Hostal Orleans in Barcelona

There was extensive and very noisy construction work going on in the building, which started in the morning and continued throughout the evening. The noise was terrible and carried throughout the accommodation. Unfortunately, I was not informed in advance about the noise from the construction and also not when I arrived. When I complained about the noise, I was waved away. I was not offered any other room or any other compensation. The rooms themselves are very simple and very worn out, the equipment seems very sterile and cheap. The view from my room was directly onto the building opposite and the air conditioning, which was also very noisy. Wifi was often unstable and slow. The reception seemed very unprofessional, when talking on his mobile phone and not even saying hello. My first and last time in this accommodation, I recommend making a huge detour from this accommodation. Big disappointment.

The staff speaks only Spanish and struggles to understand even very basic English. For instance, when I asked for a spoon at the reception, they had no idea what I meant and I had to explain it in a roundabout way. In a tourist city like Barcelona, that level of communication gap is unacceptable.

When I checked in, there was a strange man at the reception who handled my arrival in a way that felt awkward and unprofessional. On top of that, I was unexpectedly asked to pay a tourist tax, which was never clearly communicated during booking. It really caught me off guard, but I paid it because I had no other option.

The room itself was extremely small, smelled slightly of dust, and was furnished with very cheap, low-quality furniture. The room I was given did not match the photos on Booking.com at all — I was deeply disappointed when I saw it in person.

Noise was another major issue. There is zero soundproofing — you can hear everything, from people talking loudly in the hallway to drilling at 10 AM, which completely ruined my morning and made it nearly impossible to rest.

The only real positive I can mention is that there was air conditioning in the room. For that, I am at least grateful.

Overall, the hotel looks and feels far below average, and in my opinion, leaves much to be desired. I would personally recommend spending a bit more and booking a higher-quality place elsewhere. This one just isn’t worth it.