Hostal Girona

The Hostal Girona is spic-and-span and worthy of your time if you can score a room in the low season. Its Right Eixample location is just a couple blocks from downtown Barcelona and many of the city’s most popular sights.

This hotel was once a Cheapo favorite, but lately, rates are far too high for our taste. Still, we've found great rates here in the low season, so it's worth checking out if you're traveling then.

Those who love antiques will dig the motif at the Hostal Girona. Old-fashioned wardrobes offer a place to hang your hat and coat, and original mosaic tiles create trippy designs on the floors. Nice high ceilings round out the scene, and all rooms are equipped with free Wi-Fi, air conditioning and a large flat-screen television with international channels.

The Hostal Girona’s “superior” double rooms look out onto the street, and many of them have balconies. “Standard” rooms are a little cheaper and are interior facing, which means less (or no) natural light. It also means that they are quieter.

The bathrooms (and the flat-screen TVs) are by far the nicest and newest features at the Hostal Girona. Tiled, tidy and ample, these newish WCs get a cheapo “two thumbs up.” Don’t count on amenities though—the pension only provides hand soap. Double rooms at Hostal Girona have shared or private bathrooms with showers, quad rooms have shared facilities and single rooms have private bathrooms. 

To be clear, the Hostal Girona is not the sort of place where you’ll be tempted to chill all day. There’s no lounge or patio area, but when we visited we saw a minimum of three people cleaning vigorously. This place is spotless!

In all, the Hostal Girona can sometimes represent a good value in a pleasant part of town, removed from the tourist-traps common in the Gothic Quarter.

There’s an elevator to get you up to the first floor where the pension is located. There is also parking around the corner, and there is a safe at reception. Note that reception is closed from 2 a.m. until 7 a.m., but all guests have keys to come and go as they please.