Barcelona truly is a large city. We stayed here one night at Hostal Chic and Basic Tallers as part of a Mediterranean Cruise between Rome and Barcelona. We wanted to stay close to Barri Gótic and Placa de Catalunya, but the hotel we chose had still some walking distance to these places. The price was also a factor this time, but we feel we did not quite get a fair value for our money spent. This, as the name suggests, is indeed a very basic accommodation.
The room is bright and has a good size. Not much room for storage, only a desk and a chair and an enormous bed that is too large for the room. Thus no nightstands by the bed, but this is solved by a broad glass panel above the head end of the bed. There are power outlets and bedside lamps on each side of the bed. And the bed is very comfy.
The room has a small balcony, measuring no more than 60×100 cm, facing the quiet yet busy street. It has two metal stools and, yes two people can sit out there, but it will be tight if you are not very, very tiny. Anyway, it is nice to have a balcony to sit and watch the locals pass by on the street below.
The bathroom is like the ones you have in the cabin of a cruise ship. It is all plastic and extremely small. It is even smaller than a bathroom on a cruise ship. There is water everywhere after you have taken a shower.
The idea of making your own breakfast in the common kitchen area sounded like a good idea at first. No specific hours to consider and such. But the quality of what we find in the refrigerator is not good at all. Yoghurt that tastes like pulp, lukewarm and watery juice, packages with wet, floppy ham and slices of cheese that stick together as if they have been glued together. Boring big packs of sliced bread to be toasted. The standard small packages of butter and jam. And last, but not least as it is very important to us, no black tea, just green mint tea. This is a really lousy breakfast.
So, no, we really cannot recommend you to stay at Chic & Basic Tallers Hostal. Not even the location is that good to justify a stay here. It is not that cheap either. The hostal does not have a reception, so you have to walk around the corner to Chic & Basic Lemon Boutique Hotel to check in. My guess is that this hotel is much more worth your stay and money. At least by the looks of it.
