Sergi was very responsive and an overall great host. His place was nice and centrally located to Las Ramblas, the Gothic Quarter, and more. I easily took public transportation from the airport and around the city. The pictures are accurate and I would stay there again.
Sergi recommended La Platilleria for tapas and El Che for paella. Both were affordable and had a nice ambiance. La Platilleria is a MUST GO. The food is delicious and staff amazing. El Che was mediocre at best. I’m sure you can find better paella in Barcelona.
Three things to beware of:
Sergi should get a door mat or other door ornament to differentiate his place from others in the building. There are many apartments, each with the exact same door. I accidentally stuck my key in a neighbor’s door and ended up having to replace the lock, which was very expensive. It was a costly mistake that likely could have been prevented if the door to Sergi’s place stood out in some way.
Check out time is 10am. Sergi and the cleaning lady arrived at 9:45am. He came into the apartment and was speaking to my friend and I about the lock change process. The conversation was friendly enough but I didn’t appreciate that he showed up early, took up some of our time with the conversation, then rushed us out. He really shouldn’t have come to the apartment until at or after check out time.
Barcelona requires Airbnb hosts to ask for passports. Sergi didn’t have any official way to take the document (secure send through the app, official government form to complete). Travelers shouldn’t have to send their passport images to complete strangers. This isn’t something Sergi can control, he does what’s required of him, and I have contacted Airbnb to see how they can sure up their operations abroad.