Life Apartments Quintana

The dog fee caused a bit of a problem. The booking site hadn’t mentioned an extra charge, and no one told me beforehand, unlike other apartments I’ve booked. They initially wanted 50 euros for two nights, while we normally pay 10 euros a night. I spoke with Samara, who was lovely, and we agreed on a lower amount, though it was still above average. Not being told the price in advance made the stay less enjoyable. The apartment itself was quite nice, and the location was good, but it’s about a 15-minute walk to the city centre monument area, which is a hassle if you need to go back and forth. Driving there is awful because the streets are so narrow, and the car scraped the curb a few times. There’s no elevator, and our bed was on a mezzanine reached by uneven-height stairs that were tricky to climb. Fine if you’re agile, but something to bear in mind.

The receptionist made check-in incredibly easy, and the location is perfect. The bedroom was the awkward part. It’s on a mezzanine, too cramped to walk around, so you have to duck, and climbing up there isn’t easy.

We stayed for a week in early March 2018 at apartment 3200 Calle Quintana, one of four apartments in the building near the city centre. Chakir greeted us warmly and showed us around in excellent English and Spanish. The Cathedral is a 15-minute walk away. The kitchen is well supplied, the internet is fast enough, and the TV has over 20 channels, all in Spanish. The freezer/refrigerator felt too large, leaving us wishing for more counter space, and the beds were a little short. A DIA supermarket is only 100 meters away for everyday shopping, and nearby Alamaeda de Hercules has lovely terraces and good restaurants.

The location was perfect, but the apartment felt very cramped for four. There wasn’t a proper place to eat, since the TV sat in the middle of the table, and we didn’t have enough chairs. There were also very few dishes and utensils, and the shower didn’t work well.