Everyone we talked to in Portugal and Spain said we HAD to stay in Kabul. So we booked the 20-person dorm, a little wary. The first night we stayed there was absolute hell. I'm not going to blame the hostel, but the people in our room were really inconsiderate and loud, coming into the room before going to bed, and leaving when they left for their flight. We only stayed in Barcelona for 2 days, and wanted to do all the touristy things to do, which was hard the first day, since we were so sleep-deprived. After that sleepless night, we asked the staff if we could change to a smaller dorm, but he said probably not because it was fully booked since it was the weekend. He said if we had another bad night, we could cancel our third night without their usual cancellation policy, which was nice. Luckily the jerks in our room had left and were replaced with much nicer people, so we did manage to sleep the other 2 nights.So definitely don't come here if you're a light sleeper or are less of a party animal and more of a sight-seer. Even without the jerks in the room, and people trying to be quiet, it's hard for 20 people not to make noise opening doors and lockers and getting packed.The hostel itself was fine. The breakfast was quite good (cereal, bread, fruit, coffee, tea, hot chocolate) and the staff was helpful, even when we were cranky. The showers are warm, but they turn off automatically every few minutes. The location is great, and overall Barcelona is an amazing city.
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(Review ID: 5469)
Only for Underage Americans, May 30, 2005
Reviewer:
Katrina
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(2)
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(2)
The accomodations were fine- a little pricy for having to pay for your sheets, but acceptable. Staff was kind of cold. Yet there is no security whatsoever. But, comfortable bed, firm pillow, large locker, clean. Nice balcony into the square. Showers were a little lame, you had to push the button every 30 seconds for the water to continue to flow. All the people I encountered were very young Americans who had just discovered alcohol and seemed as though they have never been responsible for themselves, and they felt free to use my bed as their personal space to throw things or to sit/lay on. I'm aware this is a party hostel, but I was expecting to meet adults who wanted to have a good time, not fresh 18 yearolds who didn't have a clue.
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(Review ID: 5470)
ok so this place was a bit of a shocker in my opinion, May 28, 2005
Reviewer:
Wil
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yeah well l met some cool people here, even a fellow Aussie staying in my dorm, and went out with a couple of canadian girls and a kiwi to what must have been one of the pumpingest clubs in barcelona if not the northern hemisphere (don't ask me what name). but the place had a generally dodgy air about it that made me feel insecure. l just didn't like it and the 'free breakfast' pissed me off - all you got was a coffee and a croissant! big whoopee! like that's any use, l could have eaten about 6. also the lockers are pretty hi-tech with key-card access, but it's a real bummer hey when you insert the card 8 times and the damn thing beeps negative every time. worked out the technique eventually, but l just wish the manufacturers would make these systems more foolproof! l mean what is a hostel manager supposed to do when one in a block of four lockers screws up, remove them all and send them back? no, they're gonna put up with it/slash pass the problem onto the guest, what a pain in the ass when you're trying to be quiet taking off in the morning, and the fricking thing's beeping at you for 5 minutes as you're trying to figure out how to get it to accept the card!other than that, an acceptable place to stay although l would have preferred something a bit cleaner and quieter. also l don't like sharing rooms with six other guests in a room about the size of an office. the receptionists were very creepy too, just not my style l guess. maybe l need to relax lol!
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(Review ID: 5471)
Party but as for sleep . . ., April 29, 2005
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Anonymous
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Maintenance
(4)
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(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
I stayed at this hostel one night during July, 2004. I found the bathrooms to be large, clean and offered enough privacy. They had three private showers (no curtain) but for someone to see you, they would have to walk to the other end of the bathroom and stand there to look in. Unless you are a member of both sexes, I wouldn't worry about it. The hostel is noisy and when the people drink, they can often make a lot of noise at 3:00 a.m. The doors slam and people are getting up early to catch trains and flights so the doors slam again. It is a party hostel--not a place for a good night's sleep. While it is true that many young kids are there sleeping all day and drinking all night and never visit the wonderful sites of this great city, we should blame their rich dad--not the hostel.
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(Review ID: 5472)
disappointing, March 14, 2005
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Anonymous
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(1)
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(1)
Although it has a great location, Kabul hostel is poorly runned. Reservations are pretty much meaningless when your room is being spontaneously retained by others (i.e. they have a policy of being able to keep a room beyond one's reservation date, which means that another's reservations for that particular room made months in advance gets screwed). Our group of 8 purposefully chose an 8-person single room and got a 10-person shared room with 2 random strangers who were loud & disrespectful. Also, hanging out in the lobby where the computers, benches, and pool tables are is the perfect location for receiving second hand smoke. The bathrooms lack shower curtains (in the girl's bathroom, you can see directly into some of the shower stalls with the mirrors), the showers are timed (like 20 seconds & you need to repush a button for water), single sex assigned bathrooms really mean co-ed, and hot water runs out eventually. Also, the only power outlets are in the bathroom (next to the sink) and behind the front desk. The rooms lack heat and circulation. The sheets were unwashed and the room was pretty filthy. This is the worst hostel I have ever stayed at and it is even worst than a college frosh dorm.
