Barcelona Airbnb Unassuming Ground Floor Apartment

“How much did we pay for our Barcelona Airbnb again?” my cousin asked me while standing in front of a tiny white building with a metal door sans window. Implying that we might have gone for a too-cheap option.

Barcelona Airbnb Neighborhood

Standing in the middle of a back alley in the Catalonia neighbourhood, where even the taxi couldn’t come in, I was afraid he might be right. There was an Indian barbershop, a laundry mat, and a huge garage in the same alley.

Minutes later we managed to figure out the way to enter the door, walked passed a super long corridor and reached our so-called Barcelona Airbnb apartment on the ground floor.

Well, he was wrong!

Spanish Culture and Hospitality

We were greeted by an aesthetically decorated studio apartment. It has its own window at the back overlooking a tiny garden inside. There was a welcome gift of bottled wine and pastries. We finished immediately once we saw the note from the owner (to be consumed by the Airbnb tenant – us!).

Drunk, I started to observe to nook and cranny of our Barcelona Airbnb apartment. I loved the painting, the open space plan, and the bed.

There was one problem, though: no door in the bathroom. Who are these people who don’t keep a bathroom door in their house? I understand not locking your bathroom or even letting it open when you are alone. But even if you live alone, wouldn’t you want the option of closing your bathroom, say, when you have a visitor?

Saying that, it’s the best of our Europe Airbnb stay, second to Nice Airbnb, which remains my favourite thanks to the tiny balcony. I am a sucker for tiny balconies.

And to think about it, we did pay for our Barcelona Airbnb cheaper than the rest. Essentially, we did get an awesome deal, which is great. But my privileged ass also worried whether we were contributing to the gentrification of the neighbourhood?

I remember the story of our friends who saw a notice that read: “if you are Airbnb-ing this place, you are ruining our neighbourhood” in front of the apartment their Airbnb-ed in Tokyo, Japan.

I will not even pretend I have the solution for it. Especially as an Airbnb user with a limited budget, I will try to do more mindful of these things the next time I visit Europe.

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