We stayed at the Astoria Hotel in November 2011 for a weekend break. The hotel was located a short walk from the main shopping streets of Passeig de Gracia and Rambla de Catalunya and surrounded by cafe's, restaurants and bakeries. The area surrounding the hotel was safe to walk at night and metro access was less than 5 minutes walk away. The Astoria staff were friendly and helpful and the rooms were clean & functional. The rooftop terrace provided virtually panoramic views of Barcelona city and the sea beyond, and although a bit cold for a dip in November, the rooftop pool looked nice. I would recommend this hotel and would stay here again.
On arrival, the hotel recommended a restaurant called Trobador - on Calle Enric Granados approx. 5 mins walk towards Avda Diagonal. We liked it so much we returned to it on our last night.

Our stay was December 24 to 29th 2011 with the Xmas(25) and Saint Steve(26) holidays in Barcelona. It was myself and 3 teenagers.

Location - the hotel is in a safe area and not on a major street. It is only a short 5-7 minute walk to the Diagonal Metro stop. You can access several Metro lines at that station. It is also right around the corner from the Diagonal street so buses are also easy to catch. A fixed taxi pickup stop is right across the street if you need one quickly. And there are many small restaurants of all types within 1-5 minutes of the hotel. Shopping is also right around the corner and up and down the Diagonal if you so desire.

Rooms - we were on the 4th floor and were simple and clean. Bathrooms appear to have been modernized recently with modern showers, sinks and fixtures. Our room faced the street and there was the occasional loud and happy drunk returning from tapas and beer at 3 am announcing to the world that he was enjoying himself or the regular (daily?)municipal trash pickup at 5 am. I chalked this up big city living. otherwise I actually preferred this room to be able to watch the daily street scene of folks going to work and people heading to bars and restaurants in the evening. I couldn't fugure out how to use the room safe on my own and wasn't sure whether there was a key that was needed. The rooms were heated and never cold (outside temps 32-45f) but did get a bit hot and stuffy when returning from the days activities. Opening the window for a few minutes fixed that quickly.

Staff - They were extremely helpful and nice. We received restaurant recommendations, directions to museums, assistance with the wifi (free in lobby area) and suggestions of good tours to take. They made copies of a few documents without fuss or complaint.

Amenities - The breakfast buffet was decent and average (the coffee was always lukewarm) but enough to get your day started and not complaint worthy. Croissants, bread with tomato spread (typical Barca' dish) juice and coldcuts and cheeses. Service was pleasant and never rude. Free wifi in lobby was nice but reception was a little difficult if you wanted to use Skype. Since it was winter we didn't use the outdoor areas of the hotel.

Overall - Reasonably priced and always felt safe in and around the hotel. I'd gladly return.

So Hotel Astoria is right about in the middle of the wide range that makes up "4 stars hotels" in Europe. Not bad, not great. The location is really good - on a little side street just off of Diagonal (the main street in Barcelona), with a couple of cafes and shops practically right outside the door. Staff is pretty friendly and helpful. Wifi is free which is always a big plus. The rooms are just OK, nothing special. AC is pretty weak, but that's common for Europe. Things were reasonably clean. Bathrooms not bad. Overall, I would recommend this hotel, but I will also personally check out somewhere else next time in Barcelona.

We loved the location, a quiet section near C. Diagonal and the Metro. We walked to two terrific restaurants, both tapas and C. Passeig for shopping. Nice bar and breakfast room near lobby and a lovely little terrace with pool and sauna and of course views of
Barcelona. Not fancy, but would absolutley stay there again.