We are a family of 5 traveling, and it is really difficult to find a hotel room for 3-4 people in Europe. After a ton of research, we decided to rent an apartment as it was more economical than 2 hotel rooms, plus gave us more space. We had a 3 bedroom, 3 full bath apartment with a full kitchen, for 230 Euros per night plus 80 euros cleaning fee. Most apartments have a cleaning fee if you stay less than a week. We wanted the boys to have their own space and not have to sleep in the living room, but could have easily found a 2 bedroom with a sofa/sleeper for less. Here is the link for the apartment we rented: http://negre.us/apartments/PSJ87/14/ The company was wonderful to deal with via email and very good about answering our questions. The photos on the website were exactly as the apartment appears, and it was VERY clean! They also had a washer and dryer as well as free Wi-Fi (which the boys loved!). Toilet paper, towels, and laundry detergent were all in the apartment, and the kitchen was fully stocked with dishes. The original tile mosaics throughout the apartment were absolutely beautiful! The view on the roof was absolutely amazing. There was a sitting area up there, and we did see other guests drinking wine and eating cheese and crackers at dusk.
We really liked the area we stayed as quite a few places were within walking distance and/or close to the train, and it wasn't too noisy. Construction was being done, but you couldn't hear it with the windows closed. We chose not to stay on Las Ramblas as it's very busy, crowded and noisy, as well as pricey. We read horrible stories about pickpockets in that area as well, but if you are aware of your surroundings and take precautions you should be fine. We definitely recommend negre us apartments in Barcelona and will not hesitate to use them again should we return to Barcelona. read more