AB Bailén Apartments

The apartment is a good size and the location is fine, but its condition was unacceptable. The rooms were dirty, the dishes hadn’t been cleaned properly, the sheets smelled like old vomit, and the shower was covered in fungus. The toilets hadn’t been cleaned before we arrived, and there were even blood stains in the lift. The lack of care with the decor was something I could have lived with, but the dirt was really upsetting. We booked it as Stay Bailén because the reviews were good, so this was a sad disappointment.

I gave it one star each for the location, quiet, and new decor, but I wouldn’t stay in the apartment again. The 2-bedroom place felt cheaply equipped, with too few things for normal living. It might be fine for a night or two, but not a longer stay, and at 200 Euro a night it didn’t live up to the lovely photos. The key pickup is at an office far from the apartment, where parking is difficult and you can’t have a taxi wait. They say there’s parking, but it’s on level -6 and extremely tight, with only four cars per floor and 90-degree turns between levels. I’m an experienced driver and managed it, but none of the other guests during my stay did. A BMW 1 series could fit, a BMW 3 would be difficult, and a BMW 5 was almost impossible. None of this parking information was available when booking.

We were in Barcelona at the end of July. On the evening of July 26, the apartment above us flooded. The accommodation handled it poorly: they couldn’t give us another apartment or even clean towels, and it ruined our evening. We got no compensation afterward. The organization was not client-friendly at all.

The apartments are in a characterful old Barcelona building, with updates that leave plenty of its original details intact. They add a lot of charm. The location is great, and I’d definitely recommend staying here.