Holiday Inn Express Bcn 22@

We were here for just one night. There's lots to recommend this place. Our room was fairly spacious, very clean, and very well designed with an excellent bathroom. The bed was very comfortable, and our room was quiet. If we'd wanted to unpack, the storage was good, and plenty of space on bedside tables etc. The reception staff were lovely, and the location was great: good for public transport, restaurants and shops. The reception area was nice, with funky seating, a small bar area, stylish loos and dispensers for drinking water and ice. The only let-down was breakfast, with relatively little to choose from, and not the greatest quality (orange juice was undrinkable) - but adequate as a one-off. Breakfast aside, I'd be very happy to stay here again.

Beware! The pricing looks good but the is a very second rate hotel -- it is horribly crowded, it smells and is not clean in the common areas, and there are huge crowds of people. I found it to be very down market, uncomfortable and extremely poor service. There is no food available here other than breakfast and you get ONE towel in the bathroom.

Absolutely disgusted with our stay here. When I pulled out the sofa bed, there was a dead bug on it (which I have a photo of). Reception asked a cleaner who was working in the lobby to remake the bed. While removing the duvet, the sheets came loose and revealed a mattress protector covered in crumbs, debris, and several brown and yellow stains. It was filthy. The bed itself was extremely uncomfortable, the room was dusty, and there was a strong vinegar-like odour throughout both the room and the hallways. I also found the hotel setup concerning from a security point of view. On the ground floor there is a public seating area where anyone can walk in, while reception is upstairs. It felt like people could easily access the room areas from the public level without any proper control. I complained to reception the following morning and was simply told “we cleaned it, so the problem was sorted.” No apology, no accountability, and the staff were rude and dismissive throughout. Completely unacceptable considering we paid €306 for one night. Definitely not the standard you would expect for that price, and I would not stay here again.