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Review 3719: Owner, Rose Condo (#74164)

www.vrbo.com

Recommended.  Review by CMM from OR

2bed/2bath apartment in Girona, Catalonia

When

June 2008, One week

Location

The Rose Condo is located on the top floor of a small apartment building in the heart of Girona’s old town, very close to the river. We loved the area. Very lively, with lots of restaurants and shops, but not a lot of noise at night. There is no dedicated parking spot, but we never had trouble finding parking near the apartment.

Nearby Amenities

There are small grocery stores within a hundred meters or so, and larger ones within half a mile. Countless restaurants, bakeries and artisanal helado stands within easy walking distance.

The House/Apartment

The building is old but has been modernized and is in fine shape. There is a lift that functions perfectly. The building itself if very quiet, but it is quite close to the elevated RENFE train tracks. The train noise did not bother us in the least; to the contrary, our two boys derived endless pleasure in trying to figure out what types of trains were passing by and where they might be headed. The only other noise “issue” was from the myriad of church bells, which of course is to be expected when one stays in the old section of any European city.

Garden

There is a small balcony overlooking the river but no usable area outside the apartment itself.

Furnishings/Cleanliness/Living Areas

The furniture was in good shape and comfortable. The apartment was very clean and there was plenty of seating for all.

Bedrooms/Bathrooms

The double bed in the main bedroom upstairs was quite comfortable and the bedroom small but cozy and had drawers for our clothes. The smaller downstairs bedroom (with single bed) was also very nice, but we really didn’t use it much. Our two boys (6 and 8 years old) opted to share the futon in the loft above the living room. The main bathroom upstairs is modern and spacious and met all our needs; there is also a smaller one downstairs that was more than adequate.

Kitchen

The kitchen was small but well-appointed. It was fine for preparing simple meals in the evening. Plenty of dishes and glasses that were of good quality (IKEA, as I recall). We particularly appreciated the fully operational dishwasher.

Problems or Bonuses

Only good ones. The apartment and the location were even nicer than we expected. And we loved Girona and the surrounding area.

Agency and Representatives (and price)

We booked the apartment through homeaway.com, which is similar to VRBO. All of our contact was directly with the owner, Jack, who was pleasant, helpful, and extremely responsive. He has lived in Girona for many years and is a good source of local information.

The apartment was reasonably priced (under priced, really): we paid ?500 for the week. There was no cleaning fee or security deposit required.

Do you recommend this vacation rental to others?

We would absolutely stay here again. During our 14-week trip to Europe this summer, we stayed in 10 different vacation rentals. This was definitely one of the best, and Girona was one of our favorite locales.

Things to do in this area

The city of Girona is delightful–small enough to explore easily on foot, lots of historical sights, charming neighborhoods, and great restaurants and shops. But the best thing about it is its proximity to the wonderful towns on the Costa Brava. We particularly enjoyed Cadaques, L’Escala, Calella Palafrugel, and (across the French border) Collioure. And Port Bou, just below the French border, makes a delightful day trip on the train, if you don’t feel like driving.

With regard to restaurants, there is an embarassment of riches. We particularly like the Basque restaurant down the street and the Irish pub around the corner from it, which was very friendly and had excellent food as well. (Sorry, I can’t remember their names.)

This review is the opinion of a Slow Travel member and not of slowtrav.com.