Far Home Gran Vía - Hostel

Being close to Gran Via was the one worthwhile thing. Our room was only 4m2 for two people, had no window, and they chose to replace the flooring while we were staying there. I'll never go back to that dump.

The service was good and friendly, and the room was a great size with an actual balcony. Great location too, near the 1 and 5 lines on Gran Vía.

We left and are now taking this through the conflict resolution process. The room we booked on booking.com was called a „double room“, but it was closet-sized, with a twin bed that barely fit, not a double bed where two people could sleep comfortably. Reception insisted that was the room we'd booked. The photos are misleading and don't make clear which room is which. They couldn't offer a larger room for our whole stay, only for the first night, and we'd have to pay the difference for the „upgrade“. It was a busy weekend with a holiday in Spain, so we asked for a refund to find somewhere else. They immediately refused, citing hotel policy, without considering the situation or offering flexibility or another solution. I'm sure they can fill the room again right away. I called booking.com and explained what happened. They put me on hold while they discussed a solution with the hotel, then came back with the same response as the hotel staff and only offered a minuscule refund for the trouble. Booking.com's passivity is enabling this behavior by hotels. This is unacceptable. Double check the room photos before you book.

There was at least a bed, but for the price of a full suite it wasn't a great experience. The building was incredibly noisy, even allowing for the fact it's a hostel. Smoke from the neighbors' cigarettes filled our room, maybe from the bathroom. During our 5 days, the room was cleaned only once, and I had to ask for more toilet paper then.