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| A good holiday in Barcelona starts with finding the right accommodation. You can find everything from luxury hotels with spas, and comfortable and good value hotels, to cheap hostels for backpackers. You could also rent your own Barcelona apartment; this is an increasingly popular choice for the independent traveller. Those choosing to study, live and work in Barcelona can find a room to rent in a shared flat, or their own apartment. Use this guide to find the right accommodation for your stay in Barcelona. |
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Hotels in Barcelona fit all budgets and requirements, so it’s worth taking the time to investigate your options. Luxury hotels in Barcelona tend to be located in the city centre or along the seafront. There are also plenty of cheap hotels in Barcelona city centre, next to the beach, and near the main sights. Before booking a hotel check the exact location, as some definitions of “near the beach” and “a few minute’s walk to the Ramblas” might not square up to your own expectations.
Additional details to consider that indicate a good value hotel deal are breakfast, free internet, and free use of sports facilities or games rooms. In recent years Barcelona has developed a thriving hotel bar culture, especially in the summer when the terraces of many 4* and 5* hotels are open to non-guests who dress up, sip cocktails, and soak up the chic and modern ambiance. If you’ve already seen the Sagrada Familia and the rest of the Barcelona Top 10, and are after a relaxing city break rather than a whirlwind of seeing, doing and experiencing as much as possible then it might be worth considering upgrading to one of these “fashionable” hotels. And there’s some great deals to be had out of season.
Advance hotel booking is always recommended, especially during the spring and summer. Barcelona hotels receive a lot of business visitors that come for trade fairs and congresses throughout the year; it might be unexpectedly difficult to find a hotel during some relatively off-season weekends, so make sure you don’t get caught out! You can book your hotel room directly through the Barcelona Connect website.
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"Hostales," Hostels in Barcelona usually refer to small family owned pensions but sometimes refer to dormitories (shared rooms), and these usually don´t work out much cheaper than pensions except at the peak of the high season. Not to be confused with youth hostels named "albergues juveniles" or just "albergues", which are plain dormitories. Many cheap hostels / pensions don't take reservations in the summer as they are always full. So if you are arriving at night make sure you have a place for at least one night, and go looking before 10 am the next morning as that is when people check out of their hostels. Average hostel prices: 15-18 Euros for a single room with a shared bathroom, 27-36 Euros for a double. 21- 25 Euros for a single room en suite and 33-45 Euros for a double en suite.
We recommend the Rooms4rent hostel in the city centre, in Gran Via 602, with it comfortable rooms, equipped kitchen and TV room. www.rooms4rentbcn.com
We can also recommend the 4 Be Hostels: www.youthostel.com. These include the Hostal Mar off Rambla Raval, and the Barcelona Dream Hostel, by the beach.
View our selection of cheap Hostels |
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Barcelona Apartments: Renting an apartment or holiday flat in Barcelona can be a good accommodation option for a short holiday break. Cheap holiday apartments are especially concentrated in central Barcelona, around the Ramblas, the Gothic district, Born, and Raval, whilst in the summer the holiday flats in Barceloneta and near the beach are very popular. Booking in advance is recommended, especially during high season or when special events take place in the city, such as trade fairs or the Sonar music festival.
Barcelona has several agencies that specialize in renting holiday flats for tourists, usually with a minimum stay of 3 days. If you rent a flat for a longer stay of a couple or weeks or months you can get a better price. These flats are fully furnished and equipped, although it’s worth checking in advance whether a supplement for sheets and cleaning will be charged. Renting a flat for the duration of your stay gives you more flexibility as you can choose to eat out or eat in, and is particularly practical if you have small children.
Barcelona apartments vary in quality and price, and if your budget is towards the lower end then expectations should be modified accordingly. However, any reputable letting agency will ensure that all the basic requirements for a pleasant stay are met. Prices start from €20 per person per night, for budget accommodation. Towards the top end, luxury apartments with terraces, pools, and spectacular views can also be found in and around Barcelona.
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If you want to rent a room in Barcelona the best advice is to visit a few, meet the flat mates, and then weigh up the pros and cons of each. It’s easy enough to find a room in a cheap apartment in Barcelona as many people live in shared accommodation; what’s more difficult is getting the right place for you! Most people want to live in the centre, which means there are often scores of people looking at the same room, and of course only one person gets it. Since public transport is good and taxi prices are reasonable you might find a better flat rental away from the centre.
Some good places to look include the notice boards of the international language schools, and the notice board in Barcelona University, in Plaza Universitat. In the busy season these notice boards are cleared every couple of days, so the ads are usually current. Many people find their first room in Barcelona through online classified portals which have a section dedicated to rooms and flats for rent. The largest is www.loquo.es. The Barcelona Connect classifieds portal is very popular with people looking for an international flatshare. Some Spanish speakers specify that they are looking for an English roommate to practice their language, and this arrangement can also work in your favour.
