Expected a basic budget hotel and got it. Certainly cant complain. Six of us went, 3 twin rooms. Mine was large with 3 beds, smelt a little fusty but sheets were clean. Other 2 rooms better, one had balcony. If you get one of the road facing rooms it can be little noisy in summer I suspect but as went in feb had windows shut. Breatfast basic, just stuck to toast and coffee. Only paid £23 per night so thought was good value for somewhere just to get your head down. Ideal for groups of males/females but not suitable for romantic weekend with wife!
Staff friendly and spoke english. Be carful of lifts, only take 4, we broke down with6 in, didnt realise. All in all good value for money. You get what you pay for, this was very cheap but ok. Ideally located with main metro stop accross road

There a few things that the Auto Hogar has going for it:

1. It's close to Las Ramblas.
2. The front desk staff are kind and courteous.

There are heaps of things that really sucked.

My room was so small I nearly choked when I closed the door. There was barely enough room to move around it, thank god it was just me and I didn't have to fit anyone else into it. The bathroom was an ok size though, not huge but big enough to not feel closed-in.

The place is so noisy. Everything makes a terrible amount of noise. After the first night (I was there for 5) I was convinced it was a mobile brothel. At around 10pm the male yelling and guffawing started. It was in french and german, I'm assuming these were guys getting all tarted up and tipsy to go out and hit the Barcelona nightlife. There were girls doing the same thing. i didn't hear them until they were ready to leave, then the sound of their click-clacking heels was deafening momentarily. Before that though, all I could smell was their smoke fouling up my non-smoking room. And the perfume they'd obviously doused themselves in.

When they left (with much door slamming, squealing, yelling, laughter, and click-clacking of heels) I was able to sleep. For a little while anyway.

By the way - who the hell put tiles on all floor surfaces in a hotel? HELLO!

At god knows what time (I was barely conscious from fatigue) they came screaming back in. I swear, they were all twice as loud as when they were getting ready to go out. It was hell in the Hogar.

So after the first night I dug out the earplugs. They helped. Kinda.

The breakfast was not too bad. If you love to clog your arteries. So many animal products, so little time. God bless you Europe. One saturday morning, there were no plates, food or spare seats so I grabbed one of the last croissants and ate it on the run. So much for the breakfast I paid for.

This hotel actually had a laundry service. I didn't use it because there was nothing in the room that stated how much it was and how long it took to come back. But for Spain, for a hotel to have laundry service at all was a miracle judging by my experience in several other Spanish hotels.

There are lots of theatres across the road, and there's a Gaudi (palau Guell I think - currently being restored) building a few blocks away. There is an internet cafe a few blocks up the road, when you go out the front door turn right and keep walking till you find it.

If you're street-art-inspired, when you go out the hotel front door, turn left and walk past the strip joint called Bagdad. On that street a block or two down, there is an alleyway off on the left featuring some of the best graffiti I have seen. I would class it as art, it was a sight to see.

There is a big area of Roman ruins nearby also, and don't miss the fresh food markets just off Las Ramblas nearby, they have fruit salad for 1 or 2 euros and it's refreshing to throw some down as you explore. They also have handmade chocolates, alcohol and deli stuff in the market too. Just go, it's worth a look.

There are a few restaurants on Avenue Parallel, including cute little places you can get Paella, as well as standard fast food places like Pizza Hut and KFC. I would recommend that you STAY AWAY from a place called 'OK Paella'. It's a few doors down from the Auto Hogar (when you go out the hotel front door, turn right) and if you're a solo female traveller you will likely be harrassed (by the male staff! It was extremely uncomfortable) as I was. And the food is crap there too.

In summary, the location is OK if you're prepared to walk alot. If not, it's ultra-close to the Parallel metro station, you can get to anywhere from there. Take your earplugs because you'll need them. The breakfast is fatty mush, and it's got one of those horrible machines that makes flavoured coloured sugar water and calls it 'juice'. And please, don't stay there if you're claustrophobic because you'll need therapy when you get home. I've warned you.

PS. You won't find views there either!

Stayed here 24-27th Nov 06 and was very pleasantly surprised by this hotel for the price. Despite reviews, our room was clean, comfortable, not noisy, had windows (!), and was not reached through a car park.

Maybe we were the lucky ones! Ask for room 703 in the main hotel.

Breakfast was good, staff friendly, and the room cleaned daily.
Location was amazing - a 10 minute walk to La Rambla and 2 minutes from Paral Lel metro. the metro is extremely easy to use.

They have a luggage room where you can leave your bags after you checkout if your flight is not til later.

From Girona Airport (Ryan Air) there is a great Aerobus service called BarcelonaBus to Central Barcelona (Arc de Triomphe Metro) from where you can get the metro (with one change) to Paralell for this hotel. Return trip is @15 euros and takes 1 hour 10 mins each way. Tickets are bought at a window in the arrivals hall in the airport.

We got the hotel for 35 pounds a night at the weekend on [--] and so all in all a very good value hotel for us anyway!

I stayed at this hotel for a couple of nights and really got what I was looking for - cheap, clean and central. The hotel is 50yds walk from the nearest metro station (Paral Lel) and 10 minutes walk to Las Ramblas and the waterfront. Sagrada Familia is reached on the same line (15 minutes) and the bus station 20 minutes with 1 change on the metro. Buffet breakfast is included and ok (served 7.30 - 10.30), but don't leave it until 10am to go down for it, as it is pandemonium!!! The hotel itself is clean if a little outdated, and the room I had was clean but very basic -all things that are reflected by the cheap cost. The only real downside was the noise, there is no sound proofing, so you hear every movement from every angle - only shear exhaustion from too much walking will guarantee a good nights sleep. My advice is if you don't care where you stay on a short visit, it's ok, but if you prefer more comfort and style, and you are staying longer than 2 nights, then don't bother.