Hostal Oliva

Couldn’t ask for a better location. The building is gorgeous. The old fashioned elevator is a great novelty.
The staff is sweet. It’s a little strange, as far as hotels go, because you’re not allowed to take your key with you out when you go out. You have to leave it at the front the desk and buzz in at reception whenever you want to be let in. It’s kinda weird, but it never really hindered us in any way as there is always someone to buzz you in, 24 hours a day.
At the time of our visit, Hostal Oliva appeared to be go through renovations. Walking down the hall you could could see that one room was currently being worked on. It was also apparent that some of the other rooms were newly upgraded. The room they put us in, however, had yet to reap the benefits of any renovation. (Actually, I take that back — the bathroom seemed new — had a nice shower and toilet.) But the room itself had stained wallpaper that was peeling off the walls, dreary comforters and old furniture. It wasn’t the nicest room, but we weren’t in Barcelona to sit in a hotel room. It did the trick anyway. I think we just got bad luck of the draw in getting one of the older, outdated rooms. I suppose we could have asked to be moved, but we didn’t bother.
Another thing to note is that when reserving the room, they required a deposit of the first night. Which is all fine… BUT they don’t take credit cards and needed the deposit to be sent in the form of check or money order which, to be honest, was a bit of a hassle from the US. Then, once there, they still don’t take credit cards so be prepared to pay in full, in cash.
The only only complaint is that it seemed a bit pricey for what we got. I guess you’re paying for the location and, in our case a private room with private bathroom (as opposed to the more typical hostel set-​up of a shared room with shared toilet down the hall… which is an option they also have.)
Overall, I’d recommend Hostal Oliva depending on the person — it’d be a good fit for some, and a terrible fit for others. Again, the best thing it has going for it is the location.