Ikonik Lex Hotel

DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL! Be very careful. I'm Mexican and I stayed at this hotel with my girlfriend, who is Ukrainian. The problem is that they asked us to register with our passports. My girlfriend lives in London, England, and her passport says she's English, not Ukrainian. That same day, after we finished checking in, we went to a bar behind the hotel, and a Colombian employee approached me and said, "Hey, friend, you're Mexican and your girlfriend is English, right?" That's when the alarm bells went off 🚨 and I realized something was wrong. He might have been able to guess my nationality from my accent or my face, but it was impossible for him to guess my girlfriend's because she has a cheerful face and doesn't have an English accent either! The only way to find out is that the hotel shares your data with third parties, and it was even difficult for them to know I was Mexican. The Colombian guy kept insisting that the next day we should visit a bar near the center and ask for him. Already suspicious of him at that point, I checked the reviews of the place he was suggesting, and the opinions said that many Colombians frequented that bar, drugging people by putting substances in their drinks and then robbing them. It's important to mention that after just two beers, I started feeling very sleepy, and we decided to leave the bar quickly. We've tried reporting this hotel several times, but no one answers the phones, and the managers don't respond to any emails. Be very careful and don't stay here or go to the bars near this hotel. DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL! Be very careful. I am Mexican, and I stayed at this hotel with my girlfriend, who is Ukrainian. The problem is that they asked us to register with our passports. The issue is that my girlfriend lives in London, England, and her passport shows that she is British, not Ukrainian. That same day, after finishing our registration, we went to a bar behind the hotel and a Colombian worker approached me and said, “Hey friend, you're Mexican and your girlfriend is English, right?” At that moment alarm bells went off in my head 🚨 because maybe he could guess my nationality from my accent or my appearance, but it would be impossible for him to guess my girlfriend's nationality because she has a Slavic face and she doesn't even have an English accent! The only explanation is that the hotel shares your personal information with third parties. It was even unlikely that he would also know that I was Mexican. The Colombian kept insisting that the next day we should visit a bar near the city center and ask for him there. Since I already felt suspicious of him, I started checking the reviews of the place he was inviting us to, and the comments said that in that bar there were many Colombians who drug people by putting substances in their drinks and then rob them. It is important to mention that after only two beers I started feeling very sleepy, so we decided to leave that bar quickly. We have tried to report this hotel several times, but nobody answers the phones and the managers do not respond to any emails either. Please be very careful, do not stay here, and do not go to the bars near this hotel.

OK, the bad bit first. It seems their website got hacked as we recieved a message asking us to pay when we had done so. When we contacted them I asked for details of how my details had got hacked and they just described it as a fiching attempt and to not access the link provided. No explanation, no confirmation they had reported it as a data breach. Just a rather dismissive email which was repeated the advice not to click on the links, when I queried it. Finally a few days before our arrival did we get something of a formal email. OK the good. This is a very friendly and tidy hotel in a reasonable area and 30 minutes walk from the main Espania train station. Take a back route for walking it, and its a nice part of town with good bars and restaurants. Good to explore a bit of real Barcelona. Yeah its a bit away from the Gothic quarter but the rooms are cheaper and far bigger and its not too much hassle to get to the likes of Park Guell. Bathrobes, freebie packs (including a few chocolates), those foamy shoey things that some people inexplicably rave over. Not a particularly plush 4 star but spotless, a lovely shower (with jets that can clean your belly button and arm pits without moving your hands). We had a nice big bacony. No views of roaming wilderbeast or even Barca landmarks but very pleasant to kick back with a bottle of wine. My tip? A couple of nights of splash in a tiny room in the posh part of town then retreat here for a room you can unpack your belongings into and get a bit of space and more cost effective eating out.

Good, nice, and cheap. Centrally located near the places we wanted to visit and with some good restaurants nearby. Comfortable bed, refrigerator, TV with Netflix, tea and coffee… a real treat. It smells nice and is clean. Zero noise.