Poco Loco
Guest
I just thought I'd post an update and warning after recently staying at the above Aire.
First of all if you are trying to find the Aire using a Sat Nav it is best to use the co-ordinates from the Aire Book and not the post code or name of the area. It is quite tricky to find.
Secondly, the Aire is no Picture postcard, it really is just a lorry / anything goes park it here place. I wouldn't use the toilets or showers as they were in a pretty poor state i.e no lights and not clean at all. The motorhomes are all located near the waste and sewer drop off point and again it doesn't smell of roses. We opted to forego the free (or Included Electric) and parked up near the gate house and used the "Genny" as needed. If you do park down the bottom and you're on the opposite side of the electric points you will need a very long extension cable, which will get driven on when MHs move into position to use the drop off point.
I would also recommend that you arrive with enough water for your stay as the water pipe was found frequently found lying on the floor near to the sewer/drain. Also it is impossible to position your waste pipe over the drain/sewer, so your waste will end up running down the hill where the water pipe gets left on the ground.
Having said all that I found the site very secure and the Security staff extremely friendly and help full and you can't beat it for price or locality.
Although the Aire book mentions free WiFi, we we're unable to find the network the guard gave us and subsequently unable to login.
The Tram stops directly outside the site and Takes you into Barcelona near the Zoo. If you walk for 10 min (Left) outside the gate (or 2 stops on the Tram) there is an indoor shopping centre with shops such as Primark, Food Courts (Some with Free Wifi if you buy a coffee etc) and a Supermarket. Opposite the shopping centre near the Princess hotel is the Under Ground which is better and easier to access the Centre and cheaper than the Tram. If you can make the first 1/2 mile on flat ground without using the tram this is your best option.
Now for the warning. On our second day we we're only in the centre for a few ours and we found that my wife had had her purse pick pocketed. Luckily they only got a few cards and €30 and not the van keys or the ipod with our whole journeys photos and films. We stopped the cards straight away and headed for the local police station at one of the Tube stations. Here we sat down with a lady and we explained what had happened. She filled out a form for us and we waited to see the police man. It then became very apparent as we sat waiting our turn that everyone else in the room had their own, but similar story to tell. It was quite a slick operation and during the hour or so we were in there, there wasn't 5 minutes went by before the next victim came in. It really was a constant stream. Therefore, my advice is only carry what you really have to and ensure it is in an inside pocket or in a secure belt and if you mysteriously get sprayed on with some sort of liquid, don't let any stranger help mop it up and help you out. That happened to a guy earlier that day who was in the station at the same time as us. While this guy was helping him out getting dry he helped himself to a few hundred €s and credit cards.
If you need your police report for your insurance, good luck with it, as the police only complete it in Catalan.
Finally, if you need LPG there is a Petrol Station only a few KMs away from the Aire. I found it using the sat nav. If you you go on the Tom Tom web site (Points of Interest) you can down load all the GPL sites. Again without the sat nav I would never have found it. There were 2 Gas pumps next to each other at the station, one with the New Spanish connection and the other with the same connection as used in France.
I hope this has helped anyone who is venturing towards Barcelona.
Regards Poco Loco
ps. We typed in Pick Pockets into Google and the first thing that came up was Barcelona. If only we knew before hand, fore warned is fore armed and all that.
First of all if you are trying to find the Aire using a Sat Nav it is best to use the co-ordinates from the Aire Book and not the post code or name of the area. It is quite tricky to find.
Secondly, the Aire is no Picture postcard, it really is just a lorry / anything goes park it here place. I wouldn't use the toilets or showers as they were in a pretty poor state i.e no lights and not clean at all. The motorhomes are all located near the waste and sewer drop off point and again it doesn't smell of roses. We opted to forego the free (or Included Electric) and parked up near the gate house and used the "Genny" as needed. If you do park down the bottom and you're on the opposite side of the electric points you will need a very long extension cable, which will get driven on when MHs move into position to use the drop off point.
I would also recommend that you arrive with enough water for your stay as the water pipe was found frequently found lying on the floor near to the sewer/drain. Also it is impossible to position your waste pipe over the drain/sewer, so your waste will end up running down the hill where the water pipe gets left on the ground.
Having said all that I found the site very secure and the Security staff extremely friendly and help full and you can't beat it for price or locality.
Although the Aire book mentions free WiFi, we we're unable to find the network the guard gave us and subsequently unable to login.
The Tram stops directly outside the site and Takes you into Barcelona near the Zoo. If you walk for 10 min (Left) outside the gate (or 2 stops on the Tram) there is an indoor shopping centre with shops such as Primark, Food Courts (Some with Free Wifi if you buy a coffee etc) and a Supermarket. Opposite the shopping centre near the Princess hotel is the Under Ground which is better and easier to access the Centre and cheaper than the Tram. If you can make the first 1/2 mile on flat ground without using the tram this is your best option.
Now for the warning. On our second day we we're only in the centre for a few ours and we found that my wife had had her purse pick pocketed. Luckily they only got a few cards and €30 and not the van keys or the ipod with our whole journeys photos and films. We stopped the cards straight away and headed for the local police station at one of the Tube stations. Here we sat down with a lady and we explained what had happened. She filled out a form for us and we waited to see the police man. It then became very apparent as we sat waiting our turn that everyone else in the room had their own, but similar story to tell. It was quite a slick operation and during the hour or so we were in there, there wasn't 5 minutes went by before the next victim came in. It really was a constant stream. Therefore, my advice is only carry what you really have to and ensure it is in an inside pocket or in a secure belt and if you mysteriously get sprayed on with some sort of liquid, don't let any stranger help mop it up and help you out. That happened to a guy earlier that day who was in the station at the same time as us. While this guy was helping him out getting dry he helped himself to a few hundred €s and credit cards.
If you need your police report for your insurance, good luck with it, as the police only complete it in Catalan.
Finally, if you need LPG there is a Petrol Station only a few KMs away from the Aire. I found it using the sat nav. If you you go on the Tom Tom web site (Points of Interest) you can down load all the GPL sites. Again without the sat nav I would never have found it. There were 2 Gas pumps next to each other at the station, one with the New Spanish connection and the other with the same connection as used in France.
I hope this has helped anyone who is venturing towards Barcelona.
Regards Poco Loco
ps. We typed in Pick Pockets into Google and the first thing that came up was Barcelona. If only we knew before hand, fore warned is fore armed and all that.