Axel Hotel Barcelona & Urban Spa

Spain , Barcelona
BARCELONA, Aribau, 33
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100 reviews shown

6/10

Pleasant

11 Mar 2026

Scott

It was a LGBTQ hotel. This should be listed

Self

10/10

Exceptional

08 Mar 2026

Rebeca

Nice location. Clean rooms and welcoming staff. We had no issues.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

06 Mar 2026

Keisha

Rooms clean, staff nice, lovely rooftop bar and great location, walking distance to a number of great breakfast and brunch restaurants.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

20 Feb 2026

Samuel

Staff is so welcoming. I enjoy so much staying at Axel.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

14 Feb 2026

Antonio

Breakfast and Staff.
Missed not having a luggage rack in the room as well as slippers.

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

10 Feb 2026

Incredibly noisy. Especially that room on the second floor, where the balcony doors do not fully flush close. It is coming through it so much, especially at 1 am when garbage is collected. The shower was just weird and not really keen on this design and setup. Expensive for what it is.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Feb 2026

Roger

Nice staff

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jan 2026

Jakai

Staff was super accommodating, rooms were very nice. I also loved the view from the balcony. Location was ideal, right in the heart of everything.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jan 2026

Merick

Love staying here -

10/10

Exceptional

31 Dec 2025

darrell

Had a lovely one night stay before travelling to Zaragoza really nice staff would definitely stay again

Business_and_leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

30 Dec 2025

Dr. Hugh

This is Just a great place to stay. Wonderful staff, amazing breakfast, clean room, comfortable bed, and centrally located. I loved it. Will certainly return. I give 100%

4/10

Poor

21 Dec 2025

Rose marie

probleme avec des clients bruyant et aucun ampathie

Business Self

10/10

Exceptional

17 Dec 2025

Jaime

I had a great stay at Axel! So conveniently located next to a lot of places and close to public transportation as well. The staff is also all extremely nice and helpful

Leisure Friends

6/10

Pleasant

03 Dec 2025

Craig

Room wifi was intermittent at best, did not work at all last day. Cocktail prices were a bit stout at rooftop bar.
Great location, excellent hotel other than wifi issues. Staff very friendly and helpful.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

28 Nov 2025

STEPHAN LAMONT

Great room, friendly staff and excellent location

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

17 Nov 2025

Mark

Staff great; Sky Bar Fantastic; Breakfast Excellent; Gym and Spa Fantastic; Rooms and Hallways in need of renovation but holding up ok. If I had to pick next two renovation projects, get another elevator operational and replace hallway carpets. So much good here but hard to overlook guest areas not aging well.

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

07 Nov 2025

wendy

The Axel was lovely! I have mobility issues and they were very accommodating. My accessable room was comfortable and had handles around the toilet. The only thing that would have been nice is a non slip mat in the shower. The floor got quite slick when it was wet. Otherwise I loved my stay.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

05 Nov 2025

Abdul Munzir

Excellent and friendly staff

Business Friends

8/10

Excellent

03 Nov 2025

Yvon

Perfect location and great place. Great staff ( Damian was very helpful ).

My only challenge was the noise in the building, I was on the 4th floor and the drilling and the banging ( construction) noise during the day was annoying

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

24 Oct 2025

Belinda

Overall ok. The breakfast was terrible & extremely over priced at 17 euro. The outside pool was freezing & tiny. The Spa plunge pool (not an indoor pool as shown in pictures & advertised) was supposed to be free for 1 hour per day to guests, but because I could not find my confirmation (from Expedia) for this, it was 20 euros each per day for 1 hour. The shows were great but always very late & never on time with no other entertainment throughout the day. The pool bar opened at lunch time but again never opened on time.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

18 Oct 2025

Baldemar

Didnt get in but it was amazing and looked warm

Leisure Self

4/10

Poor

15 Oct 2025

HOWARD

Room had light bulb out in bathroom called it never got replaced fell once. Got charged for items we did not use from mini bar. Staff did not care that we said we did not use them. They figure they have the LGBT market so it does not matter if they give service.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

10 Oct 2025

Louix

Great hotel!! Close to everything!! Amazing staff, so cordial and helpful. Would definitely stay again. Would be great if they had dressers (chest of drawers) in the rooms so you have somewhere to put your clothes. Two thumbs up!!!

10/10

Exceptional

05 Oct 2025

Chaz

Nice property and excellent location. Can be a little loud but thats true of most hotels with multiple bar and restaurant locations.

