My husband, 4 year old son and I just returned from a 5-month Sabbatical stay in Barcelona in Ana's place, and I have nothing but raving reviews about our experience with Ana and the place. Perhaps what sticks out most in my mind is her and her partner's incredible hospitality. They went above and beyond what you could ever expect, and in fact, I'm afraid to say all the wonderful things they did for us, less someone takes advantage of them. Still, I will name a few...she lent my husband a bicycle for the entire trip in order for him to get to work; they bought me groceries when I had a 2-week flu and my husband was away; they surprised us with beautiful, good luck balloons so that my husband could spot my son and me in the crowds while running the Barcelona marathon; they made us holiday decorations; took us to dinner; and spent a lot of time helping us navigate through the city.
On top of this wonderful hospitality, they were always super quick to respond to and take care of any problem we had with the apartment.
The apartment has a friendly and cozy feel to it, and I always loved to return there after a day spent in the hectic city. It is a small place, but well arranged and decorated, with great natural light. Plus the patio is big with lovely plants so you never feel closed in. It is super quiet, despite being located on one of the busiest streets, because it faces a courtyard. It was also very clean.
I love that the apartment was not in a super touristy neighborhood, but yet was walking distance to everything you'd want to visit and close to public transportation. There is also a big, traditional food market half a block away which was simply awesome, as well as every other type of food market you could ask for.
I could go on and on, but well, I think you get the idea. It's a great, little place and we were very sad to leave.