The good:
- The location is amazing. Right in the middle of the l'Eixample district so within easy walking distance of the Gothic Quarter, Barceloneta, El Raval. There are also many restaurants and markets nearby. In addition, there is a metro station nearby, making the rest of the city easily accessible. However, because of the central location it is very noisy, but we knew this going in based upon research and reviews.
- The apartment is very spacious, especially for something so centrally located.
- The shower has great water pressure and plenty of warm water.
The bad:
- The apartment had a very strong cigarette smell despite being advertised as non-smoking.
- The apartment was infested with cockroaches.
- The bed and pillows are some of the worst we've ever slept on. The pillows felt like sleeping on cinder blocks and the bed was hard as a board.
- The property manager advertises as "A stay with us combines the privacy and comfort of your own home with the convenience and service of the finest hotels."
Do not expect service of the finest hotels. You will not get it. On the night we arrived, in addition to being overwhelmed by the smell of cigarette smoke, we immediately discovered that the bathroom sink would not drain. The next morning we contacted the property manager to let him know about the smell and broken sink. He said he'd send over his cleaning person that day to freshen up the apartment, but didn't acknowledge fixing the sink. His cleaning person did not show up until a day later, after we had to contact him again. Our second night we discovered the cockroaches in the bathroom. We immediately notified the property manager, to which the response was to send someone over to place some traps. We were there for 4 nights and no one ever came over to place the traps nor fix the bathroom sink. We eventually left the apartment and found a different place. Based upon our experience, I would not recommend booking any properties with "The Collection Barcelona".
