Hostal Mare Nostrum

“Kindness and Empathy”

We were booked into a hotel with a check in time of 3pm. We arrived at 12.30am!!! No rooms available for the night. We walked around trying various hotels and Hostals in a strange city without success until we saw the sign for Mare Nostrum Hostal. We walked up the stairs and were greeted by Enric… more

We were booked into a hotel with a check in time of 3pm. We arrived at 12.30am!!! No rooms available for the night. We walked around trying various hotels and Hostals in a strange city without success until we saw the sign for Mare Nostrum Hostal. We walked up the stairs and were greeted by Enric who obviously saw our desperation and offered us a room for the night. He even helped carry our luggage up the stairs. That kind of kindness you don't forget. The room was clean and had everything we needed for a very comfortable night. The next morning, we availed ourselves of a lovely breakfast and having confided in the multi lingual Ivan at reception of my infected tooth and extreme pain, he immediately searched for an emergency dental clinic with English speaking staff, obtained prices and booked my appointment within the hour. He was my hero that day! Thank you to Ivan and Enric for welcoming us to Mare Nostrum Hostal and in turn to Barcelona. Olga and Dave

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“Wonderful situated in La Rambla”

Quaint spot in a great location. My boyfriend and I stayed here for two nights while sightseeing around Barcelona and it was easy to get to as there’s a metro stop immediately in front of it. Note that you must leave your keys at the front desk whenever you leave the hotel, and can pick it up by co… more

Quaint spot in a great location. My boyfriend and I stayed here for two nights while sightseeing around Barcelona and it was easy to get to as there’s a metro stop immediately in front of it. Note that you must leave your keys at the front desk whenever you leave the hotel, and can pick it up by confirming your room number. There’s an elevator but it’s tight (the two of us with our backpacks and carry on could barely squeeze in). Our room had a small balcony that overlooked La Rambla and we enjoyed a great sunrise. They are eco-friendly and you can determine how clean you’d like the room to be by indicating so on the door. There’s breakfast available for 8 euros per person or you can book the room with it included. The front desk spoke a variety of languages, including Catalan, Spanish, English, and Japanese.

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“Great location and customer service!”

Great location; it's right on La Rambla, but it's still quite quiet at night, so you can sleep well at all times. We stayed here for 5 nights during the Spanish Grand Prix, so our price per night was higher than usual, but our whole experience was still worth it. Great customer service, tasty break… more

Great location; it's right on La Rambla, but it's still quite quiet at night, so you can sleep well at all times. We stayed here for 5 nights during the Spanish Grand Prix, so our price per night was higher than usual, but our whole experience was still worth it. Great customer service, tasty breakfast selection, and the rooms were always clean. The only bad thing was that we had no mini fridge in our room, but still 4.5/5!

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“Mixed Review”

The entrance to the Hostal has many steps, maybe 15, before you can get to the reception. Even as someone, relatively young, it was very hard getting suitcases up the stairs. This is not made clear anywhere before booking. The size of the room was tiny. Yes, dimensions are shared on the website but… more

The entrance to the Hostal has many steps, maybe 15, before you can get to the reception. Even as someone, relatively young, it was very hard getting suitcases up the stairs. This is not made clear anywhere before booking. The size of the room was tiny. Yes, dimensions are shared on the website but who is going to take a tape measure out to check. I think that they have tried to make the rooms look larger on photographs. You just need to be honest with people about the small rooms. We were two of us in what I would definitely describe as a room for one. Hotel is clean. Breakfast was basic but good. I wouldn’t stay again because the room size is tiny and I felt like I was trapped in a box. The reception staff could have been slightly more helpful too. It is a shame when you arrive and the place is not what you expected from the website and it is disappointing too. Please be clearer in your description so people can make a more balanced decision before choosing to stay. It just made me feel a little deceived and if I had known about the steps and the room size and tiny lift I could had booked somewhere more suitable for our needs. Location is exceptional. No English TV channels at all. We weren’t in the room much but it is nice to have at least one channel to be able to listen to in the background and this has never happened to us before. Bathroom is compact but clean and lovely hot water and a powerful shower. The environmental aspect is nothing exceptional. Most other hotels do this but with plastic plants and a lack of plant based options I don’t think that they can state themselves as an eco hotel yet but it is good to see this as a consideration.

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