Black Swan Hostel
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About
4.5
#8 of 268 hostels in BarcelonaLocation
Cleanliness
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Value
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Looking for good vibes, comfy accommodation, and unforgettable fun? Make this centrally located hostel the place for you. Nestled in one of Barcelona´s coolest areas, Black Swan Hostel combines exciting activities and a sparkling nightlife. You'll enjoy cooking lessons where you'll learn to prepare mouthwatering paella, salsa lessons, flamenco shows, free walking tours, club outings, and summertime trips to the beach. You'll sleep soundly in our comfortable, clean beds where you can start your day strong with free breakfast cereals, refreshing orange juice and steaming cups of tea and coffee. We have our fully-equipped kitchen where you can prepare a home-cooked meal or chat with fellow travellers. Our front desk is open 24 hours a day, so you can be sure you'll always have just what you need. You'll get free bed linen, free WiFi, free luggage storage, a convenient in-house laundry facility, and sparkling-clean bathrooms. Black Swan is your ideal home away from home.
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Property amenities
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Free breakfast
Game room
Billiards
24-hour security
Baggage storage
24-hour front desk
Laundry service
Wifi
Vending machine
Entertainment staff
Evening entertainment
Walking tours
Non-smoking hotel
Shared kitchen
Shared lounge / TV area
Self-serve laundry
Room features
Soundproof rooms
Air conditioning
Safe
Laptop safe
Kitchenette
Room types
Non-smoking rooms
Family rooms
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Budget
Trendy
Languages Spoken
English, French, Spanish, Catalan and 4 more
Location
Carrer d'Alí Bei, 15, 08010 Barcelona Spain
Name/address in local language
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Grade: 100 out of 100
100
Barcelona-El Prat Airport
13.1 km•
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Costa Brava Airport
75.5 km•
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Arc de Triomf
4 min•Barcelona Metro
Rental Cars
284 Restaurants
within 0.5 kilometers
616Reviews15Q+A54Room tips
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Detailed Reviews
My partner and I had so much fun staying here! Also, I don't have a tonnn of hostel experience, but this is easily the nicest one I've stayed in. The beds have curtains and personal lights, outlets and usb ports, and lockers under the bed. Don't forget to bring a small padlock! There was free dinner one night and a bunch of other activities like walking tours and salsa dancing lessons.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: January 2020
Room Tip: Bring a small padlock for your locker.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Black Swan is in my view a charming and captivating hostel, not only for its cosy, home away from home atmosphere, but primarily for the attitude and mindset of the personnel. What surprised me was how people with diverse origins, extraction and beliefs were greeted and involved in social activities by other guests, making them feel useful and desirable and giving them a sense of belonging. This is crucial for everyone who has a different cultural background, it improves tolerance, respect and mutual understanding, which are essential not only in a hostel but in all human pursuits.
We can’t acknowledge how detrimental it is to our lives the absence of social recognition and relation until we experience it. I’ve been in a large hostel recently, a big establishment of a prominent company with hundreds of beds. The first thing that struck my eye when I entered the building was the spacious and inviting main hall with modern and elegant furnishings and many environments, it really seemed a welcoming spot. It wasn’t my first time in a massive lodging complex, I’d already been in equally imposing and framed ones, but as I approached the front desk I realised that something was going adrift. Both the receptionists appeared overly detached and disengaged from customers, they never looked them in the eye, never used courtesy words and expressions, their voice was monotonous and unemotional and their smiles were concealed behind a neutral facial expression. Barely lifting their heads, keeping a bad posture they grabbed ID documents and credit cards and filled in a form. Feeling disappointed and worried I walked around the property to see the facilities, to look at the layout and get an impression of the set-up and mood of the hostel. It was an endless, anonymous maze of dark corridors and rooms with no human presence, but walls of silence and distance obscured by a soporific, canned music. It was impersonal, empty and scary, dreary and gloomy. There was a fair number of guests considering the low season and the proportions of the building, but there was no connection between them. They were separated in scattered, homogeneous groups, each of them hidden in a secluded area, a secret recess lost to view in a remote corner, behind a partition wall, an artificial plant or a vending machine. The rich with the rich and the poor with the poor, the young with the young and the old with the old, the pretty with the pretty and the ugly with the ugly, men with men and women with women alone or with children. All of them were speaking only their native language, no one was laughing or smiling, they all appeared joyless. Concerned at the thought of what had brought them together, and alarmed for being enclosed by such disconsolate surroundings, I asked at the reception desk why people were not mingling together. Suddenly coming back to life, two clerks told me with one voice: “Oh no, they are. They’re sitting with their own friends, you see? They match well together, all peers and equals, this is the beauty of our hostel.” That was a truly exhaustive answer the way I see it, having no further questions I told them goodbye and left those premises for good.
