Astoria - Barcelona, Spain     

We stayed at Astoria for 6 nights in July 08. Its central location is the best thing about this hotel. It is just a block away from the local Metro station (Diagonal) and just minutes away from the top end of La Rambla and Pg de Gracia. Lots of great restaurants and easy access to most attractions. The hotel is very clean and the rooms are nice. The staff are nice too. A few important notes: When making a booking, it is best to go for a superior room option. We were first given a room looking into the air shaft and had no natural daylight. We asked for another room and got one with a street view for 20 euros extra per night... If you want to chose this hotel for the swimming pool, beware. It is tiny! It is more like a tub than a pool but the roof terrace is a nice spot to enjoy the sun after a long day of sight seeing but there are only 6 sun loungers so space is at premium. The breakfast seemed expensive at 13 euros each (though we were offered 2 breakfasts for 13 euros if you commit to have breakfast there for the whole stay). There are several small cafes just outside the hotel where 10 euros buy a nice breakfast for 2. Overall, i would recommend this hotel for its locations and clean rooms.

This hotel was exactly what I expected: clean, adequate, centrally located with helpful staff. I was looking for a hotel under $200 per night that would allow us to reach most destinations on foot, by subway or taxi and that had restaurants around the corner. The rooms at Astoria are small but clean. The showers had amazing water pressure and super hot water. We stayed in interior rooms which were pretty quiet and super dark - which is great when you are out late and want to catch some sleep. The second floor rooms have been recently updated and are very nice. The third and fourth floors are not as updated but I had no complaints. The staff was helpful with requests for things like extra pillows, taxis to the airport and small things but I wouldn't look to them to offer true concierge services. It is located on Carrier de Paris near Diagnol and we were able to walk to many attractions and it is also a good area for a jog or a bike ride. There's a great little cafe (Bar Paris) a block away that serves the most amazing bikinis. You must eat one of these sandwiches! I would definitely stay in this hotel again.