Hotel Barcelona Universal

Super attitude of staff

I travel a lot. The friendliness and service orientation of the front desk staff (especially Christina and Francisco) was above expectations. They were sunny, helpful, smart, and went out of their way to answer questions and give support. The rooms were very nice and location is great. Definitely

Another great stay in Hotel Universal.

Large clean hotel with very professional and friendly service. Subway entrance just outside, 2 stops to get to Las Ramblas, the main harbor, and elsewhere, so no need to walk through dark streets at night. Good cheap restaurants with booze and many other hotels next door on surprisingly lively Parallel Ave. The 4th restaurant down has great veal milanese. Avoid eating on Las Ramblas as all the restaurants are mediocre and expensive. The wifi did not work in the room, but they have free wifi for laptops in the lobby, and 2 free computers available with internet. In-room safe and minibar. Comfy beds and tv with many channels, including several business and in English. Clean bathroom with toiletries. We stayed here last year, and this year a quick browse through the hotel sites made my choice easy. We like this hotel alot, especially for the price. As for the area being sketchy, Las Ramblas has hookers after 11:00pm, this area does NOT. Don't believe the bad reviews.

Dissapointing stay in BCN

Hotel is next to a very sketchy neighborhood. Quick walk to La Rambla but through sketchy, narrow streets. Not the best neighborhood at night, especially for youth and families. Hotel does have a rooftop pool but it is poorly maintained. The front desk is knowledgeable but not accommodating. No wifi access in the hotel even though it's advertised. Not close to major bus or metro stops. The official Barcelona tour buses are almost a mile walk from the hotel. Awful restaurants near the hotel.

Conveniently located

The hotel staff is professional. The room we received was extra roomy for European standard. The only thing I wish they would include with the prices is breakfast, as this is a standard, customary expectation with most European hotels. For breakfast the price is too steep for what you receive. Also, for those who do not have cell phones, be careful of making calls to mobile numbers in Europe or to the States. The rates aren't published by the hotel. We were in for a shock when it came time for check out. The charges were astronomical!

Great hotel

Helpful and friendly English-speaking staff, happy to point out directions and points of interest on the map. Excellent price, clean, attention to detail. The neighborhood is alright, nothing fancy, but it's a quick 10 min walk to La Rambla or down to the seafront. But I wouldn't walk by myself at night too far down south - it gets kinda scummy.

Good Rooms, Great Location

We wanted a clean safe, hotel in a good location for a good price, and that is exactly what we got. The hotel was a brief walk to Las Ramblas and was right on top of the Metro. The rooftop pool and sundeck with incredible views of the city was a cherry on top, although the pool was really just a soaking pool. The room was pretty small, but the bathroom was big by European standards. If you don't plan on spending all day in your room, this is a great place to stay.

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Outstanding Hotel

A great location, great helpful staff, clean rooms, nice decor, extra amenities such as Laptops along the high speed internet connection, bar, the access to roof and swimming pool, etc. make it an outstanding hotel. The close proximity to the Metro Station and the La Rambla area makes it the favorite one.

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"Outstanding Hotel, with Exceptions"

The location of the hotel is wonderful, only a couple of streets from La Ramblas street. Great shops and restaurants in between. We spent extra for breakfast and that was a plus, but there are restraunts close by. The room was clean, modern and bigger than what we thought it would be. Don't plan on watching t.v., everything is in spanish. The only cons we had were that, the beds are hard and the walls are thin. We could here everything in the other rooms and outside. Plus, they were doing construction on the roof. But, we would definitely stay here again.

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Great location!

This hotel is located on a busy road but it's great because the metro stop Paralel is located just right at the door, good for budgeted travelers. The metro goes to the airport but a taxi can cost $20 Euros depending on traffic. Also the area of Las Ramblas is just 4 blocks away and you can walk to the Port or Gothic Neighborhood. The hotel is modern and clean. The rooms have a nice size with seating area and desk, wi-fi for free just ask at the counter. The restaurant is not so great so I recomend you walk outside and look for a local tapas bar-restaurant, there are plenty. Overall this hotel was great for the money and location. I bought the day metro pass and went everywhere for just $5.50 Euros.

Highly recommend

The hotel has spacious rooms, it is short walk to Las Ramblas. The rooms were new, clean and roomy. One of the better hotels I stayed at in Europe.

Recommended

This was a very nice hotel. Clean, modern, and an english speaking staff. It was conveniently located within walking distance of many places we wanted to see. The staff was very helpful and knowledgeable about the city. the only downfall was the street noise was pretty loud late at night and early in the morning.