The exterior is ugly and so is the interior. Good points - cheap, en suite bathroom. Bad points - No bar/restaurant/lounge within hotel. No TV/Radio in hotel. Water from shower unpredictable.

"Hostal del Mar" was simple and clean, the employees were friendly. Breakfast was ok. It would become even better if they repaired the curtains or replaced them.

good hotel, good location. The entry, stairs etc. could be painted. Good service

The hotel was shabby, but we where in the middle of Barcelona. Could do almost everything by foot. I wouldn't book a second time in the hotel. The beds where terrible. After one night sleep my back hurt a lot. The people from Hostal del Mar are very kind and helpfull. So if you don't mind how the place is where you will sleep and if you want to be in a nice area in Barcelona you can book here. If you appreciaded a little comfort don't.

A good hotel with no frills. Room was clean and functional and the linen and towels were changed daily. Staff were fine and the breakfast across the road was good. Best thing about the hotel was its location being near the port, beaches, barrio gotic, Las Ramblas and the Park. An ideal stopping place for the traveller who wants to explore everything but not for someone who wants to be pampered in their hotel.

The hotel is perfectly located at Pla Palau, so everything is within walking distance. The rooms are clean and o.k. The only thing I didn't like was that the hotel is very noisy (you can hear your neighbours) and the room cleaners like to party when they clean. So after a long spanish night it's not possible to sleep in. Well, the early bird catches the worm.

This is a very old, but clean hotel. Just a few minutes walk from de Barri Gotic. And even closer to La Barceloneta and to the Port Vell. Breakfast (quite good, actually) is in a hotel nearby. This hotel is worth every penny!

The hotel was extremely run down , there were holes in the walls of the bathroom and the the bedroom wallls were plastered here and there with no effort to make them presentable . The paint on the furniture was peeling off . The noise level during the night was unacceptable. In general I did not feel safe in the general environment of my corridor where one door was barred up. I also had to travel some distance to another hotel for breakfast where the standand of civility and food left a lot to be desired.

Taxi couldn't find address! However, when we eventually arrived, we were pleased with our room. Comfy beds, good towels, but shower inadequate, water just dribbled out! Very pleasant man on desk during daytime and he let us check in early (about 10:00 a.m.) and on check-out day we were able to leave our luggage there until late afternoon. Same helpful man assisted with calling taxi and went out of his way to help. Continental breakfast at nearby hotel was adequate. Location of hotel was quite central and very quiet. Would recommend to friends.

Hotel is located in a nice area, but room wasn't as clean as it should be and breakfast wasn't good either...

very basic but clean and tidy basic breakfast but not bad plenty of juice and coffee idealy situated for all the site seeing 10 mins walk to the beach 2 mins to the zoo plenty of bars and resturants good bar ibiza cafe just around the corner very friendly if you like your 5 star hotels with all the mod cons dont come here if you want to just get your head down and have a shower then its ideal metro and train station just across the road can be noisy from traffic but have plenty to drink and enjoy we did

the hotel is central- easy enough to find when you realise the given address is not on the map-look for pza palau. The room was large and had a good view of the square, much less scruffy than the exterior promised- but there is no air conditioning and the traffic in the square seems to be major through-road all night long.The worst of the noise seemed to be made by the dustbin emptiers at two in the morning. If you keep the window open it is too noisy to sleep- bring ear plugs! Breakfast involves a trek across 3 roads (5 mins)to a more expensive hotel san Marta- less friendly, if smarter. Orange juice was warm and coffee, the worst we had in Spain. Staff at DEL MAR were friendly and willing to sell us cold drinks on arrival. I would not stay there again in August because of the lack of air conditioning other than the very noisy street window, for all that, it was lovely to walk to the marina within seconds of leaving the hotel. Bed linen was spotless and changed daily and the towels were thick and homely and plentyful.

The surch for "Pza Palacio" was not easy. After we realised that " Pza Palau" was the same, we quickly found the hotel. About "Hostel del Mar" we cannot say very much. The hostel was fully booked, so the management friendly guided us to an other hotel just across the street. Hotel "Lion" was small but very very clean with very polite personel. Clean basic rooms - with airco-. The ideal place to stay for visiting the great city of Barcelona. I can only recommend it. Nice, clean, cheap, perfect location ......who can ask for more ???

The hotel is clean, but owing to the lack of air-conditioning, extremely hot, and for the heavy traffic, noisy all the day and night. You can sleep daytime in a nearby park, but take care of your valuables if asleep - thiefs may occur. Opening the window you can enjoy the rumbling of the air conditioning on the top of buses, and the exhaust gases from all vehicles. The personnel was friendly.

