Hotel Santa Marta — Hotel in Barcelona

We picked this place because of the location, the value, and the amenities. We arrived and parking was 25 euros/day. Note that the "city tax" is not included in the booking fee, so if you think you have paid for the room, you will still owe them more money. Next, we arrive in our 5th floor room on an 80 degree day to find--no a/c! Front desk tells us "no, only heat." We had specifically looked for a hotel with AC knowing that the weather would be warm this week. No explanation, no compensation, no options. The room was stifling, and if you open the window, an overpowering sewer smell comes in the room. Even so, it was so hot that I could live with the sewer smell in order not to roast all night. So, I asked for a fan, and argued with the front desk "guy #1" for 30 minutes before he finally agreed to a) speak to a manager tomorrow (no help for me to sleep tonight) and b) to get me a fan. He finally agreed to the fan, and I said I would pick it up after dinner. Well, return from dinner, and different "guy #2" who knows nothing about a fan. Have to get assertive again, and he tells me over and over that there is nothing he can do. I tell him he literally has to do something, and ----voila! He gets a fan. A customer should not have to get irate in order to have these things happen. He could have helped us from the beginning, but he just didn't want to. A customer shouldn't have to be unpleasant in order to get the establishment to make a reasonable accommodation. Even so, even with the fan--it's very hot in here, and I am smelling sewer from outside. What a mess. ||Now, the safe--there is an in-room safe, but it is a keyed safe, and there is no key. So helpful! This is really a poor value, and I...

We picked this place because of the location, the value, and the amenities. We arrived and parking was 25 euros/day. Note that the "city tax" is not included in the booking fee, so if you think you have paid for the room, you will still owe them more money. Next, we arrive in our 5th floor room on an 80 degree day to find--no a/c! Front desk tells us "no, only heat." We had specifically looked for a hotel with AC knowing that the weather would be warm this week. No explanation, no compensation, no options. The room was stifling, and if you open the window, an overpowering sewer smell comes in the room. Even so, it was so hot that I could live with the sewer smell in order not to roast all night. So, I asked for a fan, and argued with the front desk "guy #1" for 30 minutes before he finally agreed to a) speak to a manager tomorrow (no help for me to sleep tonight) and b) to get me a fan. He finally agreed to the fan, and I said I would pick it up after dinner. Well, return from dinner, and different "guy #2" who knows nothing about a fan. Have to get assertive again, and he tells me over and over that there is nothing he can do. I tell him he literally has to do something, and ----voila! He gets a fan. A customer should not have to get irate in order to have these things happen. He could have helped us from the beginning, but he just didn't want to. A customer shouldn't have to be unpleasant in order to get the establishment to make a reasonable accommodation. Even so, even with the fan--it's very hot in here, and I am smelling sewer from outside. What a mess. ||Now, the safe--there is an in-room safe, but it is a keyed safe, and there is no key. So helpful! This is really a poor value, and I...

Infuriating place. First, it was almost impossible to find using either Google or Apple maps. Second, the hotel was advertised as air conditioned, but the room ac didn't work, and it was a very hot night. We complained to the desk, and they said that they only turn on the ac starting in May, that it was centrally planned and that there was nothing they could do. They finally, grudgingly, supplied a fan. We continued to ask for either another, cooler, room or some refund on our room, and they were (magically!) able to turn on the ac for us! We wanted a partial refund for the nights we spent miserably hot, and were told that because we mad the booking through a third party (here's looking at you, Tripadvisor), the third party had to do the refund, which they refused. Then we were able to negotiate that if the hotel manager would notify the third party that there had been a problem we could have a refund--which the manager never did--even after repeated requests. Very frustrating experience, and they seemed to try to obstruct us...