Residencia Universitaria Lesseps

The location is right in the center, the staff are super helpful, and the rooms have everything they said they would. Ten out of ten.

The staff were friendly, there was a fridge, and the place was near park guell. But it’s a fair way from central Barcelona, so you’ll need a long walk or a metro ride. For what it is, this place is hugely overpriced, and I’d never stay again. The heat in early August made it impossible to sleep without air conditioning. The fan was very loud and didn’t cool the room at all. After the first night, I asked for my money back for the next two nights so I could go elsewhere. They said I could get only 60% of my advance payment back because I’d signed for that on arrival. I should’ve read the small print and asked to see the room first. They moved me to a bigger room, which was slightly better, but I still couldn’t sleep because of the heat and fan noise. The lumpy pillow didn’t help. There was no microwave or kettle either.

There was a dead cockroach under one of the beds, and the rooms looked different from the photos. The heat and smell were so bad we couldn’t get comfortable, even with the window open. We woke up soaked in sweat. The little fan barely seemed to do anything, and in the other room they offered us, the smell was worse and it was just as hot. When we asked for a refund, they offered another small fan or cancellation with a fee. We ended up leaving for a hotel, whatever the cost, because we couldn’t stay there. We also hadn’t been told about the common areas they advertised. We found a roof common room with long tables ourselves, but didn’t know about or see any others. They charged us about 236 euros, 40% of the remaining amount, as a cancellation fee and refused our requests for a full refund through the property and Booking.com. We should’ve read the earlier reviews before booking six nights. A negative review online will likely cost them more than the roughly 200 euros we lost. Tourists should know how harsh the conditions can be. The listing on Booking.com says there’s air conditioning in the hotel, but there was none in our room. That’s why we missed it when booking. We only felt air conditioning inside the clerk desk area. Please don’t reply with a generic copy-paste response.

I booked this by mistake. It might work for young travelers on a tight budget, but I was frustrated when staff kept insisting I hadn’t paid the tourist tax, even though I’d paid it on arrival. Other guests seemed to have the same problem. I can’t tell if it’s poor communication or deliberate.