Apartment in Barcelona

Jodi, my wife & I will be spending Christmas in Barcelona. We have rented an apartment in the El Born area through the Habitat apartment rentals.

habitatapartments.com. I will let you know how things turned out upon our return.

We rented an apartment from this agency last February and were very impressed with the apartment and the service. It was a bit more expensive than we would usually pay but well worth it.

http://www.destinationbcn.com/

When we rent in Europew we always use VRBO.com, and Homeidays.com. We used both of these agencies for rentals in Portugal two years ago, and were very satisfied with their selections.

Whatever you do, pick a place that has many reviews from satisfied customers. Google map the apt address, and turn on the "street view" to get a good look at the neighborhood. If it is on a main street it could be noisy.

And make sure you understnd what floor it is on! Many places do not have elevators. The "first floor" in the EU is actually the second.

And ask questions about the heat. One of our December Portugese apts never did warm up to our standards!

I think Steve means homelidays.com . We've used that one with excellent results.

Some friends of mine who live in Barcelona have recently redone an apartment that they are now renting. It is absolutely beautiful! You can learn more about it on threecactus.com. It is in the Les Cortes area which is a very safe, quiet neighborhood. The Ramblas area can easily be reached by Metro which is very convenient to the apartment. I can personally vouch for the character of the people who own the apartment and can tell you that they are honest and would be easy to deal with in a rental. They speak excellent English which would make things go smoothly. Give it a look and see what you think.