The Kabul Hostel

Barcelona

10 of 84

Address	PlaÃ§a Reial,17, Barcelona Catalonia, Spain Map
Price	17 - 25 euros Check Current Prices by Date Here

Location/Contact

Details

Their Description

Features

24 Hour Free Hot Showers
Pool Table
Washing Machine (laundry)
Lounge / Common space
Lockers
Bar
Free Breakfast
Clothes Dryer
TV
Phones (public or in room)
Air Conditioning
Elevator/Lift
Bike Rental

The Hostelz.com Review

This is one of the top fun/party hostels in Europe. It's located in Placa Reial, a popular Gaudi-designed square just off of Las Ramblas, Barcelona's main drag. It has a pool table, a nice view of the square, and vending machines offering everything from beer to grilled ham and cheese.

The crowd can sometimes run a little on the frat-boy side, but there is usually enough of a variety of people about to find intereresting people to hang out with. There's no curfew or lockout, but you also don't have to get up early to reserve your bed for another day if you decide to lengthen your stay. If you sleep past checkout, they assume you're staying another day and you just have to pay sometime during the day.

It isn't cheap and the showers are the minimalist type, with no curtains. And if you're the type that likes to sleep at night, earplugs might be a good idea since people get back from clubs at all hours, straight through to morning. Try to get an online reservation, but if the online beds are taken they don't take reservations any other way, so arrive early to get on the waiting list and expect to wait around until early afternoon before you can actually check-in.

For young backpackers looking to have a good time in Barcelona, this hostel is a great choice.

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review

Ratings & Comments

4 Average from 62 Ratings

This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites we don't censor out the negative comments.
We can't validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.

Comment by Lauren Ausset, French

August 2009

Very good
very good location (fifty metres away from las ramblas, half an hour walk from the beach, view on a beautiful plaza). very clean (rooms cleaned everyday), very clean toilets and rooms. very friendly staff (good advice on where to go and how to go somewhere), staff always happy to help. organized nights to go clubbing for free (every night). comfortable rooms (quiet except for the people in your room). very big lockers. free connection to the internet. good prices.

Comment by Carl, Finland

July 2009

Just turned thirty and felt a bit on the older side staying here. Many young "frat-boys" is quite an adequate expression. A bit noisy, if you are not partying. Excellent location. Cheap beer. No free internet. A decent hostel. Staff probably a bit overworked.

Comment by Judith, UK

May 2009

Noisy, took my deposit!
I checked out on time, and my room was left just as I left it. However, I didn't get my deposit (15 Euros) back when I gave in my key, and when I emailed the next day they said I couldn't get it back as I should have asked at the time. I guess this happens a lot, and I wonder how much extra money they make from this and whether the staff member or the hostel kept it? They didn't answer that email! Other than that, its difficult to charge phones as there's no electric in the room. There's internet access, but not enough computers (compared to other hostels), and a lot of these are very uncomfortable to sit at. It's very noisy, loud music that you can hear through earplugs comes from the common room until past 1 a.m., even if you have a quieter room. It's noisy in the day too, as there's building work going on in the halls, so it's hard to make up for the lack of sleep with a siesta! The staff are nowhere near as friendly as other hostels and are often quite rude/intimidating/unhelpful. Though I must say the guy that served breakfast was lovely and even taught me some catalan. Other than that the lockers are good as you open them with your room key (though after reading the posts below I'm a bit more concerned with leaving valuables in there than I was). he bunk beds are high with very narrow ladders too, I got stuck/nearly fell off a few times, which has never happened in other hostels!

Comment by Bryan Flood, Ireland

September 2008

Thieving gits
Rubbish, first off they are about as organised a headless chicken. We canceled our booking twice, were told it was canceled and not to worry about it. Got home from Barca only to discover that Kabul were trying to (did in fact) take money from the credit card! Stay somewhere else.

Comment by Omar Little, US

July 2008

Stay somewhere else
Rude staff, I had stuff stolen, as did my friends (it was only us in the room, which had locks, I'm guessing it was the staff/cleaning staff, or someone picking locks at a hostel? whatever). not very nice either. if you're willing to spend a few more euros you can stay at a cleaner and nicer place. I guess if you still want to party hostel-style, you can stay somewhere else and just go there to hang out at the bar before you go somewhere else. Sh*tty place, spend a little more and stay at a better location.