Leisure Partner

2/10

Poor

28 Sep 2025

Aiden

The room sucks. There are no surfaces/wardrobes/closets to put your stuff. Even in the bathrooms, no vanity, nowhere to put your stuff. Staff is dry. Stingy with the towels, and housekeeping is annoying.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 Sep 2025

Carlos

The hotel is great and the was staff very professional. No complaints.
The only issue we had was the fact that one day they were out of towels and we had no towels in our room. Everything else was fine.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

20 Sep 2025

jorge

It's okay, not quite worth the price.

The rooms are not bad. They're okay for a night. Although there is quite a bit of noise from the hotel bars/events. In terms of being an LGBT hotel, most of the patrons are heterosexual couples, which is fine but, not when you specifically elect to stay at an LGBT hotel. The staff can be short and rude.

6/10

Pleasant

16 Sep 2025

Jonathan

Not worth the price.

The room was tiny and had internal stairs with no railing that was tough to negotiate in the dark. Definitely not worth the price.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Sep 2025

Kimberley

Wonderful experience with delightful staff and other guests.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

15 Sep 2025

Jonathan

Your room key serves as the way to turn the lights on, which often makes you forget. The property was very clean and the front staff was pretty friendly!

Leisure Friends

6/10

Pleasant

14 Sep 2025

Louis

Average comfort

We have stayed at Axel Hotel in Barcelona. The hotel is perfectly located, but the rooms are lacking proper AC and the beds are not very comfortable. Front desk does not respond to reported issues. The TV's are dated without offering a smart option. The experience was average.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

13 Sep 2025

robert

axel

my second ‘not so great’ stay here

Business

10/10

Exceptional

10 Sep 2025

Regina

great customer service.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Sep 2025

Justin

This is my go to place when staying in Barcelona. Such a lovely place. I had a beautiful room with the view of the front street. Very happy with my stay

Leisure Friends

4/10

Poor

04 Sep 2025

Michael

The staff are great and gave good recommendations. The rooftop patio is awesome with great views

The roommates are super outdated. I kept saying to myself that I felt like I was duped. The hotel room felt like staying in a crumby American style road side motel. Like I feel the price I paid was literally just because the hotel is gay. Which is very nice don’t get me wrong. But in retrospect that was definitely not enough and I would have stayed somewhere better with the money I spent

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

04 Sep 2025

Kimberley

Loved my time here. Lovely staff, good vibes!

Business_and_leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

29 Aug 2025

Luther

Hotel dated hasn’t kept up with times but remains fully booked so not so important. Bar staff (when things are actually open ) very preoccupied so you’re the last priority.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

08 Aug 2025

Sergey

Absolutely Outstanding Stay – 10/10 Stars!

From the moment I arrived, I was impressed by the exceptional service. Every single staff member is incredibly attentive, responsive, and genuinely eager to help with anything I asked for. They truly work together as one perfectly coordinated team, always making sure every request is fulfilled quickly and with a smile.

The hotel’s location is just perfect. Close to everything, yet peaceful and quiet. My room was spotlessly clean, with all amenities working flawlessly, plenty of hot and cold water, and modern electronic key access. There are multiple elevators, so there’s never a wait.

The food? Absolutely delicious. Every meal was a pleasure. Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners were simply amazing, with an outstanding fusion of flavors. The sushi and Spanish cuisine were exceptional, and the menu offered an enormous variety to choose from.

This hotel truly exceeded all my expectations. I have only the warmest and most pleasant memories of my stay here, and I highly, highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking for the perfect place to stay.

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

06 Aug 2025

Faith

We checked in late on a Friday night (our flight was 3 hours late). The lobby was packed with clubgoers and the desk staff was occupied dealing with a problem guest. We must have looked exhausted and Tamara, the club manager must have noticed. She told us to join her upstairs for a drink once we got settled. It was so welcoming and lovely to be seen at that moment. Thank you for this kindness, Tamara!

The room was fantastic. The stained glass balcony was gorgeous and perfect for photos and/or a morning coffee.

Neighborhood was safe, walkable and fun. I would 100% stay here again.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

31 Jul 2025

Vince

The front staff were super nice and welcoming

Friends

2/10

Poor

28 Jul 2025

Gavin

I had some clothes that suspiciously went missing at this property. The first day I had a weird housekeeping visit to deliver a luggage stand to my room which already had one. I’m starting to think this was not some accident and potentially some excuse to get into my room while I hopefully was not there.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jul 2025

You Yu

Nice location

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jul 2025

ron

Absolutely recommend!

Absolutely coming back! I’ve heard about it for years and it was gay-mazing. The pool was so fun all afternoon and I stayed on a Monday! Room was fantastic, it’s in the heart of the gayborhood so for anyone not extremely familiar you’ll be able to navigate easily. They gave me a free room upgrade too!

