i will start with the good.
LOCATION: this flat is in a perfect part of Barcelona. Its in the heart of the downtown area. lots of boutiques, grocery stores, gift shops and tourist attractions. We walked 25 minutes from the train station with luggage to the flat and it was an easy walk with full luggage. From the flat I believe the Segrada Familia Basilica was about a 10 minute walk. The large windows and veranda doors were very well made and noise proof. The flat overlooks an extremely busy street but you can barely hear a sound as they are so well insulated from noise.
CORRESPONDENCE
We had some issues and although they could not be fixed, I must admit the host was very good at responding and was polite and truly wanted to help.
CLEANLINESS
The flat was clean and tidy. The decor was very nice and the TV worked great.
Now the bad
I should add context before my complaint. This is an exceptionally hot summer in Europe. The days we spent in Barcelona were in the area of 32 degrees in the day. It was hot! There was one typical A/C Unit in the main area of the flat but it simply blew air. Im not an expert at AC units and compressors but this was not functioning properly at all. My son and I slept in the living room couch both nights as the 2 bedrooms were unbearable (remember it has 1 AC unit in the living room only). After running the AC unit for 2 days straight on the remote at 16 degrees the best we could get the flat to stay at was 26 degrees on the thermostat at night. Atleast the AC unit blew and circulated air which made a difference but needless to say there was not much sleeping in the unit for 2 nights. The host did send the cleaning lady to inspect and she verified it was powered on (Which we already knew) it just wasn't blowing cold air. 26 degrees in a 2nd floor flat is stifling at night when you cannot open the windows ( picture downtown NYC traffic noise). Either you slept with the windows open at night and heard motorbikes and traffic all night or you relied on the the AC fan.
The refrigerator was not cold, infact we purchased fresh seafood down the street but after having it sit in the refrigerator for the day, it was not very cold so we ended up throwing it out not wanting to risk any illness. the Rear wall of the refrigerator was full of frost build up which may have contributed to it not working well. I brought it up to the host. If you stay here, just plan accordingly and place your beer in the freezer for an hour and it will be just fine.
There were other complaints I had read about the small bathroom and the common area outside the rear of the flat. Yes the bathroom is a bit tight and I found you needed to be exceptionally careful not to spray water outside the shower. And yes there was a woman washing dishes in her kitchen with a full view of our flat. Not a big deal as long as you're not a nudist I suppose. Maybe a cheap set of curtains on the kitchen doors will solve that.
Overall, this unit was very pretty and had nice clean decor. but if the host wants to take this from a good rental to a great rental she should consider a few small things that make a big difference. If you advertise a nespresso machine and a dishwasher, place a few dishwasher pods and nespresso pods for renters. In my experience at Airbnb rentals, most will provide 1 or 2 dishwasher pods and atleast 4 nespresso pods saving renters from having to go to grocery stores for 1 or 2 night stays. The kitchen was fairly well equipped although it did not have a spatula. Otherwise, all the essentials were there.
I don't think I would stay here again although the host was very polite and professional. and the flat was in a great spot. If staying here in the spring or fall I am sure it would be much more comfortable inside the flat.