The Hostelz.com Review
Sant Jordi Sagrada Familia is great. The extremely good price, the quality of the accommodations, and the location of the hostel itself can't be beat. The apartment-style setup allows for a good mix of social time and relaxation in private, which is important on an action-packed trip to Barcelona.
The Location
Despite its name, the hostel is actually several blocks away from Sagrada Familia. It's still a fairly quick walk, but it's not as close to the cathedral as someone would assume. The neighborhood is decent -- nothing to rave about, but we felt safe walking around at all hours of the day and night. There's a Consum (Spanish grocery store chain) right across the street, which is really convenient for picking up snacks and toiletry items. The hostel is located just two blocks away from the Hospital de Sant Pau metro stop, and the L5 metro line is just a connection or two away from nearly everything in the city. Also, there's an internet café within two blocks from the hostel, and the computers there have microphones for making Skype phone calls to international friends and family. The neighborhood is fairly quiet, as it's removed from many of the main attractions of the city, which can be nice after a day in the hustle-and-bustle of the more crowded areas of Barcelona.
Rooms and Bathrooms
There are a variety of room types, most of which have multiple beds. The hostel itself is arranged in an apartment style, with four apartments on each floor. Each apartment has three rooms (with varying numbers of beds each), a bathroom, a living room, a kitchen, and usually a balcony. There are no in-room lockers, though each room in the apartment has keyed entry for just the residents of that particular room. All in all, there are three keys at Sant Jordi Sagrada Família (one for the main door on the street, one to the apartment, and one to the individual room), so the only people who have access to your belongings are the people sharing your room. The four-bed rooms have two bunk beds with two wardrobes and two nightstands, and the hostel provides bed linens (some do not). The bathrooms are clean and pretty modern, with a shower, sink, and bidet, though they don't have a separate room to change. There's ample shelf space for residents' toiletries, and two towel hooks on the door.
The living room and kitchen are both nicely furnished. The kitchen includes an assortment of plates/bowls, silverware, and cooking pots and dishes, as well as a refrigerator and a stove with oven. There is also a washing machine on the small balcony off the kitchen, but you have to provide your own detergent. The one insect we saw in the entire time at the hostel was in the soap dish by the kitchen sink, and it was tiny. The living room in the apartment has an entertainment center with a small TV, two couches, and a dining room set for eating meals. The main balcony is also off the living room, where residents can look out at the city or have a smoke.
Common Spaces
There is an area near the main office with a huge flat-screen TV, a few couches, six computers, books for exchange, and an assortment of DVDs. At any time throughout the day, you can find other residents there enjoying some TV or checking e-mail on the computers. There's a pretty social atmosphere in the hostel, and you're likely to meet other cool people right from the start. They hostel also organizes group outings with free entry and drink specials to cultivate this social environment. There were a mix of residents (Americans, Swedes, Poles, British, French, Belgians, just to name a few), and all of them seem completely normal. If the social thing isn't for you, you can always just retreat to your apartment or room, which are nice and quiet. The hostel doesn't have smoking indoors, just outside and on balconies, so there's no stale cigarette smell lingering around as in some other hostels. The hostel doesn't have any luggage storage that we're aware of.
Summary
All in all, the decent location, great price, and very comfortable accommodations make this hostel a good choice for budget-conscious backpackers visiting the great city of Barcelona. We would absolutely stay here again if we return to Barcelona.
The Location
Despite its name, the hostel is actually several blocks away from Sagrada Familia. It's still a fairly quick walk, but it's not as close to the cathedral as someone would assume. The neighborhood is decent -- nothing to rave about, but we felt safe walking around at all hours of the day and night. There's a Consum (Spanish grocery store chain) right across the street, which is really convenient for picking up snacks and toiletry items. The hostel is located just two blocks away from the Hospital de Sant Pau metro stop, and the L5 metro line is just a connection or two away from nearly everything in the city. Also, there's an internet café within two blocks from the hostel, and the computers there have microphones for making Skype phone calls to international friends and family. The neighborhood is fairly quiet, as it's removed from many of the main attractions of the city, which can be nice after a day in the hustle-and-bustle of the more crowded areas of Barcelona.