Self

10/10

Exceptional

20 Jul 2025

Jeff

Perf!

Spacious room, strong drinks at the bar. Very helpful and friendly staff. Great location.

Friends_and_family Friends

4/10

Poor

20 Jul 2025

mark

Mark

300 euros for a night and you get a bathroom like this! Sadly I found this hotel to be very tired on all areas, friends said I was unlucky to have a ‘non refurbed room’ but it didn’t come with a non refurbed price tag ! A few other things to mention. Terribly slow service in the bar from a team who looked totally bored to be there. In fact the whole attitude of the staff was lacking. Watch out for the elevators, you’ll wait a while in busy times. Visit the roof terrace for amazing views but again slow service and a really sad bar area. There are good points. The hotel could not be better located. If you want to explore the city it is perfect. Actually that is the only good point. Always wanted to stay here, total dissapointment.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

18 Jul 2025

Drew

Very nice clean room. Wonderful breakfast
Great atmosphere

Business

8/10

Excellent

18 Jul 2025

Barry

Iv stayed here many time and they had always been pleasant unfortunately this time I feel the room standard had slipped !!

8/10

Excellent

17 Jul 2025

Verified traveler

LGBTQ+ appreciated

Overall, this was a good hotel in a great location. As a gay, couple, it is so nice to have a welcoming place. The staff was friendly and helpful. We appreciated that breakfast was included. The man at breakfast was especially friendly and helpful. As usual, as Americans, we have found the beds to be hard and very uncomfortable, but that has been a common complaint at every place we've stayed. Overall, it was a good experience.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jul 2025

Christopher

Great hotel. Staff is super nice and friendly. Room was cozy and the bar is top notch. Met so many great people. Even the bartenders are amazing. I traveled solo and 10/10 recommend.

4/10

Poor

14 Jul 2025

Andrey

No A/C..

I stayed at AXELE Hotel Barcelona and had a very disappointing first night. The air conditioner in my room didn’t work, and although I informed the staff, they couldn’t fix it or offer me another room — they said there were no rooms available. All I got was a polite “I’m sorry,” even though I paid for a room that included air conditioning. It was 37°C in Barcelona that night, and I couldn’t sleep at all — I was soaked in sweat. The staff were friendly, but being nice doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t get what I paid for. What made it worse is that they didn’t offer me anything in return — no breakfast, no drink, not even a small gesture to make up for the inconvenience. For a hotel in the middle of summer, this kind of service is unacceptable.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jul 2025

Adam

Great staff

Staying two nights and we got an upgrade, which is very well received thank you so much.

It’s been a few years since I stayed here. The staff are very helpful and we had a great time.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

09 Jul 2025

Joe

Loved the hotel, the beds are hard though. It’s tough to sleep well,

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jul 2025

Leonardo

Staff is very friendly amd helpful. The pool area is a great place to meet people at lunch time. And the breakfast buffet is has a great variety and great servers.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jun 2025

Peng

My husband and I really enjoyed our stay at Axel. The staff were very accommodating and the room was clean. The neighborhood is a lovely place to walk around. Will definitely come back

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jun 2025

Marysa

A splendid hotel where everyone was felt welcome. It was joyful, colourful and peaceful.

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

27 Jun 2025

Paul

Party Central Poor Accommodation

Great location, central for everything and close to bars and entertainment with the hotel having a good bar also and mainly friendly clientele. The quality of the accommodation however is poor, room we stayed in was very run down and not cleaned well. The hotel is not value for money but a a good time can be had here.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

24 Jun 2025

Rosario

The hotel is in a great area. However the air conditioning was not working. There were many other guests complaining about he same issue. The WIFI was a joke so to h. Wry unstable connection and quite slow. I believe that for the price charged a proper air conditioning and a working internet is a must

Business_and_leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

18 Jun 2025

Jacqueline

Very disappointed in this hotel … first we could not get the door to work … ok they fixed it within 30 minutes so not bad … the next day when I asked for another towel there was only one in the room … I was told to go chase the cleaning crew and get one from her I said I was on my way out and ask if they could simply send them a message a hot a will grumpy look and finally the gym did not open till 10 am … a little late for my liking

Partner

2/10

Poor

10 Jun 2025

Albert

Avoid!

2/10

Poor

05 Jun 2025

Aaron

Great location - the service and the room was well below what we had expected and experienced at other locations in Barcelona.

The rooms AC would not work - the front desk would not look unit. They offered fan - not even a change of room.

There was mold in out shower caulking and the curtains were half fallen off in our room.

The housekeepers were AMAZING and the breakfast staff were lovely!

