First, I would like to say that I loved our week long stay in Barcelona. We had a great time and in no small part due to the location of which we were staying. Arc de Teatre (we stayed in 2b) is 100 steps from La Rambla next to to Teatre Principal. The cab driver might have a hard time finding it as you must walk the 100 steps. I must say that the alley is not pleasant. I smells of bum urine and dog $h!t, though they do clean it daily. The apartments are directly above "The Moog" a nightclub that I never went to but have seen it ranked well in guide books. The "ear plugs" comment listed is not entirely accurate now as Barcelona has passed new noise laws aimed at stopping party noise from waking sleeping residents. The small paper sign from the Moog asking people to be quiet did little good, but the policeman stationed near the door did an excellent job. The only time I could hear them at all was when the bar closed -around 5 or 6 in the morning. I was so tired, I slept through it and barely noticed.

It was excellent to have a small kitchen and La Boqueria just down the street. We ate breakfast in every day and had lots of snacks and cold drinks -with all the ICE you wanted, such a treat in Europe. I swear they don't believe in ice. My only complaint on the kitchen was the cook top would not get hot enough to boil water, just below boiling point. The perfect temp to poach an egg.

The TV had 4 or so channels in English. No news programs. One of them was a kid channel and one was a music channel and one seemed to play CSI type shows all the time -but still it was nice to relax late at night watching tv just before bed. The "couch" in 2b was a love seat, not a couch. Ok for two people. The coffee table had a broken leg that they tried to fix with duct tape. It was so bothersome, I swapped it with the roll away single cot / ottoman in the bedroom. That was much more comfortable and useful. The bathroom was ok. Small but not overly small by European standards. It was great to have a clothes washer (after an 11 day cruise I need to was a lot of items). The machine itself looked like it had a dryer function but the dryer did not work. We were provided with a drying rack -glad I did the laundry a few days before we left, so it had time to dry. The bed was a queen with adequate pillow and mattress. I liked the quilt or duvet they provided. Little night stands, a dresser and wardrobe was plenty of storage space. The wardrobe had a safe, but no key. Thankfully, nothing came up missing during our stay.

The lady who checked us in was very nice, though she did not speak English.
The internet worked when we got there for all of 10 minutes, then it did not work again during our entire week stay. I called the office for assistance, they assured me it would be fixed and it was not, which totally sucked because that volcano in Iceland exploded (again) and I really need to check on how that would affect my flight. No email. No social networking. No internet bugged me -but oh well. Vacation is for disconnecting from your normal life and immursing yourself in the local culture.

The elevator worked fine, though only big enough for two or one and luggage. The single worse thing about the 2b apartment is the view, perhaps the single worse view I have ever had in my entire life. It was two vacant, boarded buildings with an empty, trash strewn lot between -with a squatters camp. Yes, that's right 3-4 homeless dudes sleeping on mattresses and smoking crack. Not kidding. Like I said before, you get what you pay for. I paid 70 euro a night to be ON La Rambla, so I'll take it and stay there again if ever in Barcelona. I peeked at the 2a side, it was much nicers, with a full balcony. 2b had a whatever you call it when the balcony is only 10 inches deep.

For eating, I would not eat on the actual street of La Rambla. They are nothing but con artists and rip offs. Go off the main street, if only a bit for much better deals. I recommend Taller de Tapas in Plaza del Pi and Les Quince Nits which is a plaza basically across the street from Arc de Teatre. The street lamps in the plaza were Gaudi's first job from the city of Barcelona. Don't go to Les Quince Nits past 7, as they always have a long line.

as it's located next to a night club street noise is really loud from 3am, it's like the revellers are in you're room! Perfect if you are a clubber, avoid if you're not!

I booked through www.apartmentinbarcelona.net in ARC de Teatre 5, by The end of November this year and also Februay this year 2009. Both times, this company was extrememily nice, fast, and easy to work with. Both times I was in Arc Building, (they manage other 7 buildings in Barcelona) but since I wanted to be in Ramblas and near beach, I booked in here. 1st time I booked B apartments which is street face, and maybe it was a bit noiser than A apartment (in backyard site) and very calm and quiet. Like in any other streets city centre can be sometimes noisy, but as I mentioned just take A apartment next time and shouldbe fine. This agency is managing the building from Beguining of 2008. I really recomend booking with them and most important tell them what you need and expect and they will find the most suitable plac for you. Erika. Finland.

I rented an apartment at Arc del Teatre 5 through apartmentinbarcelona.net, a rental site recommended by Sarah Wildman of the New York Times. The relationship between "Rege Apart" apartments and apartmentinbarcelona.net, if any, is unclear -- I'm not sure if they are actually separate companies that own separate units in the same building.

First, the positives: I had no problems with the apartmentinbarcelona.net people. They were responsive to all of my initial questions, payment was problem-free, etc. The apartment itself was small but clean. The bed was comfortable, and the apartment had a washing machine which I used and really appreciated. Although I stayed there by myself, the apartment (#1B) could easily house 2-3 people. At 70 euros/night, the place wasn't overly expensive for 1 person, but would have been quite inexpensive for 2 or more people.

However, the negatives easily outweighed the positives. By far the biggest problem is the noise level at night. The building is located above a dance club and the sound insulation is extremely poor. I kept the windows completely shut, but the crowd outside was so loud, and the sound insulation was so inadequate, that it literally felt as if I were sleeping directly out on the street. Fortunately I'd brought some earplugs along -- otherwise it would have been impossible for me to fall asleep at all.

Second, the location gets rather dodgy after dark. The building is located on a dirty, narrow side street just off of the south end of Las Ramblas. While I personally never felt threatened going to and from the apartment, the surroundings would definitely make some travellers uncomfortable -- quite a few prostitutes populate the area later at night (2 am). I also heard some reports of drug dealers (and users) in the area as well, but can't verify that firsthand.

Third, the furnishings are pretty cheap -- you get what you pay for. When I tried to open the curtains, they almost fell down off of their moorings, which were not securely fastened to the wall. The oven unit in the kitchen had an exterior piece that was falling apart. Maintenance could definitely use some upgrades.

Overall, I would not recommend this place and location. Seek out a much quieter apartment in a better neighborhood. (Iin my opinion, Las Ramblas is not a great location to visit anyway -- but that's a different subject.)