Bonavista Apartments - Virreina

The apartment is in Gracia, with cafes, restaurants and shops nearby, and public transport is easy to reach. It was well equipped and seemed recently renovated. But the sofa bed mattress was so thin and uncomfortable that I could feel the metal frame underneath. The worst part was finding bedbugs. We contacted management and asked them to inspect the place and replace all the sheets. At first they seemed concerned and asked for photos, which we didn't have at the time, but said they'd inspect anyway. Later that day they said they found no sign of bedbugs, though they'd change the sheets as a precaution. When we got back, the beds were made but the sheets were still on. We found a dead bedbug and blood stains on them. That night I checked the sofa bed after going to the bathroom and found live bugs there too. I was disgusted and furious, so I sent a detailed email with photos and videos. They didn't reply. When I told them at checkout that the email had gone unanswered and said I was disappointed by the lack of service and empathy, they eventually sent a non-apology, saying the email had conveniently gone to spam. In our dealings, the management company tried to sound polite but never took responsibility. They said the apartments supposedly get regular pest treatments and use bedbug-proof linens. One staff member said they'd never had bedbugs; a more senior person said there had been three cases and guests had brought them in their luggage, effectively blaming us. Needless to say, we're not coming back.

We had two rooms booked for our family of eight. Somehow the key machine gave us one key for the wrong room. We didn't know it was the wrong one, left our things there and went to dinner. When we returned, Victor, who was in charge of check-in, confronted us in the lobby, in front of the other family. He said we'd deliberately entered the wrong room, denied that the machine had malfunctioned and blamed us, but couldn't explain how we'd have done that or known our reservation was for another room. He said he couldn't reach us for less than an hour, so he'd taken all our things out and thrown them into the hallway, forcing us out. We found our open luggage there, with passports, wallets, phones and chargers among it. My grandfather's heart-rate monitor and respiratory aid had been opened and tossed there too. My grandpa had to struggle to gather the loose cables and put them back in the case. We tried to explain that we'd stayed there before, liked the place, had no reason to enter anyone else's room and were fine moving to a different one. It was a misunderstanding, but Victor wouldn't discuss it and said he wouldn't waste his time. He spoke to us violently, laughed at our explanation and told us it was all our fault. When my mom asked why he was treating us like thieves, he called us thieves. He also told the other clients that we'd deliberately entered their room, making it sound like we meant to rob them. Changing rooms was never the issue. The way we were treated over a mistake that wasn't ours was humiliating, hurtful, insulting and dangerous. We've never had an Airbnb or hotel experience with anyone so rude and violent. We'd stayed before without problems and had always been good hosts. We'll never return, and we'll be filing an official complaint.

We were contacted right after placing the online order to ask when we'd arrive and whether there were any restrictions. Then, about a week before the vacation, they got in touch again so we could check in ahead of time and have the place ready when we arrived. The process was quick and simple, and the check-in instructions were clear, with videos included to make it easier. The apartment was clean when we arrived, with everything accessible and welcoming. We're very satisfied so far. The location is excellent, with a supermarket across the street and plenty of restaurants and bakeries nearby.

We made a last-minute booking, and when we got there the apartment smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. I called to cancel, and they told us to go up to the fourth floor where someone would meet us. We waited 15 minutes. The person finally showed us another apartment, much older and shabbier than the website photos. We said we didn't like it and wouldn't stay. He said that was fine, but we'd have to pay for the first night. When I refused, he got angry and accused me of thinking I could just turn up, dislike the apartment and not pay. After a while he said he didn't want to waste his precious time on me and got into the elevator. We waited a few minutes for the lift, but it didn't come. On the stairs we saw that he'd blocked it with his scooter, making us carry the bags up the stairs. Great customer service. Keep it up!