Apartament Escaladei

The apartment was very nice, but we got a scolding phone call from the manager at 11:30 pm. We’d taken two keys from the key box, assuming both were for us, and she told us to hand one over to the guests in the other room. Each room really needs its own box and code.

We spent a week here and found the place really comfortable. It’s split into four apartments, in a peaceful mountain village with hiking routes all around. Cartoixa d'Escaladei is close by, and hikers can reach it on foot. The owners were friendly and explained everything clearly. We’d happily come back.

The apartment was clean and a decent size, with a comfortable bed and bedroom, a usable kitchen, bathroom, and heating. The host was also very attentive. But with people in the flat above or next door, getting a good rest was hard, even at ordinary hours. We could hear normal conversations, coughing and snoring, plus footsteps and small sounds from dishes, drawers, and cupboard doors. Chair scraping was especially loud, over 60dB. Some padding on chair legs and dampers on cupboards and drawers would help. The kitchen extractor was another problem. Ours made a very high, unpleasant noise, and the neighbors' faulty fan was loud enough to hear in our apartment too, over 40dB when running. Frying smells also came through the fan. There were some unpleasant odors in the bathroom as well. The surroundings suggest peace and quiet, but the poor sound insulation makes that hard to enjoy when the neighboring apartments are occupied. At €80/night, we consider this unacceptable.

The surroundings are beautiful, though the town itself is very, very small. Inside, the apartment looked nice, was clean, and had a comfortable bed. We didn’t cook, but it seemed to have what you’d need. We could hear everything from the neighbors, including their conversations and the doors whenever someone came or went. The refrigerator was noisy too. Right when we arrived, a piece of wood beside the door fell and cut my nose. Fortunately it was only a cut, but it could have been worse. We told the owner, who apologized and offered to bring supplies to treat it. She said she knew the piece was loose, but thought it had already been fixed. I think the apartment should be checked between stays so this kind of accident can be prevented.