We have just had a fantastic stay at Francesc's apartment in Barcelona.
Francesc is an excellent host who made our stay comfortable by providing all we needed to make the apartment feel like home for a week. He provided breakfast (bread, cereal, coffee etc.), explained where the local shops and bars were, and how to get to the nearest tube, which was only a few minutes walk away.
The apartment was spacious and comfortable, quiet and cool. It is ideal for a small family, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. There is a lounge dining area and a separate kitchen stocked with all you need. The pictures are accurate and the apartment possibly feels more spacious than the pictures portray. All the beds were ready made with clean linen, and fresh towels provided. The rooms were quiet and cool (the air con system worked fine), and the beds are comfy. There is a TV, DVD (some Spanish DVDs) and books and magazines in the lounge.
Francesc provided a cot bed and children's eating utensils for our stay. We loved the Nespresso machine- thanks!
The area is lovely. There are plenty of shops and tapas bars within 10-15mins walk. The Sant Andreu district is lovely and feels like a family oriented and very safe area. I spent a couple of days alone with my kids there (3 years and 5 months) and we found lots to do in the area- shops, cafes, plenty of parks all within walking distance. On another day we went to the beach and did some touristy things. The local tube of Onze de Setembre is easily accessible with a buggy and is modern, however the interchange to the city line is not step free and we had some difficulty with the buggy there. We did have a car but didn't want to drive to the centre as it was quite busy on the roads. Francesc provided us with a parking space within the block for a very reasonable price for the week.
We didn't use the swimming pool at the apartment so I can't comment on that, but only because we chose to go to the beach instead. There is a washing machine and dryer at the apartment came in quite handy during our stay as well.
A big thank you to Francesc for being an amazing host during our stay and also for posting back our bag that we left there!
Highly recommended, especially for families.