Comment by DH, British

June 2008

Amazing Place!
It's no wonder this hostel is voted one of the best in world. Security is great, there is cleaning happening twenty-four hours a day, the beer is cheap, there is free internet, the rooms are dark (perfect for siestas), and the staff were great. Yes, the showers dont have any doors so everyone can see you but the bathrooms are split into Male/Female anyway and the showers are hot and powerful so who cares. The best thing about this hostel is the atmosphere in the common room. I met so many people in there from all over the world. This place is the true hostel experience. Cant wait to stay again!

Comment by Emily, England

February 2008

Amazing
I had so much fun staying here. I only had stayed in one other hostel before staying here. The staff was really helpful and friendly. The hostel also provide free dinner and breakfast if you get there early (the have a limited amount). Also it a great hostel to meet people. My friends and i went on the pub crawl that was started from the hostel and got to meet a lot of the others staying there. It was also localed in a great location. it near the harbor (ten- to fifteen-minute-walk) and there is a metro station near by too. Each person got a key to their locker and the key also opened the front door.

Comment by Alana, USA

June 2007

Loved it!
this was by far the best hostel I have ever stayed in. It made my four nights and three day stay in Barcelona the best four nights and three days of my entire life. I wish I could have stayed longer and am already planning to go back next summer and stay here for a week. I cannot even explain all the people you will meet and how much fun you will have here. Don't be afraid to stay in a big room -- they're actually huge!

Comment by Anja Bogataj, Slovenia

May 2007

Me and my friends stayed there for five days. It was great! Hostel is in the centre of Barcelona, near to nightclubs and of course La Rambla. The breakfast is great, I recommend you avoid dinners, they don't look tasty. The staff is awesome, really nice, they help you with everything. The bathrooms are ok. Next time when I'm going to Barcelona, its a 100% I'm gonna stay in Kabul.

Comment by Italians do it better, Italy Rome

May 2007

Very good location! Great place to have fiesta! Friendly people and if you 're looking for a nice place to stay and meet people from all over the world come here! It's overcrowded and full of australian girls. Bathroom are clean and common type but more comfortable and with some privacy than gym or swimming pool ones, even if no doors. Friday and saturday night forgive to sleep especially if you have the room besides the square -- even that kind of room are the best. I was in one of them and was great -- I saw many room smaller one and without balcony on square. try to avoid them if you can!

Comment by Doo, Indian

April 2007

This hostel was great. The location is excellent. Close to La Rambla and easy to find. The hostel was surrounded by great restaurants, bars, and clubs. The staff was friendly and very helpful. Bathrooms were reasonably clean. Since there were only three stalls it was generally very crowded during mornings. Overall, I would recommend this hostel because of its great location.

Comment by Kelsea, USA

April 2007

I don't know why it's getting such great reviews, because although the location was amazing, the staff was the rudest I have ever encountered. They were cold, standoffish, and one actually swore at me when I was trying to ask a question. I was unimpressed.

Comment by JÃ©ronimo

January 2007

Great place to stay. At the same time a warm and friendly hostel and near the main points of interest of the city. Many extras -- free internet and dinner included. A bar with beers. Beautiful "Plaza real" from the window of the dorm. Only one magnetic key to open the main door, the room, and the locker (very convenient). I did not have to make a reservation (in January). Only one question -- why the name "Kabul"?

Comment by Lyle

October 2006

Kabul was a great hostel all round. I did lack a few things like power points but you could charge anything you needed at the reception. One off the rooms I stayed in was very cramped but the other was not and had a balcony so its pot luck what you may get. It is in such a perfect position in the city that you can get most places very easily. The staff are very helpful but they do serve half alcoholic and half non-alcoholic beer as they have no license to sell alcohol so they have to have the non-alcoholic kegs there to show if there is ever a surprise visit. Like i say though a great hostel just don't drink the beer or you will be in the toilet all night and not getting drunk.

Comment by Roosh

September 2006

This hostel lived up to its name as the party hostel. I stayed in a twenty- person dorm for three nights and there was always at least one group that stayed up well past 6 a.m. One night we had twenty-three people (three people on the floor). If you want to sleep, do not stay in a twenty-person dorm. It did not help that I got the biggest party room in the entire hostel. (I'm not really complaining -- I had a great time.) Earplugs help. The good -- spacious lockers and toilet facilities, hot water. Excellent location if you want to stay where the action is. Lots of french girls. The not so good -- neverending noise when you want to sleep. Staff were generally rude at the front desk. (No big deal but other hostels had friendlier service.) Five internet computers for two hundred-plus guests meant there was always a line. I would stay here again.

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