I stayed at the Arc de Triomf Apartments with 4 of my friends for 7 days. Alba was fantastic help and facilitated quite an early check in at the apartment which we were very grateful for. She also gave us great restaurant recommendations which proved fantastic (Parking Pizza and Paco Alcade). There were easy public transport routes to the apartment. On first impressions, the apartment was very clean, well put together, but smaller than the pictures made it appear. As we were a group of 5 we were surprised but it didn’t prove much of an issue for us. There were no linens for the sofa bed, or pillows but we made due with what we had. The room with the two single beds was very small. When both beds were out the bedroom door couldn’t be closed. The bathroom was a good size and we had no issues with showers i.e. hot water. The oven proved difficult to use, as one of the girls tried to use it and it didn’t cook her chicken this could have been a misunderstanding. The air conditioning worked perfectly and was easy to navigate. It was a quiet area, great facilities in terms of groceries and eating out, close to the Gothic Quarter and most public transport stops like the Metro and Tram.
On a more negative note, our apartment was broken into on our 4th day/night in Barcelona. The door was forced open and the safe broken open. We are advised on check in that there was a code for the door and a key. The code allowed all of us to access the apartment without issue but if we were to use the key to double lock up, this would mean whoever came back would need it. As there were 5 of us we decided to use the code as the door locked regardless. We were not notified that using the key or otherwise would provide extra security. However, when we got the chance to speak with Albert about the break in, he mentioned that the door should always be locked with the key. Something that anyone should keep in mind. Had we known that this was more important we would have used it, however we do not believe that this would have prevented the break in given the door was forced. We were unsettled given the break in and had to go through some difficulties in terms of contact with the police and seeking emergency documents from our consulate (Irish). Alba was good to check in with us over the weekend and apologise. We did think it was strange that there was no offer to move us and no one came out to look at the damage or check in with us at all. Due to the festival in the area and being in the city we weren’t in a position to move somewhere else given the financial cost this would have imposed so we decided to stay and use the key moving forward. Thankfully, we had no other issues albeit a bit unsettled while in the apartment. Alba facilitated a late check out for 3 of us on our last day which took a lot of pressure off of us and we were thankful for.
We had a good time in the city despite this experience but I do think it will inform future decisions to come back to Barcelona. In fact, personally I think it will cloud my decisions in using Air BnB in future stays. While I know something like this could not have been foreseen, we feel that the communication with us was lacking in terms of our potential safety and feeling of safety following the break in. The police were very helpful in all of this, and did provide some semblance of comfort. They checked the rest of the building for any other break ins also (which we are not aware if this happened).
Overall, our first 4 days were the most perfect trip and the apartment suited us for what we needed which was a city stay with access routes to Primavera and other city sights. I would recommend this for groups smaller than 5, as it just would not have worked out otherwise, we were a tight fit. The apartment was clean and the beds comfortable and that is exactly what we needed. While the hosts could not have foreseen a break in, we were disappointed with their reply on the day of/days following. We do note however Alba’s attention and helpfulness throughout. She was very good to us and replied promptly to any messages when she was back in work.