While a terrific location, this was not the best experience for us due to a security issue that had us leaving a day early.
We were asked to provide our flight information so someone can meet you and hand you a physical key. We landed as a group of 4 people and met with my brother and his wife, went through customs, got bags and met the car. When we arrived at the apartment, we then had to wait outside in the cold for nearly an hour because nobody was there to meet us! We paid for an extra night to check in early and yet they weren’t there to meet us. It was early in the morning and it was obvious that we woke her up, but nobody was tracking our flight and you, as the paying guest, are responsible for making sure they know you are on your way even though they ask for your flight information. This was not ok with me as you’re juggling a lot and the last thing on my mind was using a new app to contact someone in a place that there is little to no cell reception.
The apartment is very spacious but the bathrooms are narrow. Clean, great water pressure, lots of hot water and the location are the main highlights. Shockingly, in the land of Tapas and Rioja, there were NO wine glasses! Also, the WiFi signal isn’t the strongest in the back bedroom but not an issue. Also, the flight of stairs is real. It wasn’t a problem for us but we were a group in our 40’s and 50’s.
It’s important that you know that while the location is great, the apartment is on a busy and loud street! There are no blinds for the morning sun and the doors for the windows do NOT close so it’s loud and bright for the 2 front bedrooms. We had noise machine apps to help us. Also, the pillows were terrible for all of us. Flat and hard, so that’s just our groups opinion.
We had a security issue on our second to the last night. The main door on street level had a broken lock so anyone could enter. On two occasions, the apartment buzzer rang in the middle of the night. On our second to the last night, in the wee hours of the morning, someone came and banged on the door to the apartment and tried to enter. Our two small children were in the front bedroom and were scared beyond belief. There is no peephole and nobody to call for help. My brother speaks Spanish and yelled something through the door and they went away. We had a 7 and 11 year old with us and the damage was done. We ended up leaving a day early because we just didn’t feel comfortable or safe anymore.
Now, the communication is great and quick to respond via app, but even they couldn’t guarantee that the lock would be fixed that day as it’s not their building. There is a homeless population that gathers under the bridge down the street at night so it just wasn’t worth the risk.
We paid for an extra night to check in early but the host was an hour late to meet us upon arrival. We paid for a night at the end we didn’t use because of a security issue and then we paid to change our flights to leave early because of said security issue. A cab ride is about 30 euro, but their driver quotes 60. To say we greatly overpaid, is an understatement.
However, beds and apartment were both clean, location was great to sites, dining and shops, communication was available if needed and we all made it back home safely. I would recommend this place but keep in mind all I detailed above about the windows and noise and pillows if you need one to sleep! I doubt you will have a security issue but it was worth noting. Download the WhatsApp because it’s all they use to communicate AND, regardless of the information you provide and all you have going on, make sure you tell them you are on the way because they won’t monitor it even though they should.