Casa Barcelo Camp NOU Barcelona

The hostel has been slated on Tripadvisor and other review sites. We came here with an open mind and wanted to see whether the hostel was trying to rectify past issues. Firstly, on a positive note, the beds are quite comfortable. Secondly, the hostel is based in an area of Barcelona which is outside the hustle and bustle of the city, which is great if you want a break outside the chaos of Barcelona. Thirdly, the hostel has an extremely good roof terrace. We really enjoyed sitting on there with a few drinks on the evening. Now to the negatives, as they do sadly persist. The one thing that confused me with the hostel is that solutions to these issues are so easily rectified, and there seems to be a refusal to meet them. For example, the rooms are small, so we had to put our cases on the balconys. Knowing that this has been an issue for people, why haven’t hostels built a shelter on the balconys for bigger cases? Same issues with the showers. They smell repulsive at times. This really grated on my experience, because with a good clean or clearing the drains would solve this. And then thirdly, which was the biggest reason for my review scoring low, why does the hostel have a rule about locking the balcony door at 22:00 and not reopening them until 08:00? Staff also control the air conditioning in the rooms, so sometimes there is no air con in the rooms. Now, in the middle of fourth night, I walked into the room and I assumed someone complained, because the balcony door was open and air con was on. That’s all well and good, but it left me thinking, who wouldn’t want to the door open and the air con in 25 degrees heat? Why haven’t the hostel scrap this ludicrous rule really left me bewildered. I’ve stayed in a lot of hostels, and this isn’t the worst, but it’s not far off. The one of the reason why it’s one of the worse is because with more TLC, it could be amazing and stand out. I think the issues is down to poor management, foresight and a disregard to guests experience. It’s a shame, because the staff were really helpful.