It’s normal to give one month’s deposit when you rent a room in Barcelona, this can increase to two or three months when renting a flat. If using an agency they’ll give you a contract, but even if you sublet from the person who has the contract on the flat then it’s good to have your agreement in writing. Always check whether bills are included, and if not how they are divided and what they are estimated to be. Once you’ve found your flat, go through the inventory to make sure all the items are there, and notify the agency or landlord of anything that’s in less than perfect condition to avoid being charged for damages at the end of your stay.
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Average prices are 500 euros for a 2 bedroom, and 600 for a 3 bedroom. calculate 100 Euro extra for newly refurbished flats in central locations.
Finding decent and cheap accommodations in Barcelona can be a struggle, convincing an agency/landlord to give you a short term let is nearly impossible and even long term lets seem to be such a treasured item to hand out, one would start to believe that the landlords don't want to have tenants in the first place.
So what to do? How to get a roof over your head, without cutting a deal with the hostel you're staying with, to give you a 5-year lease on the room you will be sharing with 10 other travelers.
Should you only be staying in Barcelona less than a year, your best bet is to find a private landlord who rents out short term at up to 60% more than the average price, or search for classifieds in the places listed below.
But should you plan on staying in Barcelona for a bit longer you chances increase to find cheap accommodation. First piece of advice is to get a N.I.E. Number, and fast. That will register you in Spain, gives you permission to work and is a first step to renting your flat in BCN. Next is to get a job. You will find a flat much easier if you can give landlords a piece of evidence that you will be able to pay your rent for the next year or so. Finally a guarantor, somebody to stand up for you is often required. This can become a tricky task in its own right, best to make friends with somebody that has lived and worked in Barcelona for several years. Preferably Spanish or Catalan.
If you are a student, ask your university for help with finding a flat, as most universities can either help you get accommodation or give you information on where to find accommodation.
Finding that dream landlord can be achieved in three ways:
You can look at classified notice boards around town, such as the one in the Ciaj information center in Calle Ferran, which can be very tedious, painful and time consuming, as 80% of those flat and room listings tend to be out of date within 24hours of posting. Yet the best notice boards can be the flats themselves, as landlords sometimes put out signs on their flats advertising vacancies. So remember to keep an eye out for those when you are on your flat hunt.
Or you can go to estate agencies. But they don't come cheap. They can charge you up to a months rent commission, a months rent in advance and up to two months rent deposit for the flat you take.
Please note that there are many "listing agencies" in Barcelona who advertise cheap flats in a lot of the Spanish newspapers, charging 160 euros for the privilege to receive a list of flats and numbers you can contact yourself. We have not met a person yet, who claims to have found his or her flat through this type of agency.
The Barcelona connect Newsletter and barcelonaconnect.com is working with estate agencies to offer up to date listings of flats to let and flats for sale in Barcelona.
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Accomodation agencies offer appartments for longer term stays. Contracts are normally arranged on a yearly basis, although shorter periods are possible. Be prepared for the initial payment that consists of one month's rent in advance, one month's rent as a deposit and one month's rent as the flat letting agency fee. Typically expect to pay three months rent up front when you take on a contract. The average price to rent a three bedroom apartment in Barcelona will be anything from 600 euros upwards.
Normally renting agencies require identification (passport, ID card) and evidence of a work contract. Tenants are often given the option to renew their contract. Government registered official agencies are of course recommended, and you are advised to be wary of any agency that requests a fee prior to finding you a flat. view listings |
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Buying a Flat in Barcelona
This city has the tendency of gripping on and not letting go and if you’ve been here for a while you might consider buying a flat in Barcelona. Although the property bubble of recent years has crashed, an apartment in Barcelona remains one of the most expensive properties in Spain.
It is important to go and visit as many flats as possible within the price range you have selected. There are two ways of finding apartments and houses for sale. Firstly, you can go through an estate agent. Normally Spanish speaking, the estate agent will show you a selection of flats within your price and arrange a visit. The second method is to find a private sale, either through online real estate and classifieds portals, or small ads on notice boards or in the street. You can telephone the seller directly and arrange to go and visit the flat. The advantage of a private sale is that the estate agent doesn’t take a cut, normally 5% of the final cost. The disadvantage is that all negotiations are carried out directly between the buyer and the seller which can be stressful and sometimes unpleasant.
Putting down a deposit
When you have decided upon a flat make sure you visit twice as first time opinions can be deceptive. The next stage is to put down a deposit (pago señal) on the flat. If you go through an estate agent, a deposit constitutes about 5% of the total value; if your flat is worth 190.000€ the deposit would be around 9.500€. Once the deposit has been paid, the Estate agent will give you a contract (contrato de arras) and will reserve the flat for a specified amount of time, between one and three months. In this time period, you must secure a mortgage and if you are unable to do this you will lose the deposit.
Getting a mortgage
So far so good, next comes the hard part – getting a mortgage. Normally the estate agent will look around to find you the best mortgage loan offer. If it is a private sale, or if you have special circumstances – such as being foreign, you might have to make the mortgage arrangements yourself. This involves visiting banks and requesting a mortgage loan. Every bank gives different interest rates on mortgage repayments and it is worth shopping around as it can make a big difference on your monthly repayments. There are two figures that are important. Firstly, the TAE which is the initial interest rate for the first six months. A good TAE rate would be 2.5%. The most important figure, however, is the interest rate after the first six months. This is the Euribor, which is the set European interest rate that changes every year. Many banks offer excellent TAE rates but high individual rates that only come into effect after the first six months. You might also find that bank managers do not explain clearly what each interest rate means.