Rooms and Bathrooms
There are a variety of room types, most of which have multiple beds. The hostel itself is arranged in an apartment style, with four apartments on each floor. Each apartment has three rooms (with varying numbers of beds each), a bathroom, a living room, a kitchen, and usually a balcony. There are no in-room lockers, though each room in the apartment has keyed entry for just the residents of that particular room. All in all, there are three keys at Sant Jordi Sagrada Família (one for the main door on the street, one to the apartment, and one to the individual room), so the only people who have access to your belongings are the people sharing your room. The four-bed rooms have two bunk beds with two wardrobes and two nightstands, and the hostel provides bed linens (some do not). The bathrooms are clean and pretty modern, with a shower, sink, and bidet, though they don't have a separate room to change. There's ample shelf space for residents' toiletries, and two towel hooks on the door.
The living room and kitchen are both nicely furnished. The kitchen includes an assortment of plates/bowls, silverware, and cooking pots and dishes, as well as a refrigerator and a stove with oven. There is also a washing machine on the small balcony off the kitchen, but you have to provide your own detergent. The one insect we saw in the entire time at the hostel was in the soap dish by the kitchen sink, and it was tiny. The living room in the apartment has an entertainment center with a small TV, two couches, and a dining room set for eating meals. The main balcony is also off the living room, where residents can look out at the city or have a smoke.
Common Spaces
There is an area near the main office with a huge flat-screen TV, a few couches, six computers, books for exchange, and an assortment of DVDs. At any time throughout the day, you can find other residents there enjoying some TV or checking e-mail on the computers. There's a pretty social atmosphere in the hostel, and you're likely to meet other cool people right from the start. They hostel also organizes group outings with free entry and drink specials to cultivate this social environment. There were a mix of residents (Americans, Swedes, Poles, British, French, Belgians, just to name a few), and all of them seem completely normal. If the social thing isn't for you, you can always just retreat to your apartment or room, which are nice and quiet. The hostel doesn't have smoking indoors, just outside and on balconies, so there's no stale cigarette smell lingering around as in some other hostels. The hostel doesn't have any luggage storage that we're aware of.
Summary
All in all, the decent location, great price, and very comfortable accommodations make this hostel a good choice for budget-conscious backpackers visiting the great city of Barcelona. We would absolutely stay here again if we return to Barcelona.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2009
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Sant Jordi Sagrada Familia Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Recommended Good room. Clean and big shared bathroom. Excellent location. Friendly personnel. Just access to rooms need open too much doors. — JFSF , Chile (2012-05-09) Not so good This hostel could have been so much better. The staff was less than attentive and was really into micromanaging guests. I got so sick of the passive-aggressive signs telling us to wipe up the water because the shower malfunctioned. The staff also were really money grubbing and expected one night in advance. But worst, there is this guy working there who is rude to the guests, unless you're a pretty girl who will put out for him. They just don't know how to run the place. Don't come here. — Anonymous , Canada (2010-08-04) My worst experience ever These apartments are like something from a horror movie. Words cannot describe this place, but I'll give it a try. Do you like giant cockroaches that are not afraid of humans? Well then this is the place for you. Never in my life have I seen such disgusting conditions. The bathrooms are full of cockroaches, stains, strange fluids, and other filthy things. The room makes you feel like you're in Guantanamo Bay -- and if you're taller than one hundred seventy-five centimeters, the beds will be way too small. Do not trust the pictures you've seen of this place, there is no similarity between them and the real thing! My room faced some kind of air vent, so falling asleep was literally impossible because of the noise, and strangely enough there was no air in this air vent so the room was extremely stuffy. And trust me, you do not want a stuffy room in Barcelona during the summer, unless you want to have the worst vacation in your life. As if falling asleep wasn't hard enough, every night a very annoying guy from the staff banged on everybody's door trying to make people go out and party with him. it felt like he only worked there because he was desperate for friends, which was kind of creepy. Yes, this place is just as weird as it sounds, and even weirder. I'm actually shocked that it still exists. I was psychologically and physically broken down when I got home, first I showered for an hour and then I slept for sixteen hours. what a horrible experience. — Stargazer999 , Sweden (2008-09-26)