Our family of five (kids ages 18, 16 & 12) all stayed in this apartment for a week's vacation in Barcelona. We had a great vacation and stay. Let me share a few notes about this specific apartment.
PROS:
1.) Location, Location, Location! This is probably the best aspect of this apartment. It is exactly two blocks from Sagrada Familia. Not only does this make it easy to go visit, but it is such a treat to lay your eyes on this magnificent cathedral, that having a place this close makes that a daily occurrence. Also, this apartment is located two blocks from two different Metro stops, both of which are on separate "Lines". So getting around to all of Barcelona is super easy. By the end of the week, our kids were practically navigating the Metro themselves. It is also a very quiet and safe location. No issues walking around late at night. Well lit. Lastly, this location is walking distance to the Gracia neighborhood, which is very cool. All-in-all, if you are looking to hit many different spots of Barcelona, this location can't be beat.
2.) Air Conditioning! We visited in August. Hottest time of the year. So this apartment boasts two large air conditioning units as well as multiple fans for different rooms. There is nothing better than coming home from a long day of walking on the hot pavement of Barcelona to a cool apartment to relax. A HUGE Plus!
3.) Quiet Building! Maybe we just got lucky, but we never heard a peep out of any resident in any other apartments around us. Again, nice to be able to sleep without a lot of noise or parties going on late into the night.
CONS:
1.) Interior of apartment is getting a little bit worn down. There are some visible scrapes and scuffs on the walls, doorways & cabinets. The whole place could us some touch up work and a coat of fresh paint.
2.) Beds. In general the beds were not very comfortable. Again, after a long day of sightseeing it's really nice to crash out in a welcoming bed. The mattresses were just a bit thin and stiff. I think the owner could significantly increase the comfort level with a set of new, thicker mattresses. They weren't dirty or old, just not very comfortable.
3.) WiFi. This one baffles me. The WiFi in the apartment was so bad most of my family just chose to use Cellular while in the apartment. This became a little frustrating because when we were back in the apartment we were often looking ahead and planning our next day. So we were using the internet a lot. In today's world, having really poor or spotty WiFi is really unnecessary.
SUMMARY:
Overall, we give this apartment 4.5 stars. It was a great choice & value for our family. There was space for everyone, it was clean and totally functional. And given it's prime location, that really made it work for us. We ended up thinking about it like you would a state room on a cruise ship. Who comes to Barcelona to sit in an apartment?? So it was a good place for us to rest and recharge and for people who aren't too fussy about appearances, this is a excellent choice.
<< Open Note to Host: A fresh coat of paint, new mattresses and reliable & fast WiFi would make this apartment a total home run! >>