Barcelona City Seven Hostal

Not bad

To start with. This building is not a hotel. There are just 2 apartments that have been recombined to a hostal. Pictures of the entrance-hall have little to do with it. And in general: the pictures look a lot fancier than reality. My arrival was very frustrating. I had been asked for my arrival time via WhatsApp. When I arrived Saturday night, I could not even get in. Ringing the doorbell multiple times had not effect. 2 phone-numbers (one for ‘emergency’) were repeatedly not answered. Finally, 2 guests answered the door. By suggestion of the guests I found a message with instructions, that I had not yet received or noticed. It all works with an application, or rather: a PIN to enter the hostal and the room. Basically: the hostal is not staffed at night, and most of the time. Similarly: when booking (at their own website) I had asked about breakfast, but never got an answer. There also was no indication of that on their website. On site, the guests told me of a breakfast I could join in. There also was a sign indicating 8:30 to 11:00. Next morning, of course, there was nothing. When asking via WhatsApp, the response was that I had not paid for it. Sigh. And about the chaotic reception: complete lack of empathy. Sigh. The days after that it got a bit better. Someone turned up to make breakfast, and to tidy up the hostal. It makes a lot of difference to see actual humans minding the business. I even had breakfast twice, which was fairly good, and could even be paid by card. My room was a bit tatty. And it just had a window on a very small and gloomy courtyard. I just used that for some ventilation. The bed was unsuitable for side sleeping. One of the blankets was even too small for the double bed. I should have taken my own travel-pillow. I had a private, but separate, bathroom, which I locked off when I was away. It was pretty cramped. Regulating water temperature in the shower was hard anyway. Then, one night, there was no hot water at all. And then the communication horror started again. At first a quick reaction came via WhatsApp, stating they would ask maintenance. As I craved for a shower, I asked a couple of times, hoping they would fix the problem that night. No replies. And typically: they had switched off reading confirmation. I was lucky I could ask a friendly guest if I could use their (shared) bathroom. It took 20 hours to the next day before I got a reply again, stating the had repaired the water. And oh, stating that they ‘had not seen my messages’. Sigh. Unprofessional, and no service attitude. Some general remarks. The location is pretty good. I recommend a little empanada-shop across the street, 50 meters north. I was tipped about it on my arrival. I often had breakfast in a bakery at the corner of Cubi and Balmes. Very nice sandwiches, good coffee, large seating upstairs, and even pretty cheap. Convenient starting point for the south-bound bus-stop nearby. There are couple of supermarkets nearby, of which a fa