This is a beautiful, contemperary apartment located in a great neighborhood away from the touristy area but very easily accessible by public transportation (get a Hola BCN card). The apartment seemed small when we first walked in but we soon realized that it was set up so smartly that it worked really well. Fancesco left a bottle of water in the refidgerator and some coffee as well as some basic cooking needs (oils, spices, etc.). The apartment is well stocked with linens and towles, unbrellas, a blow drier, and kitchen stuff. I did not find any wash cloths, if you need one, bring one from home.
Grocery stores are very close in several directions and easy to find. Get your water from one of these places and fill your personal water bottle. Cafes and pastery shops are easy to find also. Their is a really nice park right around the corner. Enjoy it.
The apartment has 2 big windows so it's nice and bright. It's also got light blocking shutters if you like to sleep in late. I thought the apartment was pretty quiet for a place in the city. Yes, you will hear neighbors and trash collectors a little, but it's a quiet area. We slept well. The mattress is very comfortable and firm, which helped.
This is a newer apartment so the electrical outlets are slightly recessed. We brought a round power converter with 2 usb ports that worked nicely for keeping our electronics charged. We also brought an older, square converter that worked in Italy 10 years ago, it did not sit properly in the new outlets so we were unable to use it. We were glad we had the new style one.
All the drains had stoppers so you don't have to bring your own.
The washing machine was a nice thing to have, I brought less clothes because of it. It does not have a drier but their is a basket to bring clothes on the roof to hang our or you'll find a drying rack in the closet.
I tried to learn some Spanish before I went to Spain although lots of Americans told me that most people in Europe speak some English. This is not true, do yourself a favor and learn some basic Spanish or Catalon before you go. Some menus are written only in Spanish and Catalon. I enjoyed the podcast Coffee Break Spanish for lessons.
The apartment was very clean and well maintained and we felt very safe there. I highly recommend this place.