Fashion House | B&B Barcelona — Hotel in Barcelona

Based on glowing ratings I arranged lodging for our family at Fashion House in Barcelona to celebrate the New Year. I found Fashion House in what I regard as a reliable guide, confirmed as a comfortable, affordable stay in a location ideal for exploring and experiencing the wonders of this city. We landed late at night, around 10:30, with four exhausted children ages 4 to 10. The taxi driver delivered us to the address, and even he appeared confused. uneasy, and we felt the same. Yet we unloaded our luggage and he drove off leaving us in the dark. We faced a door with no signage. Based on a previous experience at our lodging in Berlin which displayed a welcoming polished indicator on the front of the building, reassuring us we had found our home away from home, posted with easy directions to push the button on the clear and neat listing of entry buttons next to the door. So I knew to search and ultimately located the metal frame with the lodging noted at the bottom of the list, covered by a pealing piece of faded plastic. I pressed the button and the door opened. ||We entered to find a drab, rather stark entry way. A tired marble half stairway offered the option to take to an elevator big enough for two (we recently celebrated our almost 70's birthday, so we got the nod for the lift). The rest of our family climbed the full stairway, towing sleepy children and luggage. ||This hike led to a door. We knocked and to our weary relief, a host greeted us with a smile and somewhat gracious welcome. The reception room was a bit shabby with covered furniture that made me wonder what they were covering. The room had obviously been dressed up for the photos shown on the website. I scanned the room to see the stack of boxes hiding behind a door haphazardly overflowing with papers. The computer desk for documenting our reservation and passport verification was slightly recessed to the right of that fireplace you see in the site photos, wires dangling under the small table. A man dressed in less than formal attire appeared out of nowhere, plopped himself on the couch and appeared to be checking up on our host, perhaps to assess his demeanor and make sure we signed everything before we ran for the exit.||Once all was signed sealed (here we were with our four exhausted children, trusting that it couldn't be as bad as it looked), we were about to learn a hard lesson; if your suspicious about the place, don't sign anything until you have seen your accommodations! ||We were respectfully escorted to the room set for our daughter's family. The first thing we encountered was the bed for the children, a double size mattress flush on the floor (later our host contended the bed was not situated on the floor, but there it was). The room smelled like a cleaning fluid hiding the odor of smokers. The lengthy counter topped with the remnant from the 60's, in this space, was the "kitchenette" dismaying some sort of coffee maker and tired electric stove.The drab cupboards appeared to be superficially painted to match the era of the counter top. I glanced at the flooring, thinking the last thing I had hoped for was my grandchildren sleeping on a mattress placed on that questionably mopped floor. ||As we were led to the next room, prepared for our other family of four, we apprehensively entered their intended similarly simply appointed albeit roomy accommodations. ||At this point I announced to our greeter, "These accommodations are unacceptable." This nice young man looked at me, paused and said something like "OK." Then he proceeded to take us to our room. It reeked of that masking cleaning fluid. I was not going to touch the bed with the cover matching the covers on the couches in the reception room. The small "balcony" attached to the room was obviously a landing for smokers. The humble bathroom included a simple outdated sink and a shower that fitted tighter than what we refer to as a MRI enclosure rather common in Europe, but this one was lined with drab tiles needing a more diligent scrubbing. After explaining handing of the dangling collection of keys needed to enter the building at night if a "greeter" was not present in the reception room, a key for that room, a key for our room. he said good night and left us to our despair. I grabbed the tired towels, placed them over the bed pillows thinking we had no option but to spend our sorry night on top of the bed covers, suspecting microscopic insects awaited us.||Our sons-in-law promptly departed the building to comb the neighborhood for alternative lodging. We were not naive, knowing in a big city there are areas not advisable for wandering around the empty streets at midnight. This was that kind of area. We have seen worse, but most certainly, this was not much better. Now I am consumed with worry about our guys. Its near New Years and past midnight. This is a city renowned for its fabulous New Years celebration, so lodging is virtually non-existent by this time. They did find one boutique hotel three blocks away, and escorted my husband and I, thankfully unmolested, to the one room available for one night only. Our guys lovingly forced my husband and I to check in. I was distraught leaving my precious family at Fashion House for the night. At least the children were able to sleep, while our daughter and her husband were horrified and nauseated, forced to listen through the thin wall to the sounds of some poor soul wrenching his guts out for seemingly hours.||Needless to say, the rest of our family made their escape first thing in the morning leaving the unwieldy bundle of keys on the flimsy computer desk in the reception room. Fortunately we were able to find comfortable, clean, welcoming and delightfully staffed lodging in a bright and thriving part of this magnificent city. Of course we were obligated to pay for three rooms, reimbursed for the nights they were able to fill with other unweary guests. Left with over $1000's expense which we gratefully accepted as the cost of measurably more than acceptable lodging. ||Who wrote the reviews of praise posted for Fashion House? 4.5 out of 5? This is a travesty!...

