Hostal Elkano

I've stayed here twice. The bed is comfortable, though the extra foam cushion mattress might not suit everyone, and there's a small TV in the room. I had a room with a shared bathroom. I wouldn't pick room 8 again because it's right by the front desk, where guests can get loud while talking with the host. A USB charging station would be a useful addition.

At 4:00 a.m., I saw bedbugs crawling on the walls and found them in my bed. I took photos and videos straight to the front desk. The overnight staff member seemed completely unbothered and told me to wait until 8:30 for his coworker. When Daisy arrived, I showed her the evidence and asked to cancel Sunday night and get a refund. She apologized and called a manager, or possibly the owner. I heard him say, “No hay chinches,” and Daisy told him I had videos. I then received a full refund for my stay. We had checked in on August 9th and found a dead bedbug on the mattress cover, along with poor overall cleanliness. A helpful woman at reception comped the night because there were no other hotels available in the city for under 1,000, and asked us to come back in two hours after the room had supposedly been “deep cleaned and treated for bedbugs.” It smelled fresh when we returned, the floor had been mopped, and the sheets were new. But the stained mattress from my bed by the wall had just been swapped with the one from the bed by the window. The same dust and hair were still along the baseboards and furniture edges, places where bedbugs hide and lay eggs. We sealed our luggage in heavy-duty trash bags and went to sleep. I know travelers can bring bedbugs into hotels in their luggage. But this hostel doesn't treat infected rooms in a way that manages the problem. It wasn't worth the risk of unknowingly taking bedbugs home. I appreciate Daisy's help, though I feel they only did the minimum by refunding me. I lost the whole Sunday morning finding and moving to another hotel, and had already spent Saturday buying trash bags to avoid bringing bugs home. That lost time can't be compensated.

I was in Barcelona to spend time out of the hotel, so a single room with a bed was all I needed. It was fine, and a lot better than sharing with 16 other people, as some places in the city offer. The toilets stayed clean, the room was cleaned and the bed made every day. Even in winter it was warm, and I could set the temperature myself. The soundproofing definitely needs work, as other people have said, but I sleep when I'm tired.

The AC was nice and cold, and the bathrooms looked clean, though I still used shower shoes and protection. The rooms are tiny, and I found bedbugs as well as stains on the sheets and pillows. You can hear everything happening nearby. It was quite expensive for two nights. I don't think I'd recommend it or come back.