The bar staff on the 7th floor were very slow. It took 28 minutes to get one drink on a Tuesday night. Deplorable.

We paid nearly $500 for a horrible experience. I would like a refund for our stay.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jun 2025

Harold

Amazing

4/10

Poor

26 May 2025

Chris

Disappointed!!

Disappointing!
We stayed at this hotel last about 15yrs ago, hence we returned hopefully to experience the same great service, this was not to be!!
Staff unhelpful & I would go as far as to say rude, no “can do attitude”just a constant no.
Air conditioning that wouldn’t work & no option to change rooms & the promised fan failed to turn up at all.
The best thing about this hotel was the breakfast buffet although most of the hot items were a little dried up.
I won’t be returning, plenty of other quality hotels in the area to choose from, this hotel now feels like a budget chain.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

22 May 2025

Brian

Great place to stay as always. Great location near shops and restaurants.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

19 May 2025

Catherine

Well situated. The \"Adult only\" meant Gay welcomed. For a regular couple, its a bit embarassing because all publicities and images were provocative of men half naked kissing and touching. We felt strange and didn't want to go to the pool or bar because my husband didn't feel confortable. We have many gay friends but it was really too much.

Leisure Partner

2/10

Poor

18 May 2025

Carlos

The location is amazing but the room had a horrible bathroom adaptation with an open shower that was making everything a mess, when we got there it had water all over the floor and when we request just to clean it the front desk staff offered to changing us to another room that had the same issue! Plus they were very rude. Very disappointed experience.

Leisure Friends

6/10

Pleasant

14 May 2025

Terry

Pictures of room on website do not represent the actual room

10/10

Exceptional

30 Apr 2025

michael

Barcelona

Great staff - great location- only negative rooms just to warm hard to sleep!

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

27 Apr 2025

Ryan

Other than AC not working which wasn’t a big deal this time of year everything was great with the hotel. Would stay again. Close to everything.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Apr 2025

Daniel

Very sexy hotel. The bar was fun each night, and the rooms were amazing. If you have the rooms with the access to outdoor smoking area, you might get lucky with a hot visitor looking for fun. Exhibitionists would love

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

14 Apr 2025

Keith

Enjoyed my stay here - the upgrade to a better room was not very much of an upgrade. Not sure what the other room would have looked like, but an interior view of the courtyard and other rooms was not really great.

There was also only one chair in the room and not a very comfortable one at that.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

08 Apr 2025

Darren

Hotel was really nice, staff really friendly and helpful and great location. Only negative was the music from reception was quite loud and I could hear it in my room until late night. Otherwise great hotel and would stay again

Self

10/10

Exceptional

01 Apr 2025

Stephen

Staff was super friendly, hotel was walking distance to a lot of things.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

28 Mar 2025

Nazanin

Amazing stay !

AMAZING STAY! Definitely I’ll stay there again and recommend to anyone !
Amazing breakfast ! Amazing friendly staff.
No attitude whatsoever !
Miss it already !

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

27 Mar 2025

Nathalie

The hotel was absolutely amazing. I also had one of the best nights of my life in the upstairs bar. Unfortunately the whole experience was marred by 1 person (the rest of the staff were fantastic). His name is Joaquin, he made a mistake (said they had 24 hr room service, which they don't) instead of apologise he became rude and aggressive. It ended up with ME demanding he call the police after he intimidated me SO much I was left in a state of shock and PTSD (from previous abusive relationships which he triggered with his bullying). The manageress had to console me. He is a TRULY horrific person and I have NO idea what he's doing in the service industry. I did request the security tapes of that morning (the shouting and bullying, and physical intimidation he did OFF camera) to sue him (personally) for emotional and psychological distress but somehow my message got lost in the system. A horrid, horrid man. It's a shame because apart from him as said it was one of the best nights of my life (I was going to re-book for another 5 nights but promptly left). Even checking out I requested NOT to speak to him, he then ordered his colleague NOT to deal with me so he could. Despicable!

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

18 Mar 2025

Geraldine

Staff friendly and helpful. Hotel in a good area and conveniently situated for walking purposes

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

05 Mar 2025

Per

Bad wifi

WiFi was not good. Could not adjust temperature in the room

Business

10/10

Exceptional

03 Mar 2025

MICHAEL

This was our fourth time at Axel Hotel in Barcelona! We will never stay anywhere else. It feels like coming home each time we visit. Thank you for always being amazing!

