We had a fabulous 3 night stay in apartment 1B. It began with prompt and helpful communication and the booking process was very easy. On arrival we received a very friendly greeting from Isobel, who was happy to talk us through her recommendations for local eats, grocers etc, to compliment the detailed and useful information provided in the apartment handbook. Isobel had taken care to ensure that the basics had been provided in the kitchen (tea, coffee etc) including fresh milk and a bottle of cava! (She also provided a thoughtful little gift for our children and became an immediate friend).

The apartment itself is lovely and is finished to a very high standard. It is a wonderful combination of restored period features and modern fittings and fixtures. The kitchen is well equipped for any holiday cooking, the bathroom is small but well thought out (no bathtub) and the main living area – which is where you spend most of your time if you are indoors - is spacious. The bedrooms are a little on the small side, especially the second bedroom but it was perfect for our family of four. Our boys enjoyed sharing the small second bedroom and actually delighted in its size and the window overlooking the interior light well.

The apartment has excellent WIFI service; the TV has some cable channels including English language channels, as well as a dozen or so DVDs. Also provided are a great range of reading materials, with Barcelona/Spain guide books aplenty and a small collection of fiction and nonfiction.

We found the location to be excellent. We primarily got around by walking, so we just headed off in a different direction every day to see what we would find. It is a reasonably quiet residential neighbourhood. We found a number of places in short walking distance to buy groceries, wine etc. And we were able to find the main sites using the HOHO, or simply walking. Eg. With children 5 and 9, we found it a pretty easy walk to Sagrada Familia.

We used the AC at night so the traffic noise in the mornings from the road (outside the balcony doors off the main bedroom), was not a problem for us. We would never trade a balcony for “peace” – we like to be able to see what’s going on outside, especially as we are often in at night with our younger children, but it’s nice to be able to shut up the balcony doors and turn the AC on.

We had an absolutely delightful stay in Barcelona and wished we had booked for more than just the 3 nights. This city is amazing, this apartment is beautiful and Isobel could not have been more helpful.