Deutsche Rezension – Fashion House B&B, Barcelona||Warnung! Dieses Hotel ist eine Zumutung und hat absolut nichts mit den versprochenen Standards zu tun.||Wir haben ein Nichtraucherzimmer gebucht, wurden aber beim Öffnen der Tür von einem widerlichen kalten Zigarettenrauch empfangen – es war kaum auszuhalten.||Die Bettbezüge waren dreckig, mit Flecken, teilweise sogar Blutflecken, und der Boden war während des gesamten Aufenthalts nicht einmal geputzt. Ein alter Kirschkern lag bereits bei Ankunft in der Mitte des Zimmers und wurde bis zur Abreise nicht entfernt.||Das WLAN funktionierte überhaupt nicht, obwohl es auf der Website groß angepriesen wurde.||Handtücher werden nur alle drei Tage gewechselt – sowas habe ich in einem Hotel noch nie erlebt.||Das Badezimmer stank intensiv nach Schimmel – nach wenigen Minuten bekam man Halskratzen, wir mussten uns tatsächlich Masken kaufen, um dort überhaupt atmen zu können.||Die Rezeptionistin war extrem unhöflich und respektlos. Sie behauptete ernsthaft, der Schimmelgeruch sei “normal in Barcelona” und reine „persönliche Meinung“. Als wir mit dem Gesundheitsamt drohten, behauptete sie, sowas gäbe es in Spanien nicht (!) – stattdessen gab sie uns billige Duftstäbchen, um das Problem zu „lösen“.||Am zweiten Tag war plötzlich der Fernseher kaputt – der Bildschirm lag neben dem Ständer, der offensichtlich abgebrochen war. Als wir das meldeten, hieß es: Das kann nicht sein, denn nach der Reinigungskraft war „der Chef selbst“ in unserem Zimmer (!). Warum der Chef ohne unsere Erlaubnis unser Zimmer betritt, bleibt fraglich.||Danach wurde uns dreist unterstellt, wir hätten den Fernseher selbst zerstört, woraufhin wir sagten, sie sollen die Polizei rufen. Ihre Reaktion: „Nur wegen sowas ruf ich keine Polizei“ – das sagt alles.||Statt einer einfachen Zimmerkarte bekamen wir einen riesigen Schlüsselbund mit sieben Schlüsseln, der wie aus den 80ern wirkte.||❌ Fazit:||Finger weg von diesem Ort! Es war der schlimmste Hotelaufenthalt, den ich je erlebt habe.||Dieses B&B gehört geschlossen. Wer in Barcelona Urlaub machen möchte – bucht bitte überall, aber nicht hier.||⸻||🇬🇧 English Review – Fashion House B&B, Barcelona||Absolutely awful experience – this place should be shut down.||We booked a non-smoking room, but the moment we entered it smelled horribly of old cigarette smoke. It was unbearable.||The bedsheets were dirty, some even had blood stains, and the floor was never cleaned during our stay – there was an old cherry pit on the floor from the start that was never removed.||The Wi-Fi didn’t work at all, even though it was advertised prominently.||Towels are only changed every three days, which I have never experienced in a hotel.||The bathroom smelled strongly of mold, and after just two minutes in there, we had throat irritation – we literally had to buy masks just to be able to breathe.||The receptionist was extremely rude and told us that the mold smell was “normal for Barcelona” and a “personal opinion.” When we mentioned the health authority, she said it doesn’t exist in Spain (!), then gave us cheap fragrance sticks as a solution.||On the second day, we came back and the TV was broken – the screen had fallen off and the stand was snapped. When we reported it, we were told this couldn’t have happened because “the manager had also entered the room” after the cleaner (without our permission). Then, unbelievably, they tried to blame us for breaking the TV, at which point we said: “Call the police.” The receptionist backed down immediately – probably because she knew the police would shut the place down.||Instead of a room key card, we were given a huge keychain with seven different keys – completely outdated and impractical.||❌ Final verdict:||Avoid this place at all costs.||One of the worst accommodations I’ve ever stayed in.||This place is a disgrace and not fit to...

