Barcelona Pension Bahia Review 2010

Pension Bahia
Barcelona Pension Review


I just spent 2 nights in Barcelona's Pension Bahia on Carrer Canuda, 2 with many rooms facing La Rambla itself. My room did, in fact, something which gave me some concern upon checking in but the first night's street noise was greatly dampened thanks to the double-pane door to my little balcony.

Guess I hadn't realized there was no elevator but I don't usually ask since I'm capable of toting my luggage up the highest heights - so far. The pension is on the 5th floor by American standards. In Spain, it's considered the 4th floor. Regardless, with luggage or not, it's a good hike. But if you're young or fit and price is important, you can feel good about staying at Pension Bahia.

The pension itself is much like many other traditional pensions in Barcelona in that its housed in an old building, somewhat in need of renovation but many older buildings are like this.
The rooms are not large but my bed was wide enough, although a bit short for my 6' 1" stature. That's normal not only for me but also for the short, Spanish beds. My mattress was a little "springy" but I was comfortable sleeping on my side with the two new, comfortable pillows.

Blankets, sheets, and towels were all clean as was the floor, shower and in-room sink. The sink and shower is IN the room, not separated by a divider, so some people traveling together may have privacy issues with this. There was no toilet in my room but other rooms do have them. Shared toilets are down-the-hall with sink and another shower and are cleaned daily. There are three shared toilets in the pension.


I really thought the toilet situation/location would be an issue for me but it wasn't. No, I couldn't take my time and fiddle around, but "making quick work" of my business wasn't unpleasant either. I found that I really could wait for longer periods of time to use the bathroom than I thought - and so when I really had to go I could go - and finish - quickly.

You do, however, always have the anxiety of having someone "try" the locked door, you have to say the bathroom's occupied, and you then wonder if they're leaning up against the wall while waiting or if they went back to their room. That doesn't make for a relaxing period of time when you need nature to take its course.

Plus, this morning I had to pass through a large group of 20-something girls sitting around having their breakfast. They all looked up at me when I exited my room into the breakfast area and I had to (somewhat) push myself past those whom were sprawled casually across the aisle. But that was an unusual occurrence, I have no doubt, and they've since checked out. And thank goodness too because 2 or 3 of them were in the room next to mine and they were QUITE vocal until late at night, talking in high pitched voices and constantly laughing. The walls are not at all thin, but with their volume, it was hard not to hear them.

And while you can hear the Las Ramblas traffic and, maybe, more raucous pedestrian groups through the double-pane windows, it's so muffled that it doesn't bother at all. What you CAN hear is the passing metro, coming and going every 5 minutes or so, very gently shaking the walls and windows, but only somewhat and it's not enough to become annoying.

The breakfast is good enough. They offer the toast with butter and marmalade, a packaged donut and muffin, as well as a glass of orange juice and coffee. I only ate the toast and drank the coffee and juice and left the muffin and donut behind - just because I don't eat those things. But for a breakfast included in the price of the pension, it was a nice addition to an already affordable room for a couple nights.

For those seeking budget lodgings and well-located on the upper Las Ramblas, Pension Bahia could be a good choice for you.


More photos of/from Pension Bahia in Barcelona: