It’s time for our first trip with our little traveller. The first destination was the wonderful city of Spain, Barcelona! The excitement was intense, as was the anxiety of the preparations (stressed mum here!), especially about where to stay. We wanted somewhere clean and quiet, but also close to the city’s points of interest. And we found it!
Casa Vaganto was the best choice we could have made and it lived up to our expectations more than adequately. From the moment we arrived, we knew that our stay with the baby would be pleasant and comfortable. In this article, we will try, in as detailed a way as possible, to mention why we chose Casa Vaganto over other accommodation choices in Barcelona and how it managed to win us over and make our experience special.
Information about the accommodation
Casa Vaganto is a small boutique hotel, in one of Barcelona’s liveliest neighborhoods and with excellent decor. It opened with the prospect of accommodating travellers looking for a nice and relaxing stay. The hospitality experienced by travellers is authentic, as if they were staying in the home of a family. We also learned that Casa Vaganto in Esperanto means, loosely translated, “the home for those who wander”.
Our experience, from the first moment we arrived, was a warm welcome and, more specifically, Maria from Buenos Aires welcomed us with a warm smile. By the time we settled into our room, she offered us coffee and tea and made us feel at home.
The building has the characteristics of the architectural style of Barcelona buildings from the 19th century. However, the hotel had been renovated recently, just before the Covid-19 tourism crisis began. This fact makes the hotel quite modern both in the decoration mentioned above and in the facilities we will discuss below.
Read our travel guide for Barcelona here.
Location
Casa Vaganto is located in the Poble Sec neighborhood, or as we knew it Paral-lel street, with tree-lined streets and buildings with the architecture of the city. Poble Sec has long been known as the area where there are lots of busy cafes, theatres and cabaret shows. The impressive theatre known today as El Molino, located directly opposite the hotel, was originally called Le Petit Moulin Rouge, after the famous Moulin Rouge in Paris.
Today, Poble Sec has emerged as one of the city’s best neighborhoods for entertainment, including great restaurants, nightlife and live performances in many of the theaters & concert halls located in the neighborhood, yet it manages to maintain a local atmosphere, untouched by the masses.
For your transfer from the airport to your room check here.
The Paral-lel metro stop is a 2-minute walk from the hotel, where the L2 and L3 lines pass by. The closest attraction, the Montjuïc cable car, is 1.1 km away, while Las Ramblas and many other points of interest are close by for pleasant strolls around the city.
In terms of our personal experience, it was a great convenience in how close the hotel is to the metro, and how pleasant our stroller rides were as we walked back in the evening. What won us over location-wise, however, was the tapas and pinchos bars that were around the hotel and the fact that the neighborhood is lively and at night has a beautiful and lively crowd.
Room
We loved the room we booked from the moment we opened the door and walked in. We had 1 large suitcase and 2 carry-on bags and also the baby stroller, so we wanted it to be spacious. So the room was big enough for what we wanted and we could move around comfortably.
Also, because we mentioned above that the hotel neighborhood is lively with plenty of nightlife, there was concern about the noise coming from the street. However, there was very good soundproofing in the windows and we were not bothered at all. Especially our little one at night was sleeping 8 to 9 hours straight! The pillows and mattress were also very comfortable and we got plenty of rest after our busy days in the city.
The room, like the rest of the hotel was very clean. There was great consistency in the cleaning and changing of bed linen. This for us was quite important as we wanted these measures to be adhered to because of the baby.
Facilities
Facilities at Casa Vaganto include fast and free Wi – Fi in all areas of the hotel and free water, coffee, tea and wine in the lounge as well as some snacks. The hotel provides guests with air-conditioned rooms with a wardrobe, a safe, a flat-screen TV and a private bathroom with a shower. At Casa Vaganto each room has bed linen and towels.
Airport transfers can be arranged on request with hotel staff. The hotel reception can also book various tours in the city, rent bicycles and make a reservation at a restaurant of your choice. Finally, they can give you lots of advice about Barcelona, its attractions and point you to the places of interest.
