Hotel Review: Barcelona – Feelathome Apartments 2
Myself and a couple of friends visited Barcelona for a long weekend in September this year. We decided to look for an apartment instead of a hotel, opting for the freedom to set our own meal times/ food and go self catering. There are plenty of apartments and hotels to choose from in Barcelona. Like any City it has its good and bad areas and we researched and asked advice before booking.
We decided on the Feelathome Apartments 2 in Mozart 7 in the Eixample area of Barcelona, after searching extensively through various accommodation only sites and suppliers.
Location:
The Apartments are situated in the Eixample area of Barcelone which is off the main tourist area and close to the Passeig De Grazia,
which then leads to Las Ramblas. The area was built in the 19th Century and bridges the old inner city and the previously surrounding villages of Barcelona. Eixample literally means ‘extension’ in Catalonian. It is an area of narrow streets aligned in strict grid patterns and vibrant squares edged by bustling coffee shops, tapas bars and pubs/bars.
Staying here it is probably best to make sure you are choosing wisely as some areas are less friendly and desirable than others. The apartment was situated not too far from the main street, so we didn’t feel too isolated and felt safe. Obviously staying in an apartment like this means that you don’t have the security of a doorman at the front of the hotel, but we wanted to experience Barcelona in this way. It is not on a main street and is in a residential area with narrow streets and can be dark at night so just make sure you have your wits about you if returning home late.
Apartment:
We opted for the apartment with a terrace so we could sit outside and eat breakfast. As opposed to a terrace It’s more like a brcked 
over garden which is overlooked by a lot of other apartments in the vicinity. However, there was a large umbrella over the table outside and we didn’t feel overlooked. This may be because the area is mainly residential so it’s not as noisy as a touristy area. The apartment was clean and airy, nicely decorated with mainly IKEA furniture. I’d describe it as modern and well-kept. It was relatively spacious as a two bedroon apartment although the second bedroom was advertised as a twin and really wasn’t big enough. We ended up using both bedrooms and the sofa bed instead for the three of us.
Value for Money
The apartment cost us less than a good hotel in the area but it wasn’t the cheapest one we found. We packaged our weekend ourselves using a no-frills flight and an accommodation only website as this was the cheapest option at the time. Before booking we didn’t realise that the weekend we picked was actually the weekend on the La Merce festival – a huge event in Barcelona which also means a bank holiday weekend. Therefore, this may have inflated the prices a bit. Worth seeing though!! We bought our own food etc and were happy with the amount of money spent. Barcelona is very expensive generally and you could spend a lot there if you wanted to, especially with some of the beautiful hotels on offer! We also chose to stay closer to the main city centre, whereas hotels by the beach would be cheaper as they are further away.
Apartment Rental Agency
The apartment was booked via an accommodation only website. I contacted the agency renting the apartment via email before departing to arrange to meet them there and get the keys. There was unfortunately a slight mix up with the keys their end so they let us in but we had to wait a couple of hours to get our own set of keys. I don’t think this is normal based on the way they reacted. We were welcomed in by Sergio who showed us around the aprtment and then sat with us and gave us extensive information on places to go and visit in Barcelona. He was invaluable to our visit to Barcelona, great resource! Other staff that we spoke to at the company were polite and helpful also. I would recommend them as a result.
Summary
Overall I’d recommend the Feelathome Apartments 2 in Barcelona, it was exactly right for us as a group of friends wanting to explore the city and see the sights in our own time on our own schedule. It may not suit everyone but it worked for us. Bear in mind the bedroom advertised as a twin is actually a bed with a pull out bed underneath it and the room doesn’t really have enough room to pull it out. We got on fine using the sofa bed though. I don’t think you caould have more than 5 people stay in the apartment as a result really, 2 couples and another person maximum? The terrace was a nice addition but not essential, considering you are likely to spend most of the day out. We mainly ate breakfast there or had a grink before going out. We had wonderful weather whilst staying there so this helped. All in all, Barcelona was a magical city and I’d love to return again some day.
If you’d like to stay here the apartments can be booked directly online here www.feelathomeinbarcelona.com or contact one of the travel advisors from holidayholiday.co.uk who will package a flight and accommodation for you.
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Thanks for posting, at least I got a heads-up before going to Barcelona!