Center Ramblas, Barcelona

This hostel smells very bad, firstly, and is not kept clean. The bathroom was enough to make a person gag upon entering. The hallways are haphazard, it is a very unpleasant environment with flourescent lighting and dirty little staircases everywhere. It was generally disorganized, making guests wait for a very long time to check in, and seemed to have no concern for the experience of the guests. I rented a "towel" for 2 euros which turned out to be approximately the size of a postal stamp, not large enough to cover any part of my body. Three of the four computers were out of order. What is more, although they advertise as having single sex rooms available, the rooms are mixed gender because they have no plan while booking whatsoever. I entered my room to find a guy laying on his bed in the middle of the afternoon, drinking Chivas whiskey from a paper cup, and smoking (and stinking). Although I spoke to the reception about the smoking and drinking in the room, nothing was done. Although I know most backpackers enjoy a foul experience because it makes their travel feel more authentic to them, the worse part of this hostal was that it is not particularly inexpensive. Twenty-three euros for a shared, disgusting room is not cheap considering you could get a clean, private room for 30 (or less). The other saving grace is that the location is convenient, yes, although that hardly makes it worth it. Really an awful choice.