Advice re another Barcelona Apartment please
 

Hi all,
could anyone familiar with Barcelona please comment on the location of the following apartment I am considering next year. Would like to experience Barcelona 'the city' but not too noisy!
http://www.friendlyrentals.com/en/ap...ment-437-1.htm

Thank you!

It is in an ok metro area toward Guell Park far away

from the Port and Las Ramblas....

www.barecelona30.com will have better things at cheaper price

points... Usually get my best deals on Hotels near the

port on on Las Ramblas... www.betterbidding.com www.otel.com

Lastly if budget

centricpointhostel.com

eurocheapo.com/barcelona

great tips with a nice map...

many apartment scammers always pay with CC NEVER wire $$

and insuremytrip.com... personally for a prolonged stay

do a hotel for a night or 2 always GET BEST DEALS boots

on the gound...

Good Luck!

Hi
The apt. Is a bit too far from the very center of Barcelona
Placa de Cataluny

I would keep looking .

The location is in a residential area of Eixample.
Nothing fancy, nothing ugly. Typical Eixample pattern of streets, but with fewer historic buildings.

No sights but Sagrada Familia in walking distance.

Groceries, restaurants, cafe are always nearby or at next intersection.

Metro stops too far away IMO, esp. if you want/need to come back to the apartment during mid-day.

But very well connected by bus:
4 direct lines to
- Pl. Catalunya,
- Via Laietana/ Born district/ Barri Gotic,
- the Old Harbor & Barceloneta beach
- Upper Passeig de Gràcia with its upscale shops

But it takes longer to go by bus than metro, so expect a 15min bus ride to Pl. Catalunya or 20min ride to the harbor.

Simply stated, I actually reviewed Las Terrazas in searching for apartments before our trip and rejected the location out of hand.

As the others have said, it's a bloody long hike to anything of interest to tourists other than the Sagrada Familia cathedral. It's far from Barceloneta, Port Vell, the Born district and the Barri Gotic. It's across the city from Montjuic, Placa Espana (from which the trains to Montserrat depart) and much of the Raval. And it is not convenient to Placa Catalunya, which is the hub of the city.

Traveling a congested city like Barcelona by bus just sucks.

At worst, if you like Eixample, stay closer to the Passeig de Gracia in an area boxed by Diagonal, Catalunya, Urquinaona and Verdaguer metro stations.

We stayed with Barcelonastuff.com rentals (Portal de Angel apartment building) in a side street in the Barri Gotic three blocks from La Rambla and it was mouse-like in its quiet - very good considering we have two small hobbits. I recommend Barcelona Stuff - they only require a 20% downpayment, meet you in person, and all payments are credit card including the deposit (I did not trust a refundable cash deposit requirement that so many rental agencies mandated and I had no desire to receive a wad of Euros on my last day in the Eurozone).

Take a look at Habitat .
Used them several times, other did too.

http://www.habitatapartments.com/apartamentos-barcelona

Or more upscale
http://www.destinationbcn.com/

Thanks for the replies. danon, I have also looked at habitat (liked this one because it had large terraces and seemed good value for money - perhaps because of the location?)
BigRuss, hadn't seen Barcelonastuff at all - thanks for that tip, they look interesting.

I stayed in appartment of Easysleep Sagrada Familia
http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/apar...ia-159.en.html

Large apartment, full equipped kiychen, free internet, quiet location, close to metro station.

I was in Barcelona two weeks ago ..took the bus a few times,
as BR said, it can be slow.
Barcelona is surprisingly big city - the location does matter.

I don't like Rambla or lower Barri Gotic.

bookmarking

I think that area is Gracia, not Eixample. It's fine if you are looking to be away from the heavy tourist zones. There would be plenty of local cafes etc. around.

Here's a compromise: http://tinyurl.com/3mnydsg

We stayed in this building last fall; nice meld of old and modern, tables on the rooftop, good Metro connections. There are several similar apartments in this building. Owner takes credit cards and did not require a security deposit.

ozgirl, not sure what rate your apt is asking for, but we just returned from a 6-night stay at a 3BR/2BA apt in Barcelona. It sleeps 5. We paide 130 euro/night. It's about a 10 to 15 min walk to Casa Mila; 5 min walk to the closest metro. But we actually ended up using the bus quite a lot. We prefer the bus b/c it is more interesting than the metro. This is where we stayed:
http://www.habitatapartments.com/en/...view/ninot.htm

Thanks everyone for comments thus far. yk I had looked at the ninot apartment actually and thought it looked nice - hopefully the hot water issue is rectified?

Hi ozgirl,

I suggest you inquire about the hot water problem w/Habitat before you book. I hope they have fixed it by now, but it wasn't resolved by the time we left a week ago. The apt is very nice - as nice as the photos.

destinationbcn apartments are great !

when I tried to open ozgirl's first link for an apartment, I got hit by a terrible malware virus, that did my computer in. Did this happen to anyone else?

Ita, sorry to hear that! I had no problems, not sure of the significance of that?

it happened when I tried to open the Friendly Apartment website-probably it was just a coincidence

Just found WayToStay with lots of options - does anyone have any experience with this company in particular, I can't find much on Fodors?
Which 'neighbourhood' from their list do you suggest I concentrate on please?
http://www.waytostay.com/Barcelona-a...nts-en-52.html

That depends on what kind of neighborhood you like.

Barri Gotic and Born for the "medieval" maze of the old town.
If apartment faces the very narrow, usually car-free streets, do not underestimate the amount of noise coming up from the street.

Barceloneta apartments are usually right near the city beaches. Walk to old town in 15minutes or rely on one of the many bus lines. Apartments in that area are usually small.

Eixample Dreta or Esquerra for the typical checkboard-style pattern of the old town's extension.
Yet, both names for neighborhoods cover a huge area, so keep an eye on the actual location. Distance from Pl. Catalunya and Passeig de Gracia can serve as a quick denominator for central locations.

Raval seems to be more the favorite of a younger hipster clientele. Other folks think it's a bit scary and dark (or, in a more positive way, not as overrun as Barri Gotic or Born). The lower part of Raval, more or less what is between metro Liceu and the harbor still is a mixed bag, though. I would not stay there on a first trip. Same for staying directly on the Rambles. Just a bit too crowded for my taste.

Poble Sec and its thoroughfare Av. Paral.lel are not my favorites. It's Barcelona's "Broadway" with many theaters though.

Carmel, Les Corts, Poble Nou, Sants, Sarria/ Sant-Gervasi, Tibidabo, Vila Olimpica would be too far away from the city center for the average's tourists taste. Nevertheless, you can often save a LOT of money compared to the fashionable districts. If a place is near a metro station, the average "commute" to Pl. Catalunya usually does not exceed 15-20 minutes.

If you go during summer, the "Zona Alta" districts of Sarria/ Sant-Gervasi, Pedralbes, or whatever is named "Tibidabo" can be an interesting alternative as you can find very "green" properties sometimes also with pools. It's a very different feeling to "live" up the hill while the city is sizzling below you. Yet again, nothing for people who love to "walk everywhere".