Hotel Barcelona Universal

Minutes from the "Rambles", The Harbor, Old town and the beaches!

Great rooms, great location, free wireless, cheap American style breakfasts within 100 feet.

Great room for the money

I had read several reviews before choosing this hotel. Several guests had commented on the uncomfortable beds and boy they were not kidding. Other than the very hard beds, everything else was great. We didn't eat at the restaurant, swim in the pool, or drink at the bar so I can't comment on those services however, the free internet was wonderful!

Guest did not leave a comment.

SUPER SUPRISE

This was a huge suprise for us. We didnt know what to expect...but the room was beautiful. We had a corner room which was bigger then the standard room. Large room and sitting area. But the bathroom was HUGE. we had a tub...seprate shoer...2 sinks...even music system in the bathroom apart from the living/bed area. The area is not bad at all. A bit edgy...but as long as you mind your own miz...you have no problems. Plenty of places (sidewalk cafe) on the block to eat at and CHEAP. short walk to the ramblas and the subway was directly in front of hotel. SO makes this a perfect location.

If you like Cold Showers.....

In general the Hotel was fine in terms of location and service but no hot water in the shower was not our idea of fun. Service was very helpful.

Guest did not leave a comment.

Great Location, easy to get around

We stayed at Hotel Barcelona for our honeymoon and enjoyed the quick access to the metro (right outside the hotels front door) and the short walk (under 5 minutes) to La Ramblas. There are some nice dinning options right around the hotel. The pool is nice, though it was often crowded, hard to find chairs on a few afternoons. I would stay here again.

Exceeded our Expectations

After considerable internet searches we chose this hotel for the location, affordability and high reviews. After completing a mediterranen cruise we stayed in Barcelona at the Universal for 2 nights and were extremly pleased. The room and bath were spacious, clean and quiet. The staff was very accomodating the breakfast buffet was very good and the location couldn't be beat. We were tired upon checking in and immediately crashed taking a 2 hour snooze to recharge. My wife, a chronic insomniac, slept quite well for the two nights we stayed there. Our only regret was that we didn't plan a longer stay, 2 days more whould have given us more time to view all the sights. Highly reccommend the tourist on and off bus line that can be bought at the front desk. It made touring the city comfortable and very affordable. If you visit Barcelona with the intention of eating only American food, then you'd be missing one of the greatest gastronomical pleasures of life. We ate at a couple of tappas bars near the hotel and dined twice in Barconeletta (adjacent to the port olimpic) on Mall de Mestral excellent seafood and paellela.

LOUD! Horrible Room service food

The hotel bed was uncomfortable. We felt like we were sleeping on pizza boxes. The hotel food was horrible- I mean really bad..... cold eggs for breakfast, plastic food for dinner. They actuall in restaurant buffet looked ok, but room service was absolutely horrifying. The hotel was loud. The maids would start cleaning other rooms and you could here them banging around for hours on end. My boyfriend and I called it "maid hockey" every morning. You could also hear everyone screaming and yelling all night. I would stay there again.

Highly Recommend

Our stay was fantastic. The hotel staff was very helpful and gave great suggestions for places to eat and how to get around. The hotel was located near almost everything we wanted to see and was very convinient to lots of shopping and the sea port. I would recommend this hotel to anyone. The only downfall was the noisy street below, but I think this was probably the case anywhere in Barcelona as it was a lively city at night.

Great location, helpful staff

We were very happy with our stay here. The location is perfect and for the price this felt like 5 star.

Average Stay

Located on a major transport line for car, taxi and metro, Universal is a great location to the Port, Las Ramblas and reasonably close to Gothic quarter. Staff we extremely polite and helpful. English was understandable at its worst, so very easy to speak to staff. Front desk was able to exchange currency at close to perfect rate and also gave us an extensive map of the city that we used then and when we stayed again a couple weeks later someplace else. Room is small but welcoming (be aware that air conditioning is not to "our" standard). There was a safe in the closet that allows the user to set the combination. Bed was rather stiff, which was perfect for my comfort, and decor was pleasant and light colored. Overall pleasant stay, but be advised the street is VERY busy, so request a back side room if you want quiet.

Good location for exploring Barcelona

We are a couple from Seattle, and we would definitely recommend this hotel. In ten minutes, you can walk to the Old Town and Las Ramblas, down a street that was once considered sketchy but seemed reasonably safe to us. The hotel is right on a subway (metro) stop, and the metro is clean and easy, a good way to explore Barcelona. The hotel is pricey but we felt worth it.

Big, nice rooms, "ecclectic neighborhood"

Also, ask for a room facing the alley, as this hotel is on a major street so traffic noise might be an issue for you. The interior of the hotel was very nice. Also, a nice rooftop pool area with great views of Barcelona (only it was chilly and rainy while we were there). We stayed 4 nights at the back end of a cruise, so we were a little tired and the hardness of the bed was not what our backs were looking for. The room itself was huge by european standards, so that was nice. The hotel is about 50 ft. from a metro station, so getting anywhere in Barcelona is a breeze. The neighborhood is what it is. It isn't the most upscale street in the world and it isn't chaulk full of world-class restuarants, but it is chaulk full of eateries, bars, shops, theatres, etc. You can walk to La Rambla, the harbor, and the trendy bar district to the north-west with no trouble. For all the talk about crime/hassles in Barcelona, I didn't see any of it and felt completely safe despite El Raval's "bad" reputation. Then again, I live in Washington, D.C. I think it's helpful to remember that European standards of a "sketchy" neighborhood are far different from American standards. So, if you have money to burn than you might want to check out something on the north side of La Rambla. But, this hotel is a great value.