I'm not happy because when we arrived in Barcelona, the 2** hotel that I booked, was full and we had to go to an other hotel 1*.

Basic but clean hotel in a great location. Some rooms have views over the harbour, so ask for one!

The hotel was very clean and the bed comfy and lots of hot water etc and nice old shutters. As I was on the street side of the hotel there was a lot of traffic noise but I got used to it after the first night. The corridors and keys were rather echoy. Some of the staff were friendlier than others but they were all OK. The breakfast was simple but fine. I'd certainly go back.

nice hotel, clean, very friendly staff. rooms to the frontside noisy, but nice view. other rooms are more quiet, some have musty smell. breakfast basic. recommendable hotel in a nice part of town.

All the reviews are accurate on the web site but it really is a fantastic location - we walked and walked from here - it's near all the sights in the Gothic quarter, near the port, beach, Las Ramblas. It is a bit run down, but the sheets and towels are clean. I took my ear plugs for sleeping and had excellent nights sleep. The square that it is in is called Palau (although the map says Palacio) - it is on the same side as the 7 Portes (I think that's the name) restaurant. We would definitely stay there again. The breakfast was fine - a roll, a croissant butter and jam and unlimited tea, coffee, juice and hot chocolate. Although the restaurant is in a different hotel, it's very close and easy to find. All in all, very good value for Barcelona we thought.

First the good news--this hostel was in a terrific location, making it very easy to see all we wanted to see in the old city. The staff were very friendly and helpful and we felt very safe. This is a place you wouldn't want to do anything more than just sleep there, however. It was not very clean, with dirty bedspreads riddled with cigarette burnholes, crumbling tiles on the floor, and a bathtub/shower combo that was downright nasty. But the sheets seemed clean and the beds decent so if you don't mind paying eighty plus euros for a sketchy place that's well located, this one's okay.

my room was run down, ceiling flaking, bed linens were old and worn thin. there was also a strong urine odor on my floor. Friendly staff and descent breakfast though. There are far better deals in Barcelona

If you're looking for a very basic bed and bathroom for a few nights then this place is fine - it's clean, friendly and the location is very good for town, the beach and all the other great things Barcelona has to offer. My only critisicm would be that since the hotel seem to insist on their guests sleeping in tropical room tempartures it's a choice between overheating or opening the window and trying to fall asleep to the sounds of Barcelona nightlife! Have fun choosing!!

Very clean, quiet and brilliantly positioned. however the address given is not the same as that on the road signs (one is Spanish one is Catalan) but we eventually found it. Also the breakfast is is a different hotel 2 streets away. But I would go back there tomorrow!!

A good little place to stay at, when you only need a bed and a shower while you enjoy the city of Barcelona

This hotel is conveniently located and the desk staff were helpful and spoke English. However, I found my room truly repellant--dingy, and not especially clean, and I don't have extraordinarily high standards. If I had not paid (the relatively high room rate) in advance, I would have tried to go elsewhere. Also, the breakfast was not very good, and was in such an unpleasant room (in a different hotel) that I actually preferred to eat in a nearby cafe.

If your looking for easy access for all sight seeing in Barcelona at a low cost this is is the place. The money saved on accommodation can be best spent on fine wine and good food. The accommodation is basic but very clean. The staff are very friendly and the breakfast a is good start. We had a great time!!

Perfectly located close to the centre as well as to the beach. Rather worn down, but very clean. Breakfast rather poor, be ready just for a croissant and coffee.

Reasonably priced hostel with clean shower and lots of bathroom linen. However, the beds were worn with absolutely no support and the carpet was quite threadbare. There was no fan or clock in the room so you will have to bring your own.

My wife and I just returned from a nine day trip to visit our student daughter in Barcelona. We stayed at the Hostal del Mar. If you are looking for Jacuzzis and big screen TV's, this is not the place for you. If you are looking for a very clean, very Spartan room at a very reasonable rate, this is the place. Linens were changed every day, breakfast was OJ, two rolls, Cafe con leche, but was enough to launch us to the next cafe for midmorning. It is also well located near the best museums and entertainment on the water front, and the Barceloneta Metro stop is a short walk. While at the beginning of our stay in Barecelona we spent most of our time in the area of Plaza de Cataluna, by the end of the trip we were staying pretty close to home (Hostal del Mar) with wonderful neighborhoods, good bars/cafes. and close to Picasso Museum. If we went back to Barcelona, which I would like to do tomrrow, I would stay at the reasonably priced Hostal del Mar, and spend my real money on the wine, food, and song.