H10 Universitat

Great Stay

by TripAdvisor Member chalkntalk

Just got back from a fabulous weekend at H10 Universitat Hotel. The glass of Cava on arrival was extremely welcome. Hotel staff were very friendly and helpful. One of the reception staff went as far as to write down some useful phrases for us as we had no phrase book. The hotel is ideally situated for exploring the city. The room had a very stylish, contemporary design, with a fabulous bathroom. Be warned room 704 is VERY VERY small (smallest on that floor). It was fine for a couple of nights, but even then we were unable to fit all of our clothes in the small wardrobe (already containing spare pillows and blankets) and two tiny drawers.
We did not eat breakfast in the hotel as there was a wonderful cafe, serving speciality breads, virtually opposite the hotel. We found a fantastic Catalan restaurant called L'Olive, five minutes' walk from hotel and off the tourist route (ask at reception for directions). It's not cheap, but great if you want to experience Catalan food - it's best to reserve a table as the place was full.
Would definitely go back to H10 Universitat hotel Barcelona, but perhaps not in room 704!

Really lovely place, very helpful friendly staff

by TripAdvisor Member kerryd

Just come back from 3 nights at the H10 Universitat Hotel. It is in a great location, easy to walk to lots of great places in all directions, also on a main road and feels very safe. Lovely glass of cava when we arrived and a choice of rooms. We chose one overlooking the street (which is where the bigger ones are apparently) with a balcony, huge comfortable bed and great bathroom. All very clean and very stylish. The staff were always helpful, booking restaurants for us and advising us on places to go. All round great and would definitely recommend it. If you wanted to ring ahead to ask for a room facing the street (which I'd recommend) this is the phone number : 0034933427850.

H 10 out of 10!!!

by TripAdvisor Member Crusher

My wife & I spent 5 nights in this gorgeous city at the start of May 2005 and stayed at the H10 Universitat. The verdict - superb hotel. The staff were very friendly and most helpful. We arrived at the hotel and were greeted by a chilled glass of cava - nice touch! The interior of the hotel is stylish and relaxing (the exterior isn't up to much but then who cares we reckon!!). We stayed on the 3rd floor at the back away from the street - I asked for this on arrival having read the reviews on Trip Advisor. Our room was not large but it was so well thought out and the fittings were exemplary. The complementary toothbrush & toothpaste excellent, the lack of bath robes a niggling minor point. The shower was the most powerful we have experienced, right up there with the mega luxurious Venetian in Las Vegas no less!!! We had no problems with noise for our 5 nights. The breakfast was excellent, great choice and quality from tasty eggs to fresh fruits and sweet pastries. Our advice - shop around for the best deal, ours included breakfast and taxes for around 110 eur a night which we were very pleased with considering it is very centrally located & was such an excellent experience. As for Barcelona itself - well, words could not do any justice to the splendour of this place. In a word - wow! From the calming parks to the bustling Ramblas, the romantic Gothic Quarter to the easygoing seaside promenades... a great adventure and all easily accessed on foot. Great value meals & such variety. One caveat - go with Bus Turistic fleet of open top buses and NOT Barcelona Tours - we counted approx. 4 to every 1 buses in Bus Turistic's favour and one day we had to queue over and over for Barcelona Tours, which cost us over an hour. Get a 2 day pass aboard Bus Turistic at Plaza Catalunya and see the many amazing sights this way. Great city, great hotel. Enjoy...

Great Hotel

by TripAdvisor Member Billrover

The Universitat is a great modern hotel excellently located just off Place Catalunya. The staff were friendly and very helpful and the hotel was extremely clean. Breakfast is well worth the price ( try to get an inclusive deal ). Rooms are small but excellent facilities air con etc. If you get the chance eat at Les Quinze Nits restaurant in a square just off the Ramblas. There will be a queue of over 200 people at 8.30pm get there at 8.15pm and you will get in. Fast service , great food and reasonable prices.....that's why there's a queue.

The best breakfast we've had!

by A TripAdvisor Member

Just home from three-day stay at this hotel. Our first visit to Barcelona. Our included breakfast was amazing - could not find any fault with quality and variety. Restaurant staff helpful and friendly as were all the staff we met. Room very modern and comfortable and extremely clean. Marble bathroom with good fittings and spotless. Great to have the bar available for drinks and coffee plus free afternoon nibbles. Location brilliant, close to La Rambla, etc. Would definitely recommend and will certainly return to this hotel.

Great hotel. Great location

by TripAdvisor Member harters

Just back from 3 nights. The hotel is ideally located - literally less than 5 minutes walk from Placa Catalunya. Friendly helpful staff. Rooms are extremely well appointed, although perhaps a touch on the small side. Walk-in shower with the most powerful jet I've come across. The only point to note is that guests who are, perhaps, "wider" than us might have some difficulty in negotiating the door arrangement to the shower.

