Ola Living Hostal Diagonal

The room condition and the way our complaints were handled were both unacceptable. We paid 300 EUR for two nights and felt completely scammed. We visit Barcelona regularly, and this was easily our worst experience. I would never return and would tell anyone considering it to stay away. There are plenty of better places in Barcelona. We were put in a completely different room from the one we booked. It was filthy, with dirty footprints across the floor, stains on the walls, and a neglected, grimy feel. The bathroom was run down, visibly mouldy, and smelled damp. Opening the window was no help: it looked onto a depressing courtyard with cigarette butts, exposed pipes, constant water noise, an old sink and even a wet T-shirt hanging out. The view was noisy, dirty and disgusting. The air conditioning didn't work, so the room was hot and stuffy. When we raised these problems, the manager with glasses was rude, dismissive and intimidating, refused to help and showed no concern. We contacted Booking.com, and the manager then claimed he'd offered a resolution, though he had done nothing of the sort. The whole place felt dishonest and badly run, with basic cleanliness lacking.

For the same price, a regular hotel is usually a much better choice. The rooms are clean, the mattresses are comfortable, and you get a washer in the big apartment. The location is good and getting in was easy. The walls might as well not be there. You can hear everything, and there's a lot of noise. Most windows face into the building, and the furniture and kitchen are very basic. It's tolerable if you're a young kid used to constant noise.

We were promised compensation for the discomfort, but nothing ever arrived. It's been almost a month, and I still haven't received any concrete response. It seems like their policy is to let time pass and maybe look into it later. There was no hot water at all for our entire stay. We reported it, but nobody took meaningful action to fix it. The staff's indifference and lack of response felt inhumane. The apartment was also in poor shape: worn door handles meant the doors wouldn't close properly, making things uncomfortable and giving the impression that maintenance was neglected. They offered to move us to another apartment so we could have hot water, but it had just been vacated that day and hadn't been cleaned. Offering a dirty apartment as a solution was completely unacceptable, especially since the original place's maintenance failure caused the problem. The whole experience was frustrating and below any reasonable standard. I don't recommend staying here if you expect basic living conditions and a minimum of respect from the hosts.

I wouldn't recommend this apartment, especially if you're asked for a large security deposit. They kept the entire €300 deposit from me without a clear explanation, and it felt unfair and unjustified, as if they were looking for an excuse to keep it. There weren't enough basic supplies for a comfortable stay either. Some simple necessities were missing or provided in very small amounts, which is unacceptable given the price and the deposit. Be careful when booking. The deposit seems like a way to take extra money, and after you leave, you may never get it back.