Signing the contract
Once you have been approved for a mortgage loan, the bank will set a date with the solicitor and the estate agent to sign the contract for both the property sale and the mortgage loan. On this day the buyer, the seller, the estate agent representative, the bank manager and the solicitor will be present. Be prepared for the seller to want to take a share of the total price as “black money,” or cash. This is a common, albeit illegal, practice in which the full price quoted on the contract for the property sale is less than the asking price, which is then given in cash to the seller so that they can avoid paying tax on this money.
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Students Accommodation in Barcelona
With so many universities and higher education centres in Catalunya there is a very high demand for student accommodation in Barcelona. Every student is looking for something different and so there is a very large variety of accommodation for students in Barcelona ranging from private residences to shared flats. When you arrive the best thing to do is get yourself booked into a student hostel or some cheap student accommodation because here you're likely to meet other people in the same boat as you, and you might even find a new flatmate there.
Students are often looking for shared residences and if you’re arriving in a big city like Barcelona then meeting people where you live is often the best way to make new friends. However, due to the high demand, finding shared accommodation and student houses can sometimes be difficult. Contact your university and see if they have an accommodation office or a notice board where people post adverts for shared student accommodation because this is your best bet, and if you’re lucky you may get the bonus of them speaking Spanish.
Be careful you don’t get ripped off whilst looking for a flat; agencies can charge expensive fees. It’s perfectly feasible to find your own student accommodation and cheap flats in Barcelona online or through other advertisements. However, if you’re not using an agency be safe in your search; avoid visiting a flat alone and if you have to, always let someone know where you're going. Don’t be afraid to ask questions: are bills included, is there internet access, is everything shared in the flat etc, and most importantly NEVER HAND OVER ANY MONEY without having seen the flat and confirming a contract or getting your keys!
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Catalunya is a top holiday destination and if you’re on a budget, camping near Barcelona is ideal, as there aren’t any camp sites in Barcelona. Some campsites in Catalunya and on the Costa Brava are a stone’s throw from the beach, whilst other campsites in the Pyrenees are tucked away in picturesque valleys. For those whose experience of camping stretches no further than watching a tent disappear under the Glasto mud, or being forced to trek through the drizzling rain with your body weight on your back, urged on by school gym teachers under the guise of some irrelevant award scheme, let’s get one thing straight: camping in Barcelona can be great fun! Especially if you pick a good campsite, as many have great facilities such as supermarkets, bars and swimming pools.
You’re also likely to meet all sorts of friendly faces including families and backpackers to relax in the sunshine and explore the surrounding areas with.
Even if you choose to go to the mountains in Catalunya camping you’re not going to need a heavyweight tent, light to middleweight will do. Some good places to look for a tent include El Corte Ingles (take advantage of the sales!) Decathalon, and Carrefour which stocks some of the cheapest camping equipment on the market, as well as the army surplus shops in the Gothic and Raval areas. Essential items to bring along include a torch or two, bottle opener (so that you can share a beer with your new friends!), a basic first aid kit, and don’t forget an MP3 player or something similar with speakers because it just wouldn’t be a holiday without music.
If however you have decided that you are not and never will be a happy camper we have some good news. Aside from standard campsite facilities most of these sites also have fully equipped little bungalows with sleeping, kitchen and bathroom areas. They vary in size, some are very spacious with separate living and communal areas but others can be quite cosy! Make sure you check in advance whether dogs or other pets are welcome and if so whether there will be a surcharge.
Whether you prefer to be next to the beach or up in the mountains, you can have whatever you want when camping in Barcelona. There are many beachfront campsites near Barcelona, to the north there is Camping Masnou where prices for a plot begin at 15€ or cheaper options are El Vedado Camping and Camping Barcelona in Mataro where prices begin at just over 5€. These campsites also offer bungalows and mobile homes. To the south of Barcelona there are also campsites near the coast, the biggest is Villanova Park where plots begin at 16,15€ and mobile homes and bungalows are also available. Nearby are Camping Tres Estrellas in Gava and Estrella de Mar where plots are cheaper at approximately 5€ per night. Many campsites are practically on the seafront and will have beautiful views but Catalonia’s mountains are no less beautiful than the sea, and offer a wide range of activities as well some relief from the soaring August temperatures. Camping can be combined with a walking holiday, with a route planned along the trail of campsites and chalets scattered throughout the Pyrenees. The more relaxing option of staying in one place and returning back to base after each excursion is also worth considering. Inland campsites include el Pasqualet which is a campsite close to Barcelona where they offer bungalows to rent and plots begin at 16€, nearby is L’Esplanada in Santa Eulalia de Ronçana where basic plots are cheaper, beginning at 5,50€ and if your looking for campsites in Catalunya and the mountains then Camp en Puigcerda Barcelona is further away but still with easy access to Barcelona city centre.
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Accommodation