Emily W.

Villa Victoria (3rd floor, 2-level, 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms) Barcelona

If only the Villa Victoria apartment could raise the ceilings as it raised the spirits, it would have been the ideal place for our group. The space overall is chic, bright, tech-friendly, and well-located. The AC and washing machines work. (Go easy on fuse-blowing appliances.) There is one fine downstairs bedroom: quiet, queen sized bed, private, closets, small balcony. My husband and I got it, being hosts and taller people. The headaches, literally, were borne by family members. If your party is young, short, not romantically involved, barely snores, or has rubber heads, stop reading this and book it.

Otherwise, consider the following. (1) The ceiling height is a challenge. The lovely looking upstairs bedrooms come with door heights that are TOO low. Wall features protrude. Our 3 couples are all 40-something, average adult height below 5'10", so the screams and curses from on high took some getting used to for those of us on Floor 1. Beyond headache-inducing; we counted at least 2 mild concussions.

(2) The other four rooms aren't great for couples. At least the 2 upstairs rooms have queen sized beds, though the sliding room dividers allow no more privacy or intimacy than an Ikea show room. The minimal 4th and 5th bedrooms each have 2 single beds, air well window, no closet. One was downstairs, so no head-bonking. The other one is accessible via a little spiral crows nest staircase.

For a good-natured, well-fed group, this is tolerable for 4 nights, though other accommodations may provide better value for the money. Most likely, short-term head-banging does not cause brain damage. But we recommend a steady stream of friendly reminders ("DUCK, goddammit!") to aid the bag-toting, rushing-around, wine-drinking, half-asleep bathroom user. On the Rambla and in cathedrals, very nearby, bruises forgotten, the sky is the limit.