Hostal Gat Raval

The Hostal Gat Raval is one of a number of budget options for visitors looking to stay in the city for a few nights – but it is a hostel with a difference! Renovated in a modern style by a group of architects, the Gat Raval has rooms with a pea-green and lemon-lime colour scheme, for starters.

According to your tastes, the Gat Raval is either located in a slightly unsavoury area off La Rambla or it is in the middle of Bohemian Barcelona right next to the cosmopolitan, boisterous bars of Carre Joaquin Costa, usually jam-packed with students and locals. It is, however, just a few metres away from the Contemporary Arts Museum, MACBA, and easy walking distance of Las Ramblas and Plaça Catalunya. The nearest Metro station is Universitat.

One commonly mentioned problem with the hostel is actually finding it in the first place – it isn’t well signposted and you have to go up to a second floor reception after being ‘buzzed’ through the main door. Once inside, though, you’ll find the rooms basic but clean – all with air conditioning, many with balconies and most with interesting artwork and design. Guests who reserve a Superior Double room will have their own bathroom but the public bathrooms are regularly cleaned and well-maintained.

Breakfast is included in the price – although don’t expect anything more than coffee and cellophane wrapped bread – and free tea and coffee is available all the time. There is now free Wi-Fi for guests and, quite possibly by the time you get there, the lift will have been completed to save perhaps walking up several flights of stairs. Completion is imminent. Most of the staff speak good English and they have been the subject of many positive comments about their helpfulness and genuine friendliness.

There is no escape from the fact that this is a budget hotel – the walls are thin and the stairwells not well lit. However, if you are looking for a cheap, clean, convenient hostel with some sleek, modern touches, then the Gat Raval is certainly a place worth investigating.

The 26 room hostel is at Carre Joaquin Costa, 44, 08001 – but make sure you’ve got a map!

Next: Centric Point Hostel, Barcelona – great budget accommodation in superb location