6/10

Pleasant

26 Feb 2025

Julian

Joaquin was great when checking in. They also accommodated an early checkin. The things I didn't like was the bed was very hard and didn't get a good nights rest and the walls were thin and I could here people on both sides of me

Self

10/10

Exceptional

26 Feb 2025

Rudy

Loved it

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

04 Feb 2025

Gerson

Nice place

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Feb 2025

Stuart

A perfect location for exploring the wonders of Barcelona

10/10

Exceptional

31 Jan 2025

Thomas

very stylish room , amazing gym

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jan 2025

ANGEL

We love staying there every time we visit Barcelona

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

24 Jan 2025

paul

Helpful , pleasant team 😊👍

Business Self

6/10

Pleasant

16 Jan 2025

Kenneth

Fantastic location in a lovely old building that's modernized inside. Good facilities and friendly staff. Stayed in a premium room, which was very nice, good size and two separate balconies which were very pretty - although the mattress was rock hard and uncomfortable. I asked for a mattress topper, but none was provided so I assume they don't have them. Toilet seat was broken, but fixed promptly when I reported it. Definitely avoid the breakfast. It was shockingly bad. A lot of food laid out in a buffet, but it didn't seem like any of the food was freshly cooked. I'm sorry I paid extra for it. Much better to eat in the many restaurants nearby. Would stay again at the right price.

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

02 Jan 2025

Jonathan

Axel is really well located close to Paseo de Gracia in the heart of the Eixample. As such it’s walking distance to great cafes, bars, restaurants and shops and close to many of the best tourist sites in Barcelona.

Leisure Friends

6/10

Pleasant

28 Dec 2024

Gerald

Nothing special about this hotel

I checked in at 3:30pm to be told my room was not ready . I said it was not acceptable an a room was found straight away. I felt the front staff need more training on welcoming guest as I did not feel this

10/10

Exceptional

19 Dec 2024

FRANCIS X

Above and beyond service

I actually got sick and needed medical help, and they were great and went out of their way to pack my room and deliver essentials to me at the hospital. Also offered to come sit with me for company. Above and beyond in service. Highly recommend.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

16 Dec 2024

Adrian

Great stay

Excelente as always! Muchas gracias a Joaquín on recepción who gives 5 Star Service!!! Always Welcoming and very friendly whenever i stay at the Axel.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

15 Dec 2024

Verified traveler

As a frequent visitor for many years the new staff didn’t recognize that and gave me an undesirable room.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

09 Dec 2024

Rajendra

Nice property - horrible front-desk

Check-in was horrible!! Joaquin should never be allowed to work the front desk. He has no inter-personal skills (nada) and just seemed to be an angry person when dealing with guests.
The property was well kept and very clean in a nice area close to restaurants and bars. It was within walking distance to Passeig De Gracia which is great for people on a shopping trip.
And back to Joaquin - horrible staff person!!

Self

6/10

Pleasant

02 Dec 2024

Ivan

The carpet at the corridor on each floor are dirty

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

02 Dec 2024

Bladon

Loved our time here. The property is a little dated. Could do with a renovation to bring it into the current times. Cannot fault the staff or location of the hotel, both were fantastic. Would recommend this hotel for anyone wanting to stay in a central LGBTQIA friend area and property. (Allies welcome too )

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 Nov 2024

ONUR

Possitives and Negatives

We recently stayed at this hotel as a couple and found the experience to be a mix of positives and negatives.

Positives:
The location is absolutely perfect, making it very convenient for getting around. The front office staff were extremely friendly and helpful, always ready to assist with any questions or requests.

Negatives:
Unfortunately, the room conditions were disappointing. The bed was very old, I even felt a bedspring in the mattress, which was concerning.

While the bathrooms were cleaner than the rest of the room, cleanliness overall still needs improvement. For instance, the cups in the room had coffee stains and weren’t replaced until we specifically mentioned it. The floors were also dirty, which made the room feel unkempt.

Another issue was the poor sound insulation. Early in the morning, the housekeeping staff made a lot of noise in the corridor, and it was loud enough to disturb our sleep.

Until these issues are addressed, we wouldn’t recommend this hotel for a comfortable stay.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 Nov 2024

Randy

Great hotel

Great hotel, good location with nearby restaurants and bars. Helpful staff

10/10

Exceptional

19 Nov 2024

Stewart

I love this property. Located close to everything

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

18 Nov 2024

Verified traveler

If you're going to stay here, know that its primarily LGTB The stay was overall ok. Note: They will charge you for anything you use in the room (including soaps, etc.). You pay an additional tourist fee at check-in ($12 Euro per person). Great location overall. Parking cost about $25 Euros.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Nov 2024

Carl

Great welcome and a superb stay.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

13 Nov 2024

Andrey

It’s okay but but not too good.