We can’t acknowledge how detrimental it is to our lives the absence of social recognition and relation until we experience it. I’ve been in a large hostel recently, a big establishment of a prominent company with hundreds of beds. The first thing that struck my eye when I entered the building was the spacious and inviting main hall with modern and elegant furnishings and many environments, it really seemed a welcoming spot. It wasn’t my first time in a massive lodging complex, I’d already been in equally imposing and framed ones, but as I approached the front desk I realised that something was going adrift. Both the receptionists appeared overly detached and disengaged from customers, they never looked them in the eye, never used courtesy words and expressions, their voice was monotonous and unemotional and their smiles were concealed behind a neutral facial expression. Barely lifting their heads, keeping a bad posture they grabbed ID documents and credit cards and filled in a form. Feeling disappointed and worried I walked around the property to see the facilities, to look at the layout and get an impression of the set-up and mood of the hostel. It was an endless, anonymous maze of dark corridors and rooms with no human presence, but walls of silence and distance obscured by a soporific, canned music. It was impersonal, empty and scary, dreary and gloomy. There was a fair number of guests considering the low season and the proportions of the building, but there was no connection between them. They were separated in scattered, homogeneous groups, each of them hidden in a secluded area, a secret recess lost to view in a remote corner, behind a partition wall, an artificial plant or a vending machine. The rich with the rich and the poor with the poor, the young with the young and the old with the old, the pretty with the pretty and the ugly with the ugly, men with men and women with women alone or with children. All of them were speaking only their native language, no one was laughing or smiling, they all appeared joyless. Concerned at the thought of what had brought them together, and alarmed for being enclosed by such disconsolate surroundings, I asked at the reception desk why people were not mingling together. Suddenly coming back to life, two clerks told me with one voice: “Oh no, they are. They’re sitting with their own friends, you see? They match well together, all peers and equals, this is the beauty of our hostel.” That was a truly exhaustive answer the way I see it, having no further questions I told them goodbye and left those premises for good.
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Date of stay: November 2022
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stayed twice in Black Swan Hostel and I loved the experience. There’s always something fun to do, activities around Barcelona, the pub crawl, friendly dinner and so on.
The people are amazing, you have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and it’s always nice to discover new things.
I stayed in the 10 Bed female dormitory and for me it was really nice, it has big windows and also the view is pretty. Every bed has plug, usb charger, reading light and a curtain for privacy.
The bathroom are outside the room as well as the showers and a hair dryer is provided.
The kitchen is also very pretty and always clean. You can have you own cabinet for stuffing your food and two big fridges.
Definitely worth it for me, if you like the experience of staying in a hostel. And if you don’t like it you have to try this one.
The people are amazing, you have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and it’s always nice to discover new things.
I stayed in the 10 Bed female dormitory and for me it was really nice, it has big windows and also the view is pretty. Every bed has plug, usb charger, reading light and a curtain for privacy.
The bathroom are outside the room as well as the showers and a hair dryer is provided.
The kitchen is also very pretty and always clean. You can have you own cabinet for stuffing your food and two big fridges.
Definitely worth it for me, if you like the experience of staying in a hostel. And if you don’t like it you have to try this one.
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Date of stay: April 2023Trip type: Travelled with friends
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hostel was very good. Facilities were clean and well kept. The staff was friendly and helpful with information.
The rooms and beds were clean, provided enough privacy and had decent storage spaces.
Also, the location was very close to many tourist spots in Barcelona and is a 10min walk from buses for late night, so very well located.
The hostel was overall very good and worth a stay for single travelers.
The rooms and beds were clean, provided enough privacy and had decent storage spaces.
Also, the location was very close to many tourist spots in Barcelona and is a 10min walk from buses for late night, so very well located.
The hostel was overall very good and worth a stay for single travelers.
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Date of stay: December 2019
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I really enjoyed my stay here. The hostel is nice and clean, the rooms are beautifull with really comfortable beds. The staff is friendly and welcoming. You can join on many activities such as cooking in the evening or going to bars and clubs together, ther take care of you. Had a good time in the bars and clubs. Thanks to Luis (Mexiko) for being the best clubbing partner and chef :) Can't wait to visit again :)
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Date of stay: March 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
One of the best hostels I have stayed in! The staff was super friendly and helpful, always asking was everything was and giving us dinner. The events they host are also really good (i participated on wednesday night, where we all had dinner together, and friday night, when we went out in barcelona). I really enjoyed it and when I return to Barcelona, definitely wll stay there!
