Ricard's Place is a wonderful big room with a very comfortable bed, table and chairs, fridge, microwave, lovely heater, TV, easy chair, and a big bathroom. There are doors to a small balcony that looks right out on the Ramblas! It was really fun to stand there and watch the world go by. The room has a beautiful authentic Spanish tile floor and nice decorative touches. You enter at the street door into the beautiful marble hallway. There are several flights of stairs up and then you are at the apartment's door which opens onto a reception room. There is another door to your room, so there are several levels of security; we felt perfectly safe and comfortable. Ricard and his wife welcomed us and made us feel right at home, too.
For a first visit to Barcelona, we found this location to be ideal. It is right on the Ramblas and it's so easy to get to other parts of the city. You can walk down to Barcelonetta and the harbor or you can walk up to Placa de Catalyuna. The old city Gothic section is just a stone's throw away, too. The metro is practically outside your door and easy to use. There are all kinds of eateries nearby, eh, mainly touristy, naturally, but we did like the nearby fruit & vegetable, etc. market. You can find all kinds of delicious things to eat there. We had a tasty potato tortilla breakfast twice at a little place called Boquet in the back and off to the side of the market.
We had a really fun but way too short visit to Barcelona, and we are glad to have chosen Ricard's Place for our home base.