Hi All,

I will be traveling to Spain in the end of May/beginning of June. I am having trouble finding hostals with availability during that time. I need help finding hostals in Barcelona. I am looking for hostals that have double rooms in the range of 50-70 euros. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

The Hostal Opera...right off Las ramblas and in front of the Opera House. Inexpensive, clean, and has AC. I believe the rates are, for a double, 55 Euros @ day.

I did check with Hostal Opera, and unfortunately they was no availability for the days that I am going to be there. It seems like its really tough to get a hostal around that time, even though its more than one month away. I checked a few other hostals that were listed in Rick Steves Guidebook, and they were all sold out. Any other suggestions? I appreciate it.

Thanks.

Errr.. Shouldn't this be in the "Hostels & Other Lodgings" forum?????

Try the Pension Mari-Luz in Barcelona if you are looking for a quite place in the middle of it all. Not that I have been there yet, but we have heard very good reviews...and we have booked it for our stay (late May)...

Pension Mari-Luz
Palau, 4, 2nd Floor
PHONE: 93 317 3463

EuroCheapo says:
'Picture an old Spanish monastery. Enter through the wrought-iron gates to the foyer, and follow the weathered marble steps up a few flights (no elevator) to a quiet passageway. The birds chirp, the sun breaks through the green courtyard, clothes hang on the sun-drenched rooftop, and you find yourself at a large mahogany door. Welcome to the Pension Mari-Luz.

Sound peaceful? You got it. Party animal - out! Though located steps away from the hopping Barri Gotic scene, this is truly a quiet oasis. '

Double room E45 (no bathroom)

Check this website and click on "Pensiones". I would recommend Hostal Nilo located only a few blocks from La Rambla and very reasonable at 30Euro for a double with bathroom.

http://allbarcelonahotels.info/

This topic has been moved from the "Favorite Places" to the "Hostels & Other Lodgings" forum.

Don't forget to visit the complete list of Barcelona's Hostels, Pensions, & Youth Hostels which have websites @ http://www.MadridMan.com/barcelonahostels.html - grouped by location.

Good luck! Saludos, MadridMan

Caution - long post about Barcelona Hostal:

Just returned from 4 nights in Barcelona. Booked Hostal Cuidad Condal through "Barcelona-30-per-night" website.

Website was accessible, flexible, reliable and followed through on promises.

Hostal: it is VERY well-located in the heart of the Eixample area, between Paseo de la Gracia and Rambla de Catalunya on Carrer de Mallorca, which is the same street that Sagrada Familia is on - about 30 blocks away!! It is "inside" -- or on the sea-side -- of the Diagonal - a big main street that runs diagonally to the shore. It is a fairly affluent neighborhood, with more local residents than tourists, lots of professional-class people on the streets and seemed to be very safe for a big city both day and night. I felt a simlar atmosphere/safety level of, say, Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

It was walking distance for us from the Ramblas and lots of tourist destinations, although in the interest of time we would recommend the three lines of the Bus Turistic - both the red and the blue lines meet about a block from the hostal on Paseo de le Gracia. It's pretty cheap - fares also work for the metropolitan bus system, and it's all on-and-off on one ticket.

Carrer de Mallorca is a quiet street with mostly non-tourist businesses -- GREAT resources for moderate to VERY upscale shopping, and easy for catching public transportation and eating.

The hostal is on the third floor of a typical ancient Barcelona building - beautifully renovated and spotlessly clean. It is run by a couple who lives on site. Our room was about 70 euros. It was very small - room was 9'X12' (3x4 meters approx.) with a very nice small bathroom with sparking new tiny tub/shower, tiolet, sink and bidet. It was all tile and clean, fresh paint. Everyday they use the same floor cleaner I am used to in Mexico (where I work) and I loved that fresh, homey smell whenever we walked in! Windows open onto kind of a "shaft" with windows to other apts. and rooms in the hostal.

They also have 4 or 5 much larger rooms which have views of a beautiful courtyard or of the street, but they were quoted to us at 15 euros more. We were fine with smaller.

The building is quiet, but take note: in this hostal - like many European hotels - the building is all stone and concrete and the floors are all tile - this means the sound insulation is less than your typical U.S. Motel 6!! This is true in other hotels in Barcelona - my husband stayed two years ago at the Melia, which is a 5-star hotel in the business district - same issue. If you are a light sleeper, take a noise-machine to block occasional footsteps or voices!!

Continuing: there is a nice "lift" which worked great and was necessary for us, coming off a Trans-Atlantic cruise with LOTS of luggage. We had plenty of space in our room to stash the suitcases with our cruise clothes and access our "travel-light" stuff for Barcelona.

They have central AC, which was off while we were there, and totally unnecessary as temps May 14-18 ranged around 60 degrees (15-17 C.)

They have a phone which I never figured out how to use - made my calls back to the US on a nearby pay phone with a CHEAP phone card - no problem. They had a little TV with several local Spanish and one Catalan channel.

That's the good news - now the bad news. I had read on another web site before we left that there was a problem with this hostal upping the rate to add a 7% tax, which was not agreed on "Barceona-30-per-night". And indeed they did. We were not well able to negotiate, given all our confirmation docs were in English e-mail printouts and the hostal owners speak zero English. The web site is promising to refund it. Since I'm used to paying room taxes in the US considerably higher than 7%, I'm neither holding my breath, nor was it something that ruined my day, but I'm reporting it here. "Barcelona-30-per-night" has since spoken with the hostal and says this will not be a problem in the future -- whatever -- buyer beware!!

We LOVED staying in that hostal and that neighborhood, but I speak Spanish. I think if you don't, you might be better off in a big chain in one of the more tourist-oriented areas. On the plus side - folks were REALLY friendly and eager to be helpful everywhere we went, but you can do just so much communicating if you can't speak eachothers' languages, and my poor hubby found himself unable to communicate in most places in the area, including the hostal. I did a lot of translating -- no problem, but just to advise.

I hope I can go to Barceona again, and I would definitely recommend a local hostal over a cookie-cutter chain.