Bcn Home Guest House

The staff were friendly, and everything else was fine. We did find a few roaches in the room, though. We’re not especially fussy about that, but seeing them as soon as we opened the door wasn’t pleasant.

I’d seen a Hostelworld review mentioning cockroaches before we arrived. That evening I spotted a couple, but it was late, so I stayed. At 3am one was on my face. I jumped up, and it crawled around in the bed for a while before my boyfriend managed to throw it outside. We couldn’t get back to sleep, and then noticed lots more on the walls and floors. The floors were so dirty that our feet and socks got filthy as we walked around looking for them. We had to keep our bags close so the roaches wouldn’t crawl into them. Reception is only open 9am-1pm, so there was no one to ask for help overnight. We left as soon as it was safe that morning and booked somewhere else for the next two nights. El Raval, where the hostel is, isn’t known as the safest area. When we came back at 9am to explain why we were checking out early, the receptionist we spoke to was lovely. I contacted the hostel around 4am, and within 48 hours they replied and offered a full refund. Getting it took much longer. The manager took nearly a month to send it. My emails were ignored for about two weeks, then I was told he was “on holiday,” even though the emails had already gone unanswered for two weeks. On the day he was due back, they “forgot” to tell me it was a public holiday, so I had to wait again. I had to call and email repeatedly just to get updates. Our stay was on 23 July. I waited to post this because I didn’t want to give them another reason to delay the refund. Since then, I’ve seen more reviews mentioning cockroaches, so it seems nothing is being done. Please be cautious if you’re thinking of staying here. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I’m a budget backpacker, and even for me the money saved wasn’t worth it.

The staff were lovely, and there’s a communal tea and coffee area, a terrace outside, and an automatic entrance that made arriving late easy. The location and rooms were great too. We only had a short trip, but I’d happily have stayed longer. Our room had a balcony and was gorgeous, though Saturday night was noisy. It may have been more than usual, since police came to the next building, which our room faced.

We loved staying here. The room was simple but had what we needed: a comfortable bed, a great shower, and everything was perfectly clean. There were plenty of towels, crisp white sheets, plus a hairdryer and TV. A kettle and microwave were available for making tea or coffee, and there’s a lovely big terrace. The original floor tiles, wooden doors, and high ceilings gave the place a luxurious feel. It’s also great value, right in the middle of everything, yet on a pretty, quiet street where we felt very safe.