Apartments in Barcelona

[Iamthesea]

Why would we NOT stay in an apartment in Barcelona when we can get a nice upscale unit, staying three nights, for the price of one night in a hotel?

Has anyone else stayed in an apartment in Barcelona, specifically the
Zones of Barrio Gotico or Plaza Cataluña/Paseo de Gracia or where would you stay?

[CyberTag]

Originally Posted by Iamthesea

Why would we NOT stay in an apartment in Barcelona when we can get a nice upscale unit, staying three nights, for the price of one night in a hotel?

Has anyone else stayed in an apartment in Barcelona, specifically the
Zones of Barrio Gotico or Plaza Cataluña/Paseo de Gracia or where would you stay?

We are a family of 5 and staying in an apartment next month. I will let you know how it goes.

[Iamthesea]

Great! Do you mind sharing who you booked with and in what area you booked? We would like to go ahead and book, but would still like to hear of your experience when you return.

[CyberTag]

Originally Posted by Iamthesea

Great! Do you mind sharing who you booked with and in what area you booked? We would like to go ahead and book, but would still like to hear of your experience when you return.

We did a ton of research and booked through vrbo.com.

3BR/3BA with Pink Suite & Views from Balcony
Eixample, Barcelona Vacation Rental by Owner Listing 296425

The property owner was very responsive to emails and questions. We didn't want to stay in Las Ramblas and this area got good reviews and is centrally located.

[Iamthesea]

Very nice! I think you will be happy there.

I have been looking at another company that was recommended on the forum, Friendlyrentals.com. It was also suggested if you are only staying two nights in Barcelona (as we are post cruise) and the apartments will only rent for 3 nights, that you book for the day before your arrival and let the proprietor know you will not be using that first night. That way, once off the ship, you can go straight to the apartment instead of having to wait until 4:00 check-in. I thought that an ingenious idea! It's still less than booking a hotel for two nights. I just cannot get over the good pricing of renting an apartment.

We also do not want to be too near La Rambla. Your apartment is in the Cataluna area, correct? I have found a few in that are, but the apartments that I really like are in the Barrio Gotico (Gothic Quarter.) I can't decide!

I do need to go back and look to see if there is a cleaning fee. I noticed that in your listing.

[CyberTag]

Originally Posted by Iamthesea

Very nice! I think you will be happy there.

I have been looking at another company that was recommended on the forum, Friendlyrentals.com. It was also suggested if you are only staying two nights in Barcelona (as we are post cruise) and the apartments will only rent for 3 nights, that you book for the day before your arrival and let the proprietor know you will not be using that first night. That way, once off the ship, you can go straight to the apartment instead of having to wait until 4:00 check-in. I thought that an ingenious idea! It's still less than booking a hotel for two nights. I just cannot get over the good pricing of renting an apartment.

We also do not want to be too near La Rambla. Your apartment is in the Cataluna area, correct? I have found a few in that are, but the apartments that I really like are in the Barrio Gotico (Gothic Quarter.) I can't decide!

I do need to go back and look to see if there is a cleaning fee. I noticed that in your listing.

All of the places we considered had a cleaning fee for stays under a week. Check the reviews on tripadvisor.com with any company before you rent. I found one company, and I can't recall which one it was since we read about so many, but it had horrible reviews from many guests. Not all the apartments require a 3day rental. Some will also allow you to pay a fee if you want to check in early, which sounds like it will work for you. Our flight arrives at 9 am, and we didn't want to pay an early check in fee, so the apartment manager said we can leave our luggage in the office if the apartment isn't ready yet.

Also, don't get set on one place. We found one we absolutely loved, and when we inquired about it, it was already rented for our dates. Hope these suggestions help.

[Iamthesea]

OK, after reading some reviews of apartment rentals, I am not so hip on this idea anymore. Did you know you have to provided your own toilet paper, or at lease end up having to buy more when you run out? I shouldn't be surprised as it is just like any other rental type place like a vacation home at the beach.

Friendly Rentals does include the cleaning in their total, however, I was a little leery of a review that I read where the guess return home after their trip and found their credit card had been charge something like 125E for a stained bath towel. I don't need those type of headaches.

