The Moods Catedral Hostal Boutique

After reading some reviews, I decided to opt for an internal room rather than one with a balcony overlooking the main road, which were said to be noisy. What I hadn't anticipated was that the "courtyard" room actually opened onto a cramped light well, with no window in the bedroom and a very small one (less than 1m2) in the shower area. The lack of natural light and the confined space gave the place an oppressive feeling. The room was adequately lit and spotlessly clean, however. The location was great and we found a car park 10 minutes away (not the nearest) with all-day parking costing 28 euros. There was no breakfast onsite, but there are plenty of options within a 5-minute walk. Access to the accommodation, meanwhile, was via three flights of stairs, with no indication of an alternative fire escape route.

The air conditioning didn't work at this boutique hostel, which was a definite downside considering the heat outside. The rooms were basic, and our experience did not seem worth the price we paid. Fortunately, we were able to meet up with old friends at a different location, taking the opportunity to explore the quaint, picturesque streets of Barcelona. We were lucky not to have to go back to the hostel, and my advice to those considering a stay would be to look elsewhere.

For those that are expecting the comfort and luxury advertised, it's best to avoid this place. It's really just a basic hostel, not a hotel like advertised. Many of the amenities weren't in working order, such as the air conditioning, and the neighbourhood is noisy and often crowded. Save yourself the trouble and money; this is not the place to be.

The fotos showed a large and light room with balcony doors. 5 fotos all inside this same room and the message one room available. So, you could only think that this must be the room on offer. Also looking at the alternatives in the same price level, you could believe this room would be as good as advertised. Instead, we got a small, dark room with small inside windows and almost no air, as if locked in a cellar. There were no fotos of this room when we booked and paid. We were given lots of excuses but it was clear that this was their business model - not a mistake. Had fair choice been offered, we would never have thought of spending our holiday in the room we got. Not even for free. In case anyone would like to book this room with open eyes, it is nowhere near worth the asking price. However, we were refused a refund or to be given the room in the fotos we had booked. We felt trapped. Another thing about this place: some services are so self evident that they do not even have a category to mention them. Therefore, they were missing more than most other categories of services. 1. Hot water: We couldn’t get hot water for a shower for two days. We asked them to help twice, without any response. 2. Telephone coverage: you can’t make or receive tel. calls in this hotel. You must go 3 floors down and out on the street. This obviously means that people who must be reachable by family, friends or work can not stay here. This must be made clear before booking. 3. Electricity: There was a power failure every day at the hotel. With barely any light or air from the small window in the room, you were left in the dark and with the aircon off it quickly became hot, so you had to evacuate the hotel like in a fire drill every day. 4. Reasonable chance to Sleep: For whatever the reason, the very big and sensitive switch for the light was placed inside the bed in a way that if you moved while sleeping and touched it, the very bright light would go on. So, we woke up 3-5 times every night blinded by the light.

We were absolutely delighted with our stay here and it really made our trip. We were lucky enough to be upgraded to an external room with an incredible balcony for free, due to works being done on the internal room we were expecting. The room was spotlessly clean and the bed was incredibly comfortable. The hotel is located in a great area, allowing us to easily explore the gothic quarter and get to Barceloneta beach, as well as being close to a main Metro station. We would definitely return here on our next trip and highly recommend the external rooms.