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The staff were extremely helpful on arrival and check in was super easy. There is plenty to do organised by the hostel such as beach trips and pub crawls. Great location, loads of supermarkets and places to eat really nearby, and right next to the Arc which was stunning. The room we were in was small ( I think one of the smaller ones), which was interesting as it was a mixed room and many of the others weren't. However, despite being two young girls in a room with complete strangers, the atmosphere felt extremely safe at all times of the day and night. There were lockers under the beds which were very helpful to keep all our stuff safe. One thing I would say is that the ladder on the bunk bed was a bit dangerous as it was very thin and just quite small. Apart from that everything was clean, safe and just overall a very good hostel.
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Date of stay: August 2022
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I love the activities that the hostel had, they were all welcoming and nice. I made some friends there. and had an amazing experience. The bathroom are very clean.
The think that bother me was some of the girls from my rooms made some noise in the morning. But the rest was perfect
The think that bother me was some of the girls from my rooms made some noise in the morning. But the rest was perfect
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip: Like I said before cozy and was always clean
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hostel is amazing! First time solo travelling and first time staying at a hostel. I was really wowed by the experience. If you're looking to make friends on your trip this is a perfect choice as they really engage you to mix with other people (they organize community dinners, pub crawls and flamenco performances, so it's quite easy to mix with other people). IMO the pub crawl's pub selection was quite weak, I felt like two of the three bars we went to (the first and the last) and the club were quite "tasteless" and boring, but nonetheless my stay at Black Swan was a 5/5 experience. The cleanliness was also great and you do feel quite a sense of privacy in your bunks (at least in the top bunk).
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Date of stay: May 2024Trip type: Travelled solo
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I hadn't had the experience of using a hostel before so I was apprehensive about it but from the moment I checked in the staff were so lovely and helpful. The place had a wonderful atmosphere and instantly the hostel were focused on the social elements and asked me right away if I wanted to have dinner with them and the rest of the visitors that were there.
There was a staff member called Eadie who went out of her way to help me with everything and anything and I have now made a friend for life as well which is great! The other staff were also incredible and so helpful including Paula and Cody!
There was a staff member called Eadie who went out of her way to help me with everything and anything and I have now made a friend for life as well which is great! The other staff were also incredible and so helpful including Paula and Cody!
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Date of stay: April 2022
Rooms
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, we do not offer double rooms.
We are in the centre of Barcelona, around 20 minutes with the AeroBus.
They have a Bar, where you can buy drinks - opens at night. But you can buy your own stuff. Inside the train station are many shops.
I haven't seen a coffee machine. So I guess not.
Hi Melissa, pub crawls are every day and we have more than enough outlets.
Hi Melissa,
Yes, an external company organizes a pub crawl. Ask at the reception when you arrive, they'll give all the info requested.
Nick
Not on site, but there are plenty of car parkings near by.
"Make the most of all the free activities and go in the common areas a lot to make new friends. "Read full review
"Book any experiences or places you want to visit or eat at in advance. Especially an Gaudí places."Read full review
"Make sure to take advantage of all the activities on offer and the friendly dinners to meet some amazing people!"Read full review
"Take advantage of the family dinner nights because they are so fun! We regret not going to at least one"Read full review
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PRICE RANGE
C$77 - C$195 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
SpainCataloniaProvince of BarcelonaBarcelonaEixample / La Dreta de l'Eixample
NUMBER OF ROOMS
12
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Black Swan Hostel
Which popular attractions are close to Black Swan Hostel?
Nearby attractions include Palace of Catalan Music (0.5 km), Maximum Escape 3 (0.3 km), and Maximum Escape 1 (0.2 km).
What are some of the property amenities at Black Swan Hostel?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, free breakfast, and laundry service.
What food & drink options are available at Black Swan Hostel?
Guests can enjoy free breakfast during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to Black Swan Hostel?
Conveniently located restaurants include Lato - Born, Rudi of Pirate Cooking, and Billy Brunch & Park.
Is Black Swan Hostel located near the city centre?
Yes, it is 0.9 km away from the centre of Barcelona.
Are any cleaning services offered at Black Swan Hostel?
Yes, laundry service and self serve laundry are offered to guests.
Which languages are spoken by the staff at Black Swan Hostel?
The staff speaks multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Polish, and Filipino.
Are there any historical sites close to Black Swan Hostel?
Many travellers enjoy visiting Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar (0.9 km), Reial Monestir de Santa Maria de Pedralbes (5.3 km), and Ciutat Vella (1.2 km).
Is Black Swan Hostel accessible?
Yes, it offers wheelchair access. For specific enquiries, we recommend calling ahead to confirm.