I stayed at the Hotel Continental in Barcelona in September. It is a small boutique hotel on the Ramblas. It is extremely convenient and I paid $57.00 Euros, continental bkfst, coffee and snacks included. It had gotten a lot of recommendations on this thread. I really liked it. The room was nice, bathroom nice and the staff are so friendly and helpful. Their web site is www.hotelcontinental.com.

I'm just back from BCN, and stayed at a brand new, funky Hostal, for 40 euros a double in the Raval area (metro Universitat, bang in the middle of everything, next to the new MACBA). I strongly recommend it if you are really on a budget (found it on timeout.com/barcelona). If you want to go a bit further moneywise, try any of the H10 chain (www.h10-hoteles.es), they'll give you very good value for money for about 90 euros (3 stars).

Mina,<BR>About the H10s. They're terrific properties.<BR>I stayed in June for 3 nights at the 3 star, very sharp H10 Gravina on the upper edge of the Raval, first in a tiny but nice single at 109 euros with great full buffet brk., but then the doubles cost 165. They have another new 3 star property on Montcada in El Borne, but basically the same price. But check the internet booking sites for deals. Some posters have found doubles at the Gravina for around 130, compact singles for less.<BR>

Sorry! The H10 Raco del Pi in the heart of the Barri Gotic is the 3 star; the Montaca has 4

Hi Maribel:<BR><BR>First of all, I got to look at your file on Spain the other day (Leslie forwarded it to me because you were out of town...I hope you don't mind. She raved about it) and it's wonderful! Thank you so much for taking the time to do these things.<BR><BR>I'm trying to think back to my recent research. I remember something about the Raval not being the safest area? Traveling alone, I try to stay in an area where I would feel comfortable walking around at night (but it doesn't have to be posh by any means). I will check out the H10 website (Thanks Vincent) and find out if it will work for me. I'll check out the El Borne one too...that area seems a bit more my style (alhthough never having been there, it's hard to say!)

We stayed in Melia Sevilla ( 4*) just a year ago for under about $90. You can check http://www.solmelia.com/sol/home/jsp/CHome.jsp for Melia or Tryp Hotels. Rates are pretty decent.<BR><BR>Always check cancellation policy, I cancel a lot if better deal comes along.<BR>

Hello!<BR>I was in Spain last month, Sevilla, Granada, etc. and I didn't pay more than 50 euros. Hint: don't look for hotels, look for hostales, they are almost the same, but cheaper, and pretty nice. Hostal La Gloria, it's in the Let's Go guide...Phone +34 954 222 673

Hi Mina,<BR>Glad you liked the Bcn file. If you need the Madrid or Seville ones, just email me, or maybe you already have them.<BR>Yes, the lower parts of the Raval are still kind of seedy behind the Boquer&iacute;a market and below, but I read that it's gradually being gentrified and becoming hipper. Right, Vincent?<BR>The H10 Gravina is at the end of the upper Raval on a quiet side street very near the Placa Catalunya and the tony Eixample district and quite safe (would never have stayed there otherwise). It's also extremely popular, has a young and very cute, friendly staff who speak excellent English. I checked the web page, and they have a handy calendar that shows you the rates for every day of the yr.-they vary quite a lot.<BR>I think you might just like El Borne, though. It's become the &quot;in&quot; spot for night life. If you decide to stay there, email me, and I'll send you an updated list of bars/clubs/other stuff that have recently opened there.

Try Hotel Allegro at the top of the Ramblas in Barcelona- cool and cheap. <BR><BR>Plus- once you get to Spain food and drink is very cheap, although bars/drinks (copas) are not.

Re safety in Raval, of course I am not a girl, but I felt that, at least the part I was staying in, ie the Northern tip, close to metro Universitat, seemed pretty safe to me. These are things that you can sense, and there was definitely no threatening atmosphere in the air.

Was just in Spain in October and prices HAVE gone up, especially because the Euro is strong. But you should know that one star Hotel's are perfectly nice: clean rooms with baths. Also Hostals(I believe they also use stars) are a good alternative. There is little differance between one and two stars. Not to be disloyal, but check out Frommer's and other guides. I stayed at the Hostal Residencia Australia in Barcelona. Centrally located, nothing fancy but clean with bath. The owner spoke English. The place is still there but it may be under new management. PS: Lower priced places will probably not be online.

We just stayed in the Eixample area of Barcelona, in a non-budget hotel, but it was great. We noticed at least one Hostel while walking along Provenca Street between Mutaner and, I think Catalunya - it was upstairs on the west side of the street, closer to Passeig de Gracia than not. I remarked it because it was a hostel in such a good area. Not sure how to tell you to follow up.<BR><BR>Regarding the Hotel Amadeus website - it is very fussy for some reason. Try using Explorer, not Netscape - or even the new Mozilla - because they load &quot;frames&quot; better than Netscape. I'm no expert on this subject, but Explorer works better than Netscape for a good number of newer sites.<BR><BR>Marcia