After winning an apartment stay in the GoWithOh Summer competition, I was delighted to finally be planning a second trip to Spain, this time taking Mo with me. When I visited Barcelona with the family, I knew I would have to return with the hubby to show him just how amazing this city is.
We stayed in a Go with Oh apartment last year and I was excited to use them again as we had a really good experience the first time round.
Emails went back and forth between Tiago and I, sending him details of apartments I was considering, only for him to come back with one not on my list. He had taken into consideration what we were planning to do and recommended a place that would be better for us location wise.
He was of course, spot on (should never underestimate the power of local knowledge!).
Our apartment in the L’Eixample (pronounced L’Eshample I believe) area is the ideal place to stay if you’re planning on doing a whole heap of sight seeing, just as we were. Mo and I managed to walk near enough everywhere and if walking isn’t your thing, don’t worry, as the metro stop Urquinaona is three minutes from the apartment.
With me being in and out of hospital the weeks leading up to us going away, I completely forgot to email the apartment owner to request an early check in. It was only once we’d landed at BCN early Wednesday, that I realised the confirmation said to meet at 4:00 pm!
I took a chance and rang the owner to see if we could somehow arrange to meet earlier and thankfully he offered to come there and then for us, saving Mo and I an afternoon of dragging our luggage around. Between my little Spanish and his little English we exchanged some laughs as he showed us round what would be our home for the next five days.
Spacious, lovely balcony, comfortable bed and eating area, the apartment was everything it said on the tin.
I particularly loved the collection of books left on the dresser. Books on Barcelona history, Gaudi, Dali, guide books – in various different languages… lots of interesting reads to relax with after a day out. Plus, the top drawer housed a handy collection of maps and other tourist goodies.
One thing we struggled with in our last location by the Sagrada Familia, was finding nearby restaurants at night to grab a quick dinner. We had no such problem here (the only thing we struggled with was making the decision on where!). Just a ten minute walk heading towards Passaig del Born, there is an abundance of restaurants all open till late in the night.
This apartment is also ideally located for any Muslim travellers – we found a great halal café, Annur Halal, that was perfect for snacks, practically round the corner. If you’re craving a full on halal dinner, then take off on a ten minute walk the other way towards Vila de Gracia and you’ll find all sorts of halal gems dotted around (full post on finding halal food in Barcelona up next week!).
From all the apartment websites I’ve used, I’ve always found Go With Oh the most useful and the quickest to deal with, their response times are great. All the staff are super friendly and always happy to help.
We may not have chosen the most luxurious apartment this time round, but Mo and I both agreed we would pick this one when we return as we really couldn’t ask for a more accessible place to stay.
Looking forward to a potential third visit… 2016??