Deutsche Rezension – Fashion House B&B, Barcelona

Warnung! Dieses Hotel ist eine Zumutung und hat absolut nichts mit den versprochenen Standards zu tun.

Wir haben ein Nichtraucherzimmer gebucht, wurden aber beim Öffnen der Tür von einem widerlichen kalten Zigarettenrauch empfangen – es war kaum auszuhalten. Die Bettbezüge waren dreckig, mit Flecken, teilweise sogar Blutflecken, und der Boden war während des gesamten Aufenthalts nicht einmal geputzt. Ein alter Kirschkern lag bereits bei Ankunft in der Mitte des Zimmers und wurde bis zur Abreise nicht entfernt.

Das WLAN funktionierte überhaupt nicht, obwohl es auf der Website groß angepriesen wurde. Handtücher werden nur alle drei Tage gewechselt – sowas habe ich in einem Hotel noch nie erlebt. Das Badezimmer stank intensiv nach Schimmel – nach wenigen Minuten bekam man Halskratzen, wir mussten uns tatsächlich Masken kaufen, um dort überhaupt atmen zu können.

Die Rezeptionistin war extrem unhöflich und respektlos. Sie behauptete ernsthaft, der Schimmelgeruch sei “normal in Barcelona” und reine „persönliche Meinung“. Als wir mit dem Gesundheitsamt drohten, behauptete sie, sowas gäbe es in Spanien nicht (!) – stattdessen gab sie uns billige Duftstäbchen, um das Problem zu „lösen“.

Am zweiten Tag war plötzlich der Fernseher kaputt – der Bildschirm lag neben dem Ständer, der offensichtlich abgebrochen war. Als wir das meldeten, hieß es: Das kann nicht sein, denn nach der Reinigungskraft war „der Chef selbst“ in unserem Zimmer (!). Warum der Chef ohne unsere Erlaubnis unser Zimmer betritt, bleibt fraglich. Danach wurde uns dreist unterstellt, wir hätten den Fernseher selbst zerstört, woraufhin wir sagten, sie sollen die Polizei rufen. Ihre Reaktion: „Nur wegen sowas ruf ich keine Polizei“ – das sagt alles.

Statt einer einfachen Zimmerkarte bekamen wir einen riesigen Schlüsselbund mit sieben Schlüsseln, der wie aus den 80ern wirkte.

❌ Fazit:

Finger weg von diesem Ort! Es war der schlimmste Hotelaufenthalt, den ich je erlebt habe. Dieses B&B gehört geschlossen. Wer in Barcelona Urlaub machen möchte – bucht bitte überall, aber nicht hier.

⸻

🇬🇧 English Review – Fashion House B&B, Barcelona

Absolutely awful experience – this place should be shut down.

We booked a non-smoking room, but the moment we entered it smelled horribly of old cigarette smoke. It was unbearable. The bedsheets were dirty, some even had blood stains, and the floor was never cleaned during our stay – there was an old cherry pit on the floor from the start that was never removed.

The Wi-Fi didn’t work at all, even though it was advertised prominently. Towels are only changed every three days, which I have never experienced in a hotel. The bathroom smelled strongly of mold, and after just two minutes in there, we had throat irritation – we literally had to buy masks just to be able to breathe.

The receptionist was extremely rude and told us that the mold smell was “normal for Barcelona” and a “personal opinion.” When we mentioned the health authority, she said it doesn’t exist in Spain (!), then gave us cheap fragrance sticks as a solution.

On the second day, we came back and the TV was broken – the screen had fallen off and the stand was snapped. When we reported it, we were told this couldn’t have happened because “the manager had also entered the room” after the cleaner (without our permission). Then, unbelievably, they tried to blame us for breaking the TV, at which point we said: “Call the police.” The receptionist backed down immediately – probably because she knew the police would shut the place down.

Instead of a room key card, we were given a huge keychain with seven different keys – completely outdated and impractical.

❌ Final verdict:

Avoid this place at all costs. One of the worst accommodations I’ve ever stayed in. This place is a disgrace and not fit to...