Hotel Continental Barcelona

This was a great stay for it’s location and price. Located three stories above La Rambla, this space appears to be two buildings fused together with chewing gum. There are some odd steps and funky carpet covering the space where it comes together, but if you can overlook that you can appreciate the Hotel Continental. Staff is friendly, helpful, professional and everyone we came in contact with spoke English with ease. The breakfast/​snack buffet is always available to you, plus coffee, beer and wine which we enjoyed. It’s nice to have the opportunity to have a snack and a beverage while getting ready to head out for the evening, and for that the Hotel Continental was one of the more convenient stays we had in Spain.

So, first thing first — when George Orwell and his wife came to Barcelona during the Spanish civil to help the fight against Fascism, they stayed here. At the time, the hotel had been collectivized and was being run democratically by the workers. Orwell went off to the front to fight with one of the militias and his wife stayed here for months while working with the Anti-​fascist coalition government. That bit of history is why I booked here.
History aside, there’s a fair bit to recomend here. Their free breakfast bar stays open ²⁴⁄₇ if you want a snack and it even includes free beer on tap and a open air patio. Not too shabby! On the down side, the place’s age is showing and the lobby’s all have that musty old carpet smell. Back on the up side, it’s cheap (by US standards at least) so it’s easy to tolerate it being a bit worn around the edges.
The room itself probably didn’t look much different when Orwell was here, except the bathroom which has recently remodeled in tile. The bed is nice enough and the room is clean. The key is attached to a big wooden stick and you have to leave it it the front desk when you leave the place and pick it up when you come back. Awesome location. Come for the history, stay for the kitsch.

You have to file this hotel under «it is what is.» Clean room, great location, free breakfast and snacks and affordable price. It is quirky as can be and you have to have a sense of humour to make a success of your stay. Sample vignette: we summoned the elevator, it came, the door opened and an unaccompanied wiener dog got off and trotted down the hall. Definitely not the Hilton. We would come back.

We stayed there two weeks a ago. Excellent location and excellent service. Breakfast buffet was great.

I stayed here last year before a Mediterranean cruise embarking in Barcelona. I took the trip alone, but I had befriended so many other people from my cruise on a cruise forum website, and decided to stay here because many others were staying there.
The hotel shares a building with another business, but they only have the first floor. The second floor on upward all belong to the hotel. The hotel is in a prime location, near the beginning of the famed Las Ramblas street. And let me tell you, if you like nightlife, Barcelona is the city for you! There was something going on until all hours of the night. Whatever your fancy, Las Ramblas has something for everyone — be it the waterfront, shopping, Tapas restaurants, bars, etc.
The hotel was very nice, and the staff very friendly. I loved how they had a 24 hour tapas buffet to eat (breads, pretzels, meats (ham, wings), pastas). My favorite part? Free beer and wine all day/​all night — just grab a glass and pour yourself a cup!
My room was a very tiny room, but the hotel had already told me before I arrived I had a smaller than normal room, and I received it at a discount. All my friends joked and insisted on seeing the «closet» I stayed in. I didn’t mind — it had a nice bed, a bathroom, and a shower — that was all I needed. Although, I will say it did have the ceiling-​fan-​of-​death! The ceiling fan had so much power, I really thought it would fly off the ceiling! It didn’t, thankfully.
One thing I found kind of unique about the hotel was the key. The key was large, and had a large piece of wood attached to it. This made carrying around the key difficult, but the front desk had a solution — when you left the hotel, you dropped off the key to the front desk. Upon returning, you simply picked your key back up.
If you are looking for a place to stay on Las Ramblas, I highly suggest you try out Hotel Continental. There are two locations, do not get this confused with their other hotel Hotel Continental Palacete. While this may not be a 4 or 5 star hotel, it is definitely worth a stay.
The next time I am in Barcelona, I will stay here.