Host families
Accommodation with a Spanish host family is available throughout the year.
All our Spanish host families live in flats, as there are practically no individual houses in Barcelona. Apartment buildings (both old and modern) are rarely more than 8 floors high.
A typical flat (see image, right) will have 3 or 4 bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a dining room and living room. Some flats have terraces, almost all of them have balconies.
It is difficult to describe a typical family as there is such a variety; some are young couples, some have children still living at home, others - perhaps the majority - have grown-up children who no longer live at home, but who often appear for lunch on Sundays! Lunch is usually eaten quite late - around 2.30 p.m., and dinner is usually at about 9.00 p.m.
Most families live near the school and are rarely more than 20 minutes away by public transport. Very occasionally, a family may be up to 30 minutes from the school as some of the most elegant districts of Barcelona are on the edge of the city.
Conditions
All host families are carefully selected by our Accommodation Department and all agree to fulfill the following conditions:
- to provide students with single rooms (unless a couple both attending courses or individuals request to share), which are comfortably furnished, have adequate heating and lighting facilities and a desk or table where students can work
- not to accommodate persons of the same nationality or speaking the same language unless specifically requested by the students concerned
- to provide basic laundry facilities and to change bed linen and towels weekly
- to make a daily bath or shower available
- to provide an adequate continental breakfast and (for those students who are being accommodated on a half-board basis) a substantial dinner at night
- to provide students with a door key so that they can let themselves in and out
- to treat students as family guests and generally behave in a friendly and hospitable manner
Prices 2008
- Bed and Breakfast: €160 per week, €27 per extra night
- Half Board: €200 per week, €34 per extra night
Executive host families
IH Barcelona has a limited number of Spanish host families who live in larger apartments and who can also offer students their own private bathroom. These families will also undertake to do their students' washing and ironing.
We therefore classify them as "Executive Families" and the higher prices we charge for these families reflect the extra services and comforts they provide.
Prices 2008
- Bed and Breakfast: €200 per week, €34 per extra night
- Half Board: €250 per week, €42 per extra night
Spanish in Barcelona
Further information
International House Barcelona, c/ Trafalgar 14, 08010, Barcelona, Spain
Tel: +34 93 268 4511 | Fax: +34 93 268 0239
www.ihes.com/bcn/spanish/ | spanish@bcn.ihes.com
Spanish in Spain
Spanish in Barcelona | Cordoba | Madrid | Mallorca | San Sebastian | Seville | Valencia | Vejer
IH Spain comprises the International House Spanish language schools in Barcelona,
Cordoba, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Seville, San Sebastian, Valencia and
Vejer de la Frontera, Spain.
www.ihspain.com

