserrat “Montse”) met us upon check-in and gave us an orientation to the apartment. She was very sweet. She was also accessible throughout our stay and answered our questions.
I did feel like the Airbnb was smaller than what it felt like in the pictures. But that’s not her fault. There were 3 of us and it was just enough space. However, I can’t see how this would be comfortable for four or more people. Even though the sofa bed pulls out, I still think it would be crowded with four or more people. There is a small bedroom upon entry with a single bed in it. Then there is a larger bedroom that has two single beds in it and then the pull out sofa in the living room. There is a cute but very tiny balcony. I noticed that pretty much all of the apartments in Barcelona have balconies. Some are larger than others. This one would only allow two people to sit out there at a time.
As others have mentioned, this is a very, very noisy street. However, I found it exhilarating. Hearing all of the sounds of the city and people talking was (to me) a great aspect of being in Barcelona. It is a very vibrant city. However, if you are a light sleeper you will definitely need to have some earplugs. The traffic is loud as well as the horns and honking. Also, at times we could hear other people in their apartments but it wasn’t anything that was disruptive.
Positives:
1. Location
2. Responsive and friendly host
3. Very clean apartment
4. Hooks!! Oh my goodness! You might think this is trivial but I have been in many Airbnbs and even in some hotels where do they do not provide enough places for you to hang your towels and washcloths. In this apartment, there were hooks everywhere! On the back of every door, in the hallway, on the wall in the bedroom, the back of the bathroom door, on the walls in the bathroom and in the kitchen.
5. Also, again this may seem trivial to some people but I love that there was a small table next to each bed. A place where you can set your eyeglasses or your phone as it charges…etc. Little things like this make my stay much more comfortable.
Here are the cons:
1. There is a very small hot water tank. We had to let our host know that we weren’t able to get good pressure when turned on hot. It merely trickled out. But we got full blast cold water. She was very responsive and sent someone over to fix it. Even after the repair, the hot water does run out quickly. So you will probably need to wait 45 minutes to an hour in between showers if you want to take a hot shower.
2. This is very important, the apartment is up 3 full flights of stairs - and they are narrow stairs. There is no elevator. So, be mindful if you have a lot of luggage that you will break a sweat bringing it up the stairs.
3. The pillows on the bed really need to be replaced. They are super thin and super uncomfortable.
4. There is a washing machine in the unit but no dryer. It seemed that many of the apartments did not have dryers because I saw so many people hanging their clothes outside on the balcony. So, be mindful that if you want to wash clothes you need to do them a few days before your departure because they will need time to dry. Also, at the time of our visit in October, it was extremely humid so it took our clothes a really long time to dry outside - I’m talking about several days. Also, there really isn’t a lot of room to hang clothes out on the balcony. We did find a laundromat less than half a block away from the apartment where we were able to wash and dry our clothes however.
Overall, this place is wonderful. The location in my opinion is the best thing. It is a lively neighborhood with lots of activity. We took the metro to the beach - this took less than an hour. We were able to get to Park Guell in a taxi in under 20 minutes. The airport is about 30 minutes away. Montse is very responsive and helpful.