GREAT: Private roof deck, Location
GOOD: Apartment layout, space for a large group
FAIR: Four flights of stairs up to entrance, Two more flights up *treacherous* stairs to roof deck
BAD: Filthy, Hot-water heater barely works, shower is minuscule
Finding the place was difficult, as the address given does not accurately show up on Google Maps, most likely due to abbreviations for floor, etc. The host never returned my email when I asked for a more accurate address. Also the host was out of town during our stay, so her cousin met us and gave us the keys before informing us that she was *also* leaving town. Okay. After lugging bags up four flights of stairs, you'll immediately understand why it's called "luggage." The wheezing sounds from a man checking in across the hall sounded as if he would require CPR, but I didn't investigate for fear that I'd have to drag him downstairs for proper first-aid. The good news is that he made me feel like I was in great shape!
The place is definitely cute and cozy, but this is quickly forgotten when you realize how filthy it is and wonder if your "cleaning fee" is being used to purchase extra dust and hairballs. For example, my electric toothbrush fell off the shelf and rolled under the sink cabinet. I found it covered in a hairball that had likely been growing steadily since Franco was in power. The toilet bowl was permanently stained black. My friend found dirty tupperware beneath her bed. And the kitchen was just plain dirty, the fridge being the worst offender.
The piece-de-resistance was the temperamental on-demand hot-water heater. Ninety percent of the time when we demanded hot-water, it demanded we take cold showers. When I texted the host's out-of-town cousin to alert her of the problem, she responded immediately saying she would send someone to fix it, which is, of course, exactly when the hot water decided to work. The next day (after 2 more cold water sponge baths) I realized that if you blew on the water heater's open flame above the kitchen sink, the pilot light would ignite the boiler and it would create hot water. It was similar to catching a spark from a flint stone and then blowing on the tinder. Camping is fun! (Did I mention the power went out when my friend plugged something in? FYI the breaker is above the bed in the living room.)
And (if you are lucky enough to produce hot water), one last thing about the shower: it is minuscule. So forget about washing your feet. If you bend, your butt will hit the door and it will fall off it's track. Don't believe me? Read another AirBNB review where the door was missing! Someone's butt was obviously bigger than mine. Here's my tip: Although the shower wand is literally scotch-taped to the wall, it is possible to remove the wand with a surgeon's careful precision if you dare to rinse anything below your belly button.
After a day of touring beautiful Barcelona and wheezing your way up six flights of steps to your private roof-deck, your AirBNB grievances will diminish (but probably not disappear) over a glass of wine (but don't forget the corkscrew as it's two flights down...) Your conversation will likely turn to how truly amazing the place could be if the hosts stopped pocketing the cleaning fees or splurged on a $200 trip to Ikea to properly outfit the place.
We were allotted three rags, formerly known as towels, that were old and hard (air dried). There were two rolls of toilet paper. No paper towels or dish towel. Minimal glassware. And an empty bottle of laundry detergent for the washing machine. If you dain to buy more detergent, be warned. There's a clothesline on the roof where you can dangle your wet clothes to dry atop an six-story light-well, but alas, there are no clothespins. The good news is, after your load of laundry disappears down into the abyss, your luggage will be much lighter going back down to the street! Good luck!