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(Review ID: 5473)
Great location!, March 7, 2005
Reviewer:
Rose
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(3)
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(3)
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(3)
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(3)
Kabul is a little hard to find at first as it is tucked away in the Placa Reial. It is a really good location, right off the main drag! The electronic locks on the lockers and doors mean you feel that your stuff is safe at all times. The batteries on the lockers come and go and a loud banging noise happens when you try to open yours when it's battery is dead. This is not fun late at night when you wake your whole room! My only reason for not giving it 5 stars is the fact that the showers in the bathrooms on my level had no curtains and it was an absolute nightmare! I had to work out when there would be no-one else around just to get some privacy. If they added some shower curtains, then it would get full marks! Definitely a good place to stay, but after dark, that plaza that the hostel is on becomes bed to a lot of homeless Barcelonians and can be a little scary! Scary, but still pretty safe!
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(Review ID: 5474)
A very, very good time, January 8, 2005
Reviewer:
jaypandolfo
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Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
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(3)
I'm not sure how to rate this hostel. On one hand, it's not exactly clean, not exactly cheap, the dorms have people crammed inside them like sardines, and they have ridiculous rules like not being allowed to bring store bought beer into the hostel (so you're forced to buy Kabul's awful draught for inflated prices). Also, to be perfectly honest, a lot of the guests are complete wastes of space. They drink all night, then sleep all day, all the while never leaving the hostel (not even to go to the beach!). This is unacceptable in a city as diverse and exciting as Barcelona. The staff also got on my nerves; they seemed more interested in scoring a lay with a guest than with checking people in or otherwise helping them.But on the other hand, the location and atmosphere here after about 6 PM (almost) makes up for all those shortcomings. I can't think of a better place for a hostel than Placa Reial, and the waterfront is about 5 minutes away. At about 6 PM, what seems like the entire hostel comes downstairs, and everyone drinks and parties together. In fact, I met a lot of people staying at other hostels who came to party at Kabul. There seems to be an opportunity to go on a pub crawl every night. Nights at Kabul are definitely insane, and I'd tell you more if I remembered.If you want a good time and a good location and are willing to put up with some inconveniences, stay at Kabul (if you can get a bed - come early). If you're the type that values facilities and cleanliness above all, don't even think about staying here.
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(Review ID: 5475)
Best party hostel in Europe, September 30, 2004
Reviewer:
travel_kamikaze80
Pros:
n/a
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(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
This hostel was sooooo much fun! Its the place you always intend on leaving but never do. There are 400 beds in this place so its pretty lively. Its just off la rambla so in a great location. There is free internet and they offer cheap dinner and beer.I never found it noisy and the staff were really friendly.All the rooms were clean and had lockable lockers. The bathrooms were very clean too.
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(Review ID: 5476)
Very chill place, September 17, 2004
Reviewer:
madmartigan
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Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
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(3)
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(3)
We just needed a place to stay and ive stayed here before 2 years ago. 2 years a go they offered a decent breakfast, this was the downside, but everything else has been improved and renovated for the most part.. the staff are amazing and there was this dutch couple while we were there from Amsterdam who worked, and they were awsome, the asian guy working was a bit in the sky and the rest were cool! This hostel is basically a place to stay, no kitchen, shared showers, and very noisy... for the price you could do better in Barcelona, everything else is near by and centrally located, we stayed here because a lot of htings tend to be over booked in Barcelona!
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(Review ID: 5477)
Noisy, June 1, 2004
Reviewer:
Lisbe
Pros:
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Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
This hostel has a great localization (in Las Ramblas, next to metro station), but at night it can be a little bit dangerous. You get tuesday free if you pay saturday, sunday and monday at once. The best thing is that you have your own locker with a magnetic key. Its very big and safe and you dont have to pay for it (you have to give 15 euros when you receive the key, but they give you the money back in the check out). The bathrooms are big and clean. Breakfast is included, but its very poor. They dont have a kitchen but have free internet and a big common area. It can be noisy at night. The staff is gently but sometimes they put more people than beds in the bedroom (in two days, there were girls sleeping in the floor of my room), and it can be very unconfortable.
