The Angla Luxury Apartments

Virginia Woolf awakened a whole generation of women to the importance of a room of one’s own: how much better an apartment of one’s own! There is always something very special about your own apartment in the city – even if it is on a temporary basis! It seems to confer a special kind of relaxation and almost a feeling of ownership of the city that you never feel as a hotel guest, whatever the compensations of our more usual holiday haunts. For this particular birthday trip I was so pleased to be accompanied by my daughter and niece, as well as my husband, and I wanted to make the most of their company in a relaxed and informal homely setting. The Angla Apartments were perfect for our little party.

We arrived in the late afternoon and the concierge showed us around the apartment and how everything worked. She pointed out where the little shop around the corner was, so we could stock up on a few basics for breakfast, and told us to ring her if we needed anything. We didn’t! All we needed was there in the apartment, and waiting for us in the city outside.

The four of us could spread out in the living room / kitchen, on the settee and armchairs or around the dining table. Shelves, TV, good Wi-Fi and a fresh clean interior made us feel at home, but with that extra freedom that only being away from home can bring. We didn’t feel crowded at all, with me and my husband in the en-suite double bedroom, our daughter and niece sharing the twin room. They had their own bathroom which was a bonus: they could spend as long as they liked in there! They loved their room too; it was large with the beds arranged in an L-shape so they didn’t feel like children in a dormitory. We could have fitted in two more people, as the sofa in the sitting room extends into a double bed, but since we were only four, we enjoyed the peace and calm of having a spacious ‘home’ for the time being.

I loved the kitchen which really did seem like home from home with washing machine, dishwasher, cooker with integrated microwave, and all the equipment we could possibly want. Even if we had planned to stay in and cook it would have been fine, but the bistros and tapas bars of Barcelona were calling us and we didn’t feel the need to do much more in the kitchen than prepare a few snacks and enjoy a leisurely morning coffee, chat and breakfast.

The city of the great Gaudi was as delightful as ever and we went on excursions, sometimes as a foursome, sometimes with the two youngsters taking themselves off to fashionable bars and exclusive boutiques while my husband and I strolled our more leisurely but still light-hearted way around favourite old haunts like the Sagrada Familia (always!), and some new discoveries like some of the new galleries that are endlessly popping up, reinvented for a new generation in this fascinating city. I shall remember my family birthday party with affection. We intend to return to the Angla Apartments Consell for another dose of pure rejuvenation in a year’s time!