Barbieri Granada Pensión

This was easily the worst hostel experience I’ve ever had, despite traveling extensively across Europe, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. The first room had no working heat, a broken shower, a leaking sink, stained pillows, and mould on the walls. After a few hours I was eventually allowed to move, and the next room was okay. There’s no laundry machine. I washed my clothes by hand and hung them in the room with my roommates’ agreement, but staff moved my wet things into a wardrobe. They didn’t dry and water dripped onto my roommates’ belongings. The beds have no individual lamp or plug. The kitchen is separate from the common room, so you have to carry your things back and forth through reception and the entrance, which is annoying and doesn’t help people socialize. There’s also no proper place to store food. Breakfast was made with the cheapest products they could find and wasn’t very good. Rubbish all goes in the same bin, with no recycling separation. The owner was arrogant and unhelpful. She said, “that’s my hostel and I decide the rules.” I asked to pay for a whole week, but she refused and said I had to pay day by day. Then, after two nights, she suddenly told me it would be my last night there: “that’s the rules,” and “you don’t need to understand.” She added that people at her hostel arrive, visit the Alhambra, and leave, as if she gets to decide your life. I’ve never met such an arrogant person running a hostel or been treated that way. I left immediately. The only word for the experience is appalling.

The place was clean and very well located. My bed was made every day, and breakfast was included and generous. Renovation work was happening in part of the hostel, and construction started quite early in the morning.

The staff were excellent, the location was good, and the hostel itself was very nice. Breakfast and wifi were free. While we were there, the free wifi even reached the fourth floor rooftop. Laundry service was available for a reasonable price.

For the price, this was the best quality I’ve found. A quiet, nice little hotel with comfortable beds, though they were a bit short. No luxury, but the small kitchen was well equipped.