Condestable - Barcelona, Spain     

I am not one to usually write reviews, but this hotel needs to come with a warning. This was my fourth time in Barcelona. Our travel agent booked this hotel, so I didn't do my usual research. When I first read that the hotel was noisy, I didn't think much of it because european streets usually are noisy. However, this was horrible. As someone else explained, you could hear every peep from all the rooms around you. So much so, that it was even uncomfortable to talk because it was not private. What's worse, is that there were a group of young males who literally yelled and screamed (celebrated) for two nights in a row until 2am. They sang and slammed doors, stomped on floors and hit walls. it echoed through the entire hotel and you could tell the other guests were upset....but the staff did nothing!! We got not sleep for the entire time. The ceiling leaked every day and dripped on my bed. The toilet stopped working, and when they say hairdryer in every room, they mean that you have to go down to the desk every morning and borrow it. The beds were so short, that my feet hung off..I'm only 5'8". I could go on, but I just wanted to warn people that this is a horrible, horrible hotel, that is more akin to a Hostel. Avoid it at all costs.

I booked this hotel in March 2008 through Venere. The night we arrived in Barcelona it was pouring rain and there was a strike going on that shut down the streets by Placa Catalunya. My husband and I had to walk over a mile in the rain to the hotel with our luggage. Upon arriving at Condestable and giving them my last name, they confirmed by telling me my first name. We were then informed that the website we had booked through had changed our reservation to another hotel. We knew this wasn't true as I had just checked my email. The person behind the desk told us we had to go to another hotel near Plaza Espana, which was no where near where we wanted to stay. We had picked Condestable based on its location and price. We explained to the man that the streets were closed and that we had just walked in the rain, but got nowhere with him. Although we can't be sure, the "full" sign on the door indicated to us that our room was given away to someone else that was willing to pay more. We told the man at the desk that we would not be staying at the other hotel and left. We found a room at the Hotel Jazz down the street, which ended up costing us $120 more than Condestable would have cost, but the room was nice and clean and the people at the front desk were very friendly. Upon arriving home and looking at our credit card bill, we ended up being charged for a nights stay at the other hotel where Condestable moved our reservation. After several emails with this hotel, the charges were credited to our account. It was very upsetting that Condestable was giving out our credit card information to another hotel without our permission. Do not book here. They do not honor reservations!!