Rating: 68/100 pts
I chose Hostalin Barcelona based on its location over anything else, and speaking from location alone, this is a prime choice: La Sagrada Familia is a 10 minute walk, the town center (Placa de Catalunya), Las Ramblas, and the town port are all just a few minutes' away, and the old city center and town cathedral are walkable as well. This area (Eixample) is perhaps the most upscale in Barcelona, and the street itself that this hotel is on is a comprehensive who's who of Spanish and International fashion brands. You are only a ~10 minute train ride to Sants Station (Barcelona's main station that connects to the airport and regional trains) as well.
So to reiterate, Hostalin Barcelona gets top marks for location. If that's all that matters to you (i.e., you won't be in the hotel room much), then it's clearly a strong choice.
Now for two caveats.
1) Noise. And not even so much noise from the hustle and bustle of the city, more just that the wide stairwell that serves as a vein through the building amplifies all voices up into the higher floors, the din from which can admittedly be irksome if you are in the room and looking for some peace and quiet. There's a restaurant just downstairs, and customers coming in and out at various hours of the day seemed to cause the commotion.
2) Sewage smell. There was definitely some ominous, Secret of the Ooze-type smell going on, which emanated from the bathroom (more specifically, the shower drain). I'd noticed something amiss when first entering the room, and it wasn't until later that I tracked the smell down to the shower. However, it isn't day-ruiningly bad (as I said, its origin wasn't immediately noticeable), and it could largely be overcome simply by closing the bathroom door.
Aside from the points mentioned above, overall comfort (sans smell, which the great location made up for) was pretty much on par with the rate of the room, so all in all I was pleased with my stay here, even if it wasn't as memorable as some of the other places I stayed at in Spain.
Oh, and the one-man service was handled pleasantly, and communication was smooth. read more