Hostel One Paralelo

Located in one of Barcelona’s up-and-coming barris—just up the street from the Apolo Club and concert hall and around the corner from many hip bars, restaurants and cafés—the Hostel One Paralelo has an amazing amount of potential.

Travelers looking to meet others in a non-touristy area of the city (and those not too finicky about tidiness) may find this nine-room, 38-bed hostel to be a good, fun home-away-from-home.

Quick read

Pros: Interesting, up-and-coming neighborhood. Fun, social atmosphere. Cool perks (um, hello hot tub!). Communal dinner parties. Friendly staff.

Cons: Can get noisy. Location may not be the best for solo travelers (especially women). Could stand some tidying up.

Rooms

The dorms at the Hostel One Paralelo are all mixed, and they contain between from two and eight beds each. The fewer beds your room has, the more expensive it is, and there is usually a difference of about €2.50 between each room rate. Rooms are on the small side, but they are new. In fact, the whole place is new (which is a solid check in the “pro” column).

Rooms have lockers, but note that you need your own padlock. The seven shared bathrooms are modern and also mixed gender.

Hostel

Unique perks at this budget palace include a huge terrace, sunroom and hot tub. (Yes, hot tub!) This could be a lot of fun, or it could be a good way to get athlete’s foot. We’ve been told, though, that great parties have been had in and around this hot tub—and we believe it.

Great dinner parties are also thrown almost nightly at Hostel One Paralelo. In an effort to get hostel guests to interact, the staff cooks a dinner and invites everyone to join (usually around 8:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.). Some nights the food is veggie, other nights meat dishes are offered. These dinners work on a pay-what-you-choose basis, so guests just give what they feel is right.

Wi-Fi is free at the Hostel One, and there is also a free Internet station. Complimentary coffee and tea are available all day in the lounge area. The communal kitchen is small but serves its purpose. Sadly, when we visited it was a bit of a mess. There were dishes piling up and food left out. We thought the place could benefit from a full-time housekeeper (or stricter guest cleanliness rules).

Location

The Hostal One does not offer breakfast, but there are many cafés and grocery stores in the area (called “Paral-lel”) where guests can pick something up.

While this area becomes increasingly cooler each year, we should note that the Hostel One is located about four blocks off the main street (and up a hill). This shouldn’t be an issue for men or groups, but solo female travelers might be uncomfortable walking this street late at night.