What a great apartment, location and experience overall! We can't wait to stay there again.

Prior to arrival I was able to communicate with the host through WhatsApp - this was very convenient because we were able to stay in touch just when I arrived in Barcelona (e.g. the airport offers 15 minutes of free WiFi, or during our stay (the apartment has a good WiFi connection).

The apartment is within a 35 minute walk from Placa Catalunya, where La Rambla starts. The fact that the apartment isn't in the midst of the old town / Barrio Gotico and there were no tourists in the neighborhood was so great - Sant Gervasi is a relatively upscale residential neighborhood, with lots of cafes, restaurants, families with children, and small locally owned stores that offer everything from groceries to ice-cream to clothing or toys.

Sagrada Familia was also about a 35 min leisurely walk down Av Diagonal going East, which was just fine because Av Diagonal itself is very pretty and interesting.

We loved having espresso in the Cafe Michigan which was literally 20 meters from the apartment entrance. On this short section of Carrer de Casanova there are 3 other restaurants, so, withing literally 50 meters from the apartment on either side there are 4 restaurants to choose from.

Right around the corner from the apartment, going West, on Av Diagonal, there are lots of stores (I personally like Massimo Dutti, which was a 3 min walk on Av Diagonal off Carrer de Casanova). Also on Av Diagonal, going East, you will find Le Pain Quotidient - not exactly a Barcelona original, but they have an English menu and an interesting menu.

If you go north from the apartment, up Carrer de Santalo, to Via Augusta, right on the corner you will find the Muntaner subway station. Buy the T10 ticket (10 rides); Placa Catalunya (going South) is a 7 minute subway ride (great option if you don't want to pay for taxi nor feel like walking).

The apartment itself is exactly as shown in the photos. Linens and towels were provided. The host has a Nespresso espresso machine, and several pods were left for our use - it was great waking up on the first morning, and having a cup of good coffee. Because this is a penthouse (Attico) apartment, although it's facing Carrer de Casanova it is relatively quiet - when we closed the windows we couldn't hear the street at all. AC was great, especially day-time. Overall, the pace was very cute, clean, and had great character.

We highly recommend the apartment and the neighborhood, good luck.