We stayed in the Hotel Barbacane in July for one night. Having read the reviews here, I was a little worried as I had also booked it for another family holidaying with us . But, I have to say, it's a hotel in a wonderful location. It is right at the foot of the hill leading to La Cite. Two minutes walk from the hotel and you're in La Cite. It's a steep climb, and not buggy-friendly(we needed two people to carry the buggy) but its quite short so it's manageable. Rooms are huge, with bedroom/bathroom upstairs and living area with the sofa bed and kitchen downstairs. A family could easily make this a base for a few days. A little traffic noise, but its a small inconvenience out-weighed by the great location.

This is more of a motel, not a hotel. This is the feeling you get when you enter the room. That's why it is nice for a short stay of 1-2 nights.

Location: location is great. it is a 5-7 minute walk to the old city (up a steep hill). Parking in front of the hotel is very, secures underground parking costs 8 Euros per night.

Room: it is more of a apartment, with a kitchen area and a seperate bedroom. Everything was new. It was clean, as was the bathroom and the seperate toilet.

Staff: very nice and polite.

In conclusion, This is more of a motel than a hotel. It is very good for a short stay.

we were booked in here by a rude call centre woman from planigo.com. I booked on line for the mount morency - the only cheap hotel with a pool in carcassone. when a woman from planigo !!!! called and said it was full and the barbaccane was the only one free in the whole city. I said we needed a pool - she said use the municipal one - i asked where ,she said didn't know!!!
Started to panic and read reviews on trip advisor. seemed ok.
got there and yes it does look like a prison, very plain but immaculately clean, fluffy white towels, firm bed. The location was fab - 2 mins up a steep hill to the citie.
The staff were fantastic, hairdyer given, tourist advice, lift by hotel to a destination 5 minutes by car but would have taken us 1/2 hour by bus and we would have got lost. they let us stay in staff room when it rained and we had booked out as we waited for taxi to ariport. they booked taxi to airport for us and he was on time but charged us 20 euros for 5 minute ride and 3 kms !!!.
dont have breakfast here as it is 10 euros and basic and not very clean dining room. instead go to citie but they open late for breakfast so don't go before 10:00am. bakery 2 mins walk down the road towards the bridge is fantastic.

Yes, it looks like a prison from the outside and the interior decor is plain to say the least, however in every other respect we found the hotel to be excellent.

We had no trouble finding it at all, Rue Barbacane runs along the bottom of the hill that La Cite sits on, just follow the road from the Pont Vieux (footbridge over river), it's right at the far end of the road.

We had an apartment for 4 and the rooms are huge by French standards,
the kitchenette is well equipped, we didn't cook anything but the fridge came in handy, sofa bed and TV, seperate loo and bathroom and (carpetted) bedroom all very clean and housekeeping changed the towels etc daily.

Rooms can vary with regard to the view, if you get one on Barbacane then maybe not so good, the other side of the hotel looks out over the stream or a inside room over the courtyard/garden, which is what we had (A3).

Location is great, a footpath is just yards away that takes you up hill into La Cite, and to be honest wherever you stay, you will find a hill of somekind to get there! A couple of shops just down the road, a bar 10 mins away - and lots up that hill of course - I thought it was a good excuse for beer after the climb!

The "new" town (dates back to the 1200's!) was very interesting, not so touristy and lots of little streets to explore as well as a square
full of cafes and a thrice weekly market.

The new town is about 15 mins away:

Direct route, left down Barbacane, right into Rue Gaffe the left over Pont Vieux.

Scenic route, first left from hotel, right along the bank of the stream, over bridge, through the park, over the river on the causeway
and right through Bellvue gardens.