Beware of this youth hostel....it is the worst place I have been to EVER! Its location is ideal, but that's all that they have going for it....Firstly, it's up 5 flights of stairs which is behind an always-locked door....then the reception lady isn't welcoming at all...she smiles, but she does nothing else....she doesn't talk nor does she show you to your room.....the room, the room : small, dirty and just plain gross!! I have been in two rooms and they were the same so I am assuming the other rooms are similar.....anyway, just don't stay there, it's disgusting!

Sorry to hear of your experience of Pensión Dalí. Just wanted to comment that this place isn't a youth hostel as you mention above. It's a pensión with private rooms.

Many (or most) pensions and hostels are located on upper floors. Remember, for years and years you had to climb 5 flights of stairs to reach the famed Madrid Hostal Adriano until they got their elevator.

I've never met a hostel/pension owner/receptionist who showed me to my room so your experience there is not unusual at all. They don't even show patrons to their rooms in hotels - unless they have a bellboy at the reception desk.

"Small, dirty, and just plain gross", eh? Sorry to hear that. Can you be more specific about the "just plain gross" part? Pension/Hostel rooms are usually small but typically they're clean. Was the floor dirty in yours? The bathroom? Did you have some problem with your payment?

Did you, by chance, conduct a SEARCH in this "Hostels & Other Lodgings" forum category of this place before you made the reservation? If not, that's a shame.

By conducting said search you'll find a number of negative reviews (and no positive reviews) including two by member Mongo here & here (one by FREDDHELLO too), two by two members here , and I've got to tell you that I spotted Pensión Dali when I was in Barcelona last March - and thought the place was condemned! YIKES!

Saludos, MadridMan

Hola!
In fact, I have travelled quite a bit and I have been to many hostels and pensiones....and I still call them youth hostels even though adults do stay there..my mistake...but usually the reception worker shows me in which direction my room is and I have had, on a few occasions, people offer to help me with my luggage - in Madrid, it happened! - The room was small..no place to fit my suitcase and my husband's suitcase...that's house small it was....we had to put his on top of the armoire....the bathroom reeked of urine...and there was hair in the sink.. and toothpaste on the mirror.....I did conduct research on this site for a place to stay, but unfortunatly, none were what I was looking for - good price, close to La Rambla....I did email a few pensiones, but they didn't get back to me, so I said - nevermind...I guess during my next trip to Barcelona, I will be more careful in choosing my pension - I should have looked on tripadvisor first (where a few people said I should avoid it).....thanks!