Casa Maca Guest House

This was a great find and is situated in a nice part of Barcelona within walking distance to key places yet quietly away, close to Gaudi's Casa Mila. You arrange a time for check in as there isn't a staff member on site. Communication was excellent and a lovely girl met me and gave me the keys (3) one for the front door onto the street, another for the door to the apartment a couple of floors up and another to my room. The room was wonderful and really spacious. A double bed in the main alongside an annex room with a single bed, bathroom and a balcony looking onto the street. Classic style, really clean and unbelievably well priced. I would stay here again as was a positive experience.

NO CHECK IN AFTER 10pm which I didn't notice when I booked and only found out 3 days before arrival. Called the reception who explained that it could be arranged for a 45€ fee. When I called 1 day before arrival to arrange the late check in and pay the supplement they said it is too late and has to be arranged well before. Had to book a night somewhere else and start my stay 1 day late. Booked a triple room and it was HUGE. Clean. Good location Bed was smaller than usual No AC Very noisy if you are facing the main street (I was on the 1st floor) Security was very thin: no security cameras inside the premises and the outside lock on my room looked rather fragile. No keycard but old fashioned ones: you have to move around with 3 keys: building door, Main door and room. Check out was very easy: just drop the keys in the small hall basket and leave. Not impressed...

So, the location was great! It is close to the center and all the sights that you are supposed to visit in Barcelona. However, we had a MAJOR issue with the shower. There was plenty of hot water but the temperature changed as it wished on its own. So we would even wait for 10 minutes in the shower for the water to get to a normal temperature so we wouldn't freeze or burn ourselves in order to rinse the soap and get out of there! Also, it was not as clean as it could have been because the building is rather old and not in a great condition. The staff was rather friendly but on our last day there we figured that some medicine was missing from our room and nobody was rather keen on helping us find it. All in all, the location was very convenient but it was an average experience, I wouldn't really recommend it if you can find somewhere else to stay.