Excellent buffet breakfast - ranging from hams, cheeses and various pastries to bacon & eggs.

The tourist bus is a great way to see the sights. Unlike the previous review, we would fully recommend the Barcelona Tours bus. They arent as popular as the "bus turistique", which means that you can ALWAYS get a seat on the upper open deck. Commentary is via headphones which is helpful.

All the scare stories we had read about - pickpockets, etc - are just nonsense. The city appears very safe - you just need to to take your common sense with you.

For restaurants, we can recommend the fish ones in Barcelonetta. But for a really elegant experience, look out for the Windsor Restaurant. This IS expensive, but very, very good.

Less expensive and very good value is the Gran Cafe (not far off the Ramblas)

And spend some time just sitting in a cafe on the Ramblas watching the world go by.

What a great city for a short break.

40th Tour

by A TripAdvisor Member

11 Edinburgh lads on a 40th birthday trip (12th to 15th May). Hotel lived up to all expectations. Asked for rooms together and got them on the 4th floor, some overlooking street, which might have been marginally bigger, but all well equipped and clean. The staff were absolutely brilliant. Very helpful when chasing a lost Iberia suitcase. Again, helpful in phoning police to report a stolen wallet. Very tolerant when no doubt our noise levels increased when indulging in an early evening drink in the Hotel bar!

Beautiful city and a delight to be there for the FC Barcelona street party. Only down-side is to be aware of pick-pockets – 2 of our 11 lost wallets. So, keep a tight hold of your cash. Another thing is the presence of 'street walkers' and 'charlie' pushers on bottom of La Rambla after midnight - very persistent and most annoying (suppose we were an obvious target?).
Last thing – due to the numbers, I booked via the hotel direct – they respond immediately to email – very efficient. Probably worked out cheaper and you don’t have to pay ‘the middle-man’ in advance.

Wonderful hotel!!

by TripAdvisor Member Degsy007

Just returned home from 4 nights in this wonderful hotel. The location is excellent and the staff were always very polite and nothing was too much trouble. The rooms are very modern but be warned, as the previous reviewer stated, some of them are very small. I stayed in 805 which was large enough for a 4 night stay. If you can, stay in rooms which are at the front or the rear of the hotel, the rooms which are sandwiched between these are very small. The room was very clean with fresh towels daily, the shower is fantastic and there were basic brewing facilities available. The breakfast was very good with a wide selection of fresh fruit, dates, cooked meats, bacon, sausages, eggs and much more. I didn't eat in the hotel during the evening, there is no point, Barcelona is crammed with places to eat. The staff will also look after your luggage when you check out until you are ready to head for the airport. Top tip-get the aerobus from and to the airport instead of a cab, 3.60 Euros per person one way, a cab is much dearer. Also, use the Bus Turistic, 21 Euros for a 2 day unlimited pass, forget the green line, there's nothing there!

Barcelona, Spain

by PhilaTraveler

"Under construction"

A few observations about Barcelona: it's expensive, it's big and bustling, and it's all about Gaudi.

Arriving at the small Barcelona airport, we walked off the plane on stairs and entered a waiting bus. That was odd ... I had never before walked on the tarmac for a plane except for commuter planes and that was directly from the terminal.

My hotel, the H10 Universitat, was fine, but my room was tiny!! See the pic on the hotel page.

The Barri Gotic is beautiful and classic old Europe -- narrow alleys, lots of small shops and many churches. The newer Eixample district is also fun to see, with great architecture and upscale shopping.

The red tourist bus cost 19 Euros and was well worth it. It goes to all of the tourist areas of the city, including a few that are a bit on the outskirts like Park Guell. I like to take the tourist bus when I travel to get my bearings and decide on which secondary sites I'd like to check out.

The most interesting and best site in Barcelona is the Sagrada Familia. Even after being under construction for over 100 years, the architecture still appears innovative.

The Picasso museum was a little disappointing. I like Picasso, but most of the paintings here are small and not all that interesting. There are few paintings from Picasso's blue and pink periods, and many of the works at the museum, including most cubist works, appear to be unfinished study-type pieces.

On a side note, there are areas of the city that seem to be infested with flies. That was very annoying at times and affected my enjoyment of the city.

My next stop in Spain was Madrid via the Renfe train. Buying the ticket made me feel like I was in a communist country or at the DMV. I had to take a number and wait 45 minutes for my number to be called, while 3 clerks (yes 3, at the main station in Barcelona!) worked their way through the waiting patrons.