Nice, 'looks brand new' hotel. The place is super clean and the staff are beyond helpful. You're a short 5-10 minute walk to Las Ramblas or the Port. The hotel warns you about pick-pockets, so as you make your way to the city attractions, just keep an eye out to your surroundings. We'd definitely recommend this hotel. On this trip we went to London, Paris, and Barcelona....by far, this was the best hotel.

We stayed 5 nights in January, the room was quite small and dark, with no sunlight coming in. Extreamly unconfortable pillows and the boy workig as a doorman was very rude. However the receptionist and the rest of the staff was very friendly and the breakfast buffet is really good. There is a metrostation directly in front of the hotel and it´s only 10-15min walk from La Rambla, but you do have to walk trough some dodgy areas to get there. I think Universal is a classic 4 star hotel, no reason to go back but not too bad either.

We chose the coldest weekend in Europe to visit, but not much could be done about that! Some people have complained about noise. Just ask for a high room at the rear of the hotel and it is lovely and quiet. The staff are extremely helpful in pointing out places to eat and other local information. The bar is also very reasonably priced for a city centre hotel. Can't comment on the food as we were room only. If you like tapas we highly recommend Quimet & Quimet a couple of blocks away and Rosalie34 which to 5 minutes away. This was more expensive but lovely dishes. Cal Pep in the Bari Gothic is amazing but with only 20 seats at the bar you need to queue. The fact that the queue is full of local regulars tell a story. Great hotel, pretty cheap, friendly helpful staff and a spotlessly clean room in walking distance of most things, with a metro station outside the door. What more could you want. We will be going back again, what more can I say!

When we got to Barcelona, it was raining and gloomy so it felt a bit sketchy when we pulled up to the Hotel. The hotel is a standard hotel and check in was effortless. It was a bit scary seeing that the sign that warns us that Barcelona was notorious for pick-pocketers. We knew it but it was a bit of an awakening seeing the sign there.

The hallways are fairly dark and it takes a bit of time for the automatic sensors to turn on the lights. When we in our room (317), it was like walking into a blast chiller because the air had been turned off. We managed to get the heat up after a while to warm up. Our view faced the back of the hotel to peoples' home that had laundry hanging out. it wasn't exactly scenic.

The room is a good size room with plenty of closet space, and I had no complaint for the size of the bathroom either. There were toiletries provided, but they were very strong so it was not something that I could use. The plus is that they had a towel warmer which was great for doing a little bit of laundry and having it dry quickly.

All in all we were satisfied with the room and the hotel, but we weren't necessarily blown away by anything there. Also we didn't try the bar or the restaurant on site because it was fairly pricey and there are many many restaurants around. I think that I may stay here again if the deal is great, but other then that I would choose to stay in the Barri Gotic area where there's more shops, restaurants, and entertainment.

Tips:
-Download the metro app if you have internet access on your phone.
-Go to Quimet & Quiment --- So amazing! It is a tiny little place with no sitting so be forewarned. However, you will soon forget you are standing after having the tapas there.
-Nice walk to Las Ramblas. The Mercat La Bouqueria was one of my favorite places in Barcelona.

Enjoy your trip here! Barcelona is an amazing city.