Upon the suggestion of good friends and seasoned travelers Betsy Uhrman & Joel Snyder and Izzy Gordan & Abby Uhrman I scoped out digs in Barcelona using TripAdvisor.com. Jackpot! Through this site I was able to search the city by setting parameters for price, neighborhood, type (hotel, B & B, etc.) and quality of previous reviews.
After some search the grand winner was a B & B type of guesthouse called Casa de Billy. I was a bit nervous, but it matched all my criteria and so I booked three nights about 10 days before depart
ure. I am relieved to share that it is wonderful. Located on one of the main boulevards, Gran Via de los Corts Catalanes, the location is convenient and has the warmth of a private home. When I arrived to the building I immediately knew I had made a good choice, and my family will appreciate this, as the elevator was pretty cool in an antique sort of way. It is a little glass box with manual doors, and housed in a cage-like shoot.The proprietor and his assistant greeted me and and after a short tour immediately offered me tea, coffee, water and fresh tangerines (another good sign). Casa de Billy is actual two separate apartments in the same building, and I was housed in the main one on the fourth floor. My room has a double bed with very comfy bedding, and while not large, is certainly not as tiny as I feared. There are two bathrooms for those of us that share, and a kitchen stocked with some basic ingredients and cooking utensils. Later that night I dropped by a market to pick up some breakfast items - so convenient. In the morning they serve a
continental breakfast of croissants, coffee, tea, juice and tangerines at a table nicely set. Guests come and go at their own pace, and everyone is given a set of keys to the building, apartment and their bedroom. To top it all off, wi-fi is complimentary.Billy and his assistant are gracious hosts. They have been more than willing to give me advice on touring Barcelona and traveling to other cities around Spain. So far the other people I've met seem nice too - two young women "on holiday" from London, a British gentleman who teaches education in NY and a Turkish guy (don't know anything about him due to a language barrier.
Want to see more photos? Click here.
Adios,
Zach
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