Pol & Grace Hotel

Hotel Pol & Grace had a stylish, distinctive feel, and I had a fantastic stay in Barcelona. The room was modern, clean, and comfortable, and the staff were friendly and helpful the whole time. It’s well placed for public transport, good restaurants, and major attractions. I’d highly recommend it to anyone visiting Barcelona.

The beds were probably the best part, and the fridge in the room was handy. They were decently comfortable, honestly. The location is great too. We’re not fussy about hotels and mostly just needed somewhere to sleep, but even for us, this was only an okay stay. There was a lot of wear and damage around the rooms, with chunks missing from tables, shelves, and floorboards. The bathroom felt old and mouldy, the fan barely seemed to do anything, the toilet struggled to flush, and the bath looked like it had years of dirt staining it. The hallways smelled odd and looked shabby. Things just felt janky throughout. Some staff were very nice, but others acted as if we were stupid when we said the door wouldn’t lock. It kept having trouble and then stopped locking altogether. They eventually replaced the whole mechanism, but the managing staff pushed back a lot before doing so. The TV also stopped working for the last three nights, and we didn’t want to go back to the front desk to deal with it again. The walls are thin. Usually that wouldn’t bother me much, but hearing someone party all night was a lot. We also got several unexpected knocks on the door at odd times overnight and in the morning, and they weren’t from housekeeping. We’re pretty relaxed about hotels, but this definitely doesn’t feel like a four star place. If you mainly want a bed and don’t care much about the condition, the location is honestly good. For us, it was just an okay place to sleep.

The reservation was cancelled after I raised concerns about how payment was being handled, and it left a really bad impression before I even arrived. I’d booked a flexible rate that said payment would be made at the hotel, but on Friday around 9 p.m. I got an email asking me to send my card details by email. I wasn’t comfortable sharing sensitive information that way, since it didn’t seem safe or professional, and suggested they send a secure payment link if advance payment was needed. They did send a link, but I explained that I’d chosen a rate with payment at the hotel and that being asked to pay early felt unusual. Instead of addressing the concern or reassuring me, they simply cancelled my booking. I’d been looking forward to the stay despite the hotel being on a fairly noisy street. After this, I’ll never stay there.

Getting around was easy: the metro is nearby, the area felt safe and comfortable to walk through, and Casa Milà and Sagrada Família were each about 20 minutes away. The room itself had quite a few problems. There were insects on the ceiling, in the room, and in the washroom. Basic supplies were lacking, and even slippers had to be requested at reception. It took several days before housekeeping provided a rubbish bin. The bathroom door was hard to open and caused a minor foot injury. The shower door wouldn’t close properly, so water ran onto the floor outside, and there was no shelf or rack in the shower for toiletries, leaving us to put them on the floor. Minibar items cost extra, but the price list was only at reception, not in the room.