“We had a thoroughly enjoyable stay at Erica and Davide's flat. The flat is in a modern, secure complex on the ground floor of one of the blocks. There is underground car parking, a pool and gym for communal use. The flat is very clean, spacious and comfortable. There is a private, outdoor garden area that wraps around three sides of the flat with a secure wall and thick hedge for privacy. This is great for children and eating outdoors. Alella itself is a quiet, well-heeled town with vineyards and mountains to the north and the sea just a couple of kms to the south. Davide and Erica were helpful, friendly and communicative. There is also a friendly woman - Cristina - working out of a local estate agent who helps with check-in and any queries you may have. We highly recommend this home swap as a place to visit both Barcelona and the beautiful Costa Meresme. Top tip: skip the car hire and use the efficient trains that link Barcelona with the coast, it'll be cheaper in the end (remember fuel, road tolls and parking charges), less stressful than driving and better for the environment.”
Beautiful, Sunny Flat in the Vineyards by the Sea
Beautiful, Sunny Flat in the Vineyards by the Sea

Erica
Joined
Mar 2018
Last login
This month
Response rate
OK
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- 3 Bedrooms
- Sleeps 6
- 2 Bathrooms
About our home
Please make sure to review our swap terms below!
Our beautiful, sophisticated yet family (and pet!) friendly apartment was built just last year. Part of a luxury complex with a communal swimming pool (with spectacular sunset views of the Barcelona-area hills), the house is fully-equipped and very pleasant. Three sides of the house open directly onto our private backyard. Everything is on one level, so the house is easy to navigate and manage. We have recommendations for things to do in the area (naturally, going to different beautiful sea spots along Maresme and Costa Brava, horseback riding, hiking, city excursions - there is a direct bus to Barcelona city center which gets you there in 20 minutes!). As we are both expats and work from home our internet is fast and secure and we also have recommendations for babysitters and include a light cleaning a couple of times a week (no dishes or laundry, pending housekeeper's availability).
We have three kids under 6 so there are plenty of extra cribs, high chairs and other kinds of baby/kid-related accessories.
Please note that we provide swappers the same level of attention that we provide traditional paying guests and we have the same terms:
- a 150 EUR contribution towards the cleaning/sheet preparation and check-in must be paid in cash at the time of check-in
- the house needs to be returned in the condition in which it was delivered
- we need to be informed of the total number of guests and any pets at the time of reservation
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
Thanks,
Erica
Features
- Main home
- Garden
- Pool
- Cleaner
- Wifi
- Gym
- Air conditioning
- Equipped for kids
- Wheelchair friendly
- Car optional
- No smoking
- Central heating
- Dish washer
- Washing machine
- Dryer
- Parking
- No pets
“We had such a great time staying in Erica's bright and spacious home and loved Alella, which is really friendly and very close to Barcelona. We also really enjoyed using the pool, which although shared we quite often had to ourselves - the additional loan of Erica's pool toys made it perfect for toddler and teens. Thank you Erica and family, for a fab swap.”
“We had a really lovely experience in Erica's home. As we knew, it was too cold to use the outdoor communal pool, but we could make use of the small gym and the cosy indoor pool during the winter. The apartment was wonderfully kid friendly. We also enjoyed the very easy to access downtown Barcelona with the very efficient bus service, but found ourselves spending and enjoying most of the time in the upmarket town of Alella. Erica was very helpful and fantastic throughout - we had a magical family Christmas and New Year.”
“Our host Erica was very kind and always on service. We spent 12 very nice days at Erica's beautiful apartment in small settlement Alella nearby Barcelona. We enjoyed our holiday all the time. ”
“Erica and her family stayed in my house in August 2019. They didn’t leave it in a good condition. I emailed her afterwards to mention the problems but got no reply. One year later, LHS opened up the guest review facility. At that point she sent me an email insinuating that she would leave me a bad review if I said anything negative in my review of them as guests (despite her having already left me a positive review at the time). **************Guest Response********************** Dear LoveHomeSwap Community, We left early from Charlotte’s home because it was not a comfortable place for our family to stay. While on the surface it looked inviting with many toys, the laundry list of rules was a big warning sign. Also, they left no room in closets or drawers for our clothes and opened food leftovers in the fridge. Before we left, we cleaned up after ourselves, as we always do, and even left extra money for the housekeeper, gifts for the family, and a 5-star review focusing on the positives of our stay. Unfortunately, after we posted the review, these hosts sent us a list of complaints (again, in their laundry list fashion) that so shocked us we really didn’t know how to respond. We consulted with LHS and decided that no response was the best response. Now that LHS has created guest ratings, Charlotte left us a poor review in revenge. This is such a shame, especially given that our experiences with this community have been overwhelmingly positive, staying in homes from Southern California to Tuscany and beyond. We've also hosted dozens of families both with LHS and it is how we have accumulated over 5000 points. We’d like to warn anyone, especially families, who might be considering a stay at Charlotte’s home to think twice before they ruin your vacation and rating. And we hope to continue enjoying fantastic exchanges in the future with more experienced and friendly hosts. Thanks, Davide and Erica ”
More about us
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We are an international family living in the vineyards of Alella, outside of Barcelona, Spain.
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We are both entrepreneurs in the area of eco-sustainable financing tools and building renovations.
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We love being outdoors, traveling and food!!!
Swap availability
- White
- Open to offers
- Green
- Available
- Red
- Not Available
Where is it?
Neighbourhood
Alella is a beautiful, ancient town nestled in the vineyards along the coast of Barcelona (Maresme). It was originally founded along the Via Augusta connecting Rome to Andalusia and until recently was a summer retreat for wealthy Barceloneans. Today, Alella is a small yet sophisticated and vibrant community with the perfect mix of local Catalan traditions and international flair.
The town is known for its wines - there are many great tapas bars and restaurants at all price points in the area. Alella is 2km from the nearest beach (Masnou) and an easy drive from truly spectacular beaches along the Costa Brava. It is also only a 10 minute drive into Barcelona's city center. There is a bus which takes you directly to the center in 20 minutes.
In short, Alella is a perfect base for the traveler who wants a mix of hills, sea and city. We hope to share our home with you soon!
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