Just back from 3 days in this hotel, it is very hand to get to from the Airport. Get the Train to Sants Station and the L3 Metro to Paral Lel metro station and you are right outside the hotel,cheaper and less hassle than buses and considerably cheaper than a taxi

The room itself was extremely clean however the walls are pretty thin, we could hear the people next door showering and also the staff making up the rooms.

We were on the roadside of the hotel and you could hear the traffic so if you are a light sleeper be warned.

The wifi was free in the hotel and quick, nearly reason enough to stay there if the internet is as vital to your work as it is to mine.

The location means Las Ramblas is an quick walk, turn left out of the hotel rather than right if you want to avoid the "professional" ladies.

All in All a good hotel and one I would stay at again if I were back in Barcelona

The hotel is very well placed, Parallel tube station right in front of hotel. Walking distance to the Ramblas, restaurants, snacks etc in the surroundings of the hotel. The hotel does not look very nice from the outside.The room was fine, nicely and efficiently decorated, we had one to the back with no view but very quiet as there was no noise from the street.

The only thing that surprised us was how well you heard the noise from the hall if somebody passed by talking or coughing, like if the door was open. So the hoovering on Sunday morning at 10 am in front of the room seemed a bit early after a Saturday night out, but that was the only negative point.

The rooftop is fantastic and although we visited in November we could still enjoy a bit of sunshine sitting in the sun with a view on Barcelona - obviously the pool was not accessible anymore at this time of the year.

We had a look at the fitness room, which looks very much bigger on the pictures on the site (good job done with the mirror), but the equipment looks modern.

We did not try the breakfast as if you are in BCN going out at night, 11am for breakfast is in the early range. However just opposite the hotel there is a Pans. A chain restaurant which we were first not very eager to visit, but that serves a menu breakfast and the Serrano Bocadillo with orange juice and tea or coffee was more than perfect and the price unbeatable, less than EUR 3.-- compared to the EUR 15.-- the breakfast buffet would have been.

We were happy about the free WiFi that worked perfectly.

We spent two nights at this hotel. The night before a cruise and a night after. We found this hotel excellent value. The staff were friendly and efficient. The rooms were spotless and spacious. When we arrived back to the hotel at 9:30 am from the cruise, the staff allows us into our room at no extra charge. There are many resturants and shopping nearby. We loved the location. I would stronly recommend this hotel to anyone taking a cruise out of Barcelona.

As this trip was our honeymoon we splashed out for the suite so I can't say what the usual rooms are like. The overall atmosphere was more suited to the business traveller than for a romantic break but the location was ideal, right round the corner from the fantastic 'La Rambla' where you can find street entertainers, restaurants, cafe's and the wonderful market. Because of this it made a great base for our visit. The rooftop pool was a nice touch and when we were there it was totally empty so we had the pleasure of having it all to ourselves. The suite was just gorgeous with a jacuzzi, lots of space and very large comfortable bed.

On the downside the food was pretty awful. We read a review that suggested avoiding the breakfast on account of it being bad value for money and not very tasty. This was helpful to know and we sought out cafe's in the morning. However we found that the bad food wasn't just confined to the breakfast and when we ordered snacks from room service they were really disappointing. We are not exceptionally fussy people but even the toastie was awful. I once ordered prawns that were so awful that I had to spit out the first one and couldn't touch the rest. When I pointed this out to them they just shrugged as if it were a matter of taste. We decided to keep it simple if we had to order food so once when very hungry and tired we just opted for a plate of chips, which had to be sent back twice as they were stone cold.

Having said all that I have given the Universal four stars as we really did have a good time. We ended up bringing food back to our room and would suggest that anyone staying there does the same.