[sing]

Originally Posted by Iamthesea

OK, after reading some reviews of apartment rentals, I am not so hip on this idea anymore. Did you know you have to provided your own toilet paper, or at lease end up having to buy more when you run out? I shouldn't be surprised as it is just like any other rental type place like a vacation home at the beach.

That's certainly not the case (providing own toilet paper) in the apartment we stayed in. We booked Painted in White, the same apartment block suggested by CyberTag, in Eixample.

The owner and the apartment manager were very pleasant and helpful. Well-equipped apartment, with built-in safe in the apartment, easy access to shops and the metro, very spacious, and full of character! We were there for 3 days in April 2012 and were very glad we stayed there instead of a hotel.

And in our case we dealt directly with the owner and not a rental agent.

[Iamthesea]

I'll have to look into them more closely. How far is Eixample from La Rambla, Gothic Quarter and Cataluna?

[sing]

It's a 3-min walk to the closest metro, and all the places you mentioned are a few stops away - although some will involve a change of metro lines. Sagrada Familia is a 10-min walk away.

[Iamthesea]

Thank you. I did some more research on VRBO for studio or one bedroom, managed by owner. Of the apartments available for my dates, none look too enticing. I'll search some more today.

Anyone else have suggestions on apartments or B&B's in Barcelona?

[scottbee]

We stayed in a B&B very close to the Columbus monument at the foot of La Rambla. Price was much cheaper than a hotel, included free WiFi and Breakfast (which was wonderful). On cruise day, it was a three block walk to the monument to catch the Blue port bus (€2)

[Iamthesea]

Thanks, scottbee. I went to Tripadvisor and found a B&B that we feel comfortable with. It is in the city center. Since this stay would be post cruise, we wanted to get away from the port area. Pre-cruise, we have booked a bit closer to the port.

[Iamthesea]

DH did not like the B&B, so we are back to square one.

Any more opinions on renting apartments, specifically with Friendly Rentals?

[saddixie]

Have you tried airbnb?

I have booked an apartment in October. I am well impressed by my dealings (with the owner) so far. The write ups for the apartment are terrific and I wanted to experience a bit more "away from home" than a hotel for the three days before my cruise.

I havent actually had this experience yet so can only comment on my booking experience and the reviews

Regards

[Iamthesea]

Shirley - Do you have a link for this place? You will be sailing out the day after we return to Barcelona from our cruise.

[Iamthesea]

Nevermind. I found it doing a Google. So far, I don't see anything that would work, though. Appears that all these apartments are shared with the owner. We prefer to have an apartment to ourselves.

[Lissete]

We stayed in Valencia D in the Eixample via BCN Negre last year. We had. Very good experience and everything went smoothly. Like with all apartment rentals anywhere, you get a starter supply of toilet paper and paper towels. If you run out, then you just buy some more. No biggie. We didn't run out during our 4 days there.

This year we wanted to stay in Barri Gotic and have booked With Oh-Barcelona. So far, so good. Communication has been great and questions are answered quickly. We won't be there til October, so I can't comment about the actual stay.

We have rented apts in Paris as well. All apts that we have rented in Europe only supply you with one bath towel, one hand towel and one wash cloth per person. Just an FYI.

[CyberTag]

Originally Posted by Lissete

We stayed in Valencia D in the Eixample via BCN Negre last year. We had. Very good experience and everything went smoothly. Like with all apartment rentals anywhere, you get a starter supply of toilet paper and paper towels. If you run out, then you just buy some more. No biggie. We didn't run out during our 4 days there. .

This is the same company who runs the apartment we are renting for our upcoming stay. We originally found it through vrbo but they directed us to their site when we wanted to read reviews and see additional photos.

[saddixie]

Originally Posted by Iamthesea

Nevermind. I found it doing a Google. So far, I don't see anything that would work, though. Appears that all these apartments are shared with the owner. We prefer to have an apartment to ourselves.

Iamthesea - gobsmacked! just done a search for you on airbnb and found 1397 apartments in Barcelona for your dates which are for the entire apartment (i.e not shared with the owner) - no kidding!!. There are search parameters on the right hand side which allow you to narrow your search (price, district etc)

I am not so sure how to get the link to you as know we are not allowed to advertise here (I have no connections with airbnb just excited about the fab apartment I have booked)