MapaMundo Barcelona

I found this place while trying to make a booking online and read pretty positive reviews about it. This is the only way they accept guests -- with a previous online reservation, no walk-ins allowed, for safety reasons as per the owner.

One of the things that made it look most attractive was the location and it turned out to be very convenient -- right in the heart of the Barri Gotic (gothic neighborhood). The building is rather old and the door is painted with graffitti but the premises inside are nice. They own 2 apartments in the building, one on the 1st floor and one on the 4th floor. They took us to the latter and it was pretty cool (I felt it was a bit more private since the "reception" was on the 1st floor). Both owners - Marcelo and Alejandro - were very helpful: they gave us some off the beaten path tips, recommended some places to eat and visit, provided us with a good map of Barcelona and answered all of our questions - they even lent me a cell phone to reach a local VTer. This place is just a 5 minute walk from the closest metro station and there are several little restaurants, bars and mini markets to buy supplies nearby. It's very close to the harbor and the Ramblas too. The area might seem a bit shady at night but there are always people around, even during the wee hours, and the hostel's owner assured us that we would be safe as there is no violent crime in Barcelona (he just suggested, like everyone else, to be careful of pickpockets). The gothic neighborhood is also a bit confusing with a bunch of crooked narrow streets, so it's easy to get lost, but once you get familiar with the area it's easy to get wherever you want to go (of course a map is always helpful, I never travel without one).

Unique Quality: Although I had read that this place was noisy because it was in front of a cafe/bar that was open till the wee hours, we didn't have any problem with the noise -- probably because we were on the 4th floor and it wasn't really loud. We were provided with linen and towels, and the room had 2 very spacious closets, a table and even a fan (which we didn't need to use). The room itself was pretty big because it was on a corner of the building -- we even had 2 windows facing different streets. The kitchen was pretty basic but functional and we had our designated space in the fridge to keep our things and not get them mixed with other guests' stuff. The owner cleared up the fridge every time a guest left so that there would not be any food left behind which would get rotten after a few days.

There were 2 bathrooms, one with a bathtub and another one only with a WC and sink. Since there are only 4 rooms on this floor we didn't experience problems with the bathrooms being occupied and having to wait too long before being able to use them; there were no problems with hot water either. The bathrooms and the kitchen were clean (although a bit run down) and these were the only areas that were cleaned by the staff: they did not come in the rooms at all because the owner thinks it's safer for the guests to not have anyone entering their rooms. We got a full set of keys so we could come and go as we pleased. Except for some very obnoxious and noisy neighbors we got on our last night, the hostel was pretty quiet and a nice place to have a good night's sleep. They also provide free WiFi connection and have a small common living room where you can sit and relax or read a book (they have a small collection available for guests to borrow them).

Directions: In the Gothic neighborhood, a few blocks away from the Ramblas and the seaside boulevard (Passeig Colon).