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Hostal Gat Xino is a two-star hostal with 35 luxuriously modern rooms. Gat Xino style is ultra modern and, it must be said, very appealing. Rooms are outfitted with flat-screen televisions, firm comfy beds, and clean, attractive works of art. A clean minimal tone dominates. All rooms have spiffy contemporary bathrooms which boast appealing touches like vertical mirror lighting and painted floors. Gat Xino is well-designed, yet you won't run the risk of being cast into debt by staying here. This alone makes it noteworthy, as there are plenty of highly styled modern hotels in Barcelona with extortionate nightly rates.
For some, the neighborhood will represent a drawback—though for visitors in search of an edge it might an advantage. The Gat Xino is a good six blocks off La Rambla down calle Hospital. Translation: you'll be dragging your luggage from the Metro for five to ten minutes. Calle Hospital is a mixed area, where super cool blends with super run-down. It's an exciting neighborhood with an immigrant residential base; this demographic contributes to the 'hood's retail profile and its general sense of partial chaos. The 'hood is going through some growing pains. The owners of the Gat Xino recognize this, and have priced the rooms accordingly.
Breakfast is served in an open dining room with sliding doors that look onto a wooden terrace with trees and potted flowers. The hostal features Wi-Fi throughout, nearby parking, and an awesome roof chill-out lounge. There are plenty of restaurants in the area, plus small convenient stores and cafés. La Rambla and Plaça Catalunya are not far away.
Our biggest concern with Gat Xino is the noise factor. When we stayed there in August 2007, we had a room facing calle Hospital, and it remained noisy until 4 a.m. Request a top floor or back-facing room. We also found staff to be a bit frosty, which is also too bad, as the Gat Xino is the sort of confection that any self-respecting Cheapo will really want to like.
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