Probably not for everyone as this is more a uni dorm hotel but very modern, clean, good air con and excellent buffet breakfast, bit of a work from the metro and more to the north of the city but recommended nevertheless, gr8 value

The hall of residence ‘Agora’ is a three-storeyed building, situated on a hill just across from the stadium. It’s about 75 minutes to the airport by underground (line 3 to the Pg. de Gràcia) and by train (R2 from the Pg. de Gràcia). It’s ten minutes’ walk to the Mundet stop and two minutes’ to the beautiful gardens at the Parc del Labyrint. Near the Agora is (probably) a supermarket (Consum), but I couldn’t locate it anywhere.
A single room is simply but nicely equipped, incl. a private bathroom (shower) and air conditioning. Don’t be surprised: there is no TV set! A standard room is cheaper than a superior room because the cleaning persons come once a week. Maybe there are more differences between these two types but I’ve noticed only one. I didn’t use the internet connection at my room, but I know that you can do it for free if you bring your own notebook. There are also two computers in the reception hall, but you should take into account that they are always occupied. If you need to print something (for example your boarding pass), you should ask the receptionist. He/she will do it for you for a small fee.
The breakfast is served from 6.30 a.m. till 10.30 a.m. in the same hall where you can have lunch (13.00-16.00) and dinner (20.00-22.30). Both the lunch and the dinner cost 9,50 - so it isn’t expensive. You have to pay for it in advance (24 h. before) at the reception desk. You can also use the slot machines in the living room opened from 7 a.m. till the midnight if you feel like a cup of coffee or a sandwich. There are also two slot machines next to the dining- hall.
I would recommend this place to everyone except the elderly people because of one con: it’s a bit noisy at night.

Upon looking at this "hotel" on another website I thought, "What a great hotel, good price AND it includes breakfast? Sign me up!" Turns out this "hotel" isn't actually a hotel, just a student campus that gets rented out during the summer to travellers. At least the beds were clean and the breakfast was included because other than that, the room was not as clean as it could, or should, have been. I do, however, recommend this "hotel" to people that are travelling on a budget.

We stayed here at the beginning of August 2011. After an easy journey to Barcelona we were a little concerned that the Agora might be difficult to find. Not so. We caught the train from the airport into Barcelona Sants and changed onto the blue line (Line 3) metro straight to Mundet with no changes. Easy! At Mundet station there was map of the locality on which someone had helpfully marked on the Agora in permanent marker. For anyone reading this - take the escalator up to street level, cross the side road and continue along the side of the dual carriageway for a few metres. After the sports courts there is another side road off to the left up a hill. Go up the hill and turn right past the Velodrome and you wuill see the Agora. Don't worry, you don't have to climb the steps you will see in front of you as you begin walking up the hill.

We stayed half board so breakfast and dinner were taken care of. On the breakfast buffet there was a good choice of both hot and cold food and a nice selection of pastries. Usually the only fruit avaialable was oranges, although one morning there was a dish of fresh Kiwi fruit as well. There was orange and pineapple juice to drink plus coffee and tea. The juice was real juice which was a nice surprise. All too often we have been disappointed to find that the breakfast "juice" was actually fruit squash (including at some pretty upmarket hotels across Europe). Dinner was filling if not exactly gourmet and we were able to choose from several dishes plus pasta, rice and lots of salad. For dessert there were various flavour yoghurts, cake, a great variety of fresh fruit and cake. Eating at the Agora meant that we had more money to spend in Barcelona - which we found to be an expensive city. A great bonus was that the juice, coffee and tea that was served at breakfast was also available free of charge at dinner. For those not staying half board, dinner was available to book with 24 hours notice at 9.50 euros.

We stayed in a superior room. The room had patio doors onto a communal terrace. Remember to take a cable for the internet in the bedrooms. Ask reception for the login details. There is wifi but only in the lounge area - which was full of teenagers attending summer school. There is a plasma screen TV in the lounge and vending machines for sweets, crisps, sandwiches and hot and cold drinks. A better option is to check out the supermarket in the middle of a nearby housing estate (cross under the road at the metro underpass; the supermaket is a bit hidden away but only 10 minutes walk from the Agora. It is shown on a small map pinned on a noticeboard in reception.

Unfortunately the Agora has no bar and has a no smoking and no alcohol rule (you run the risk of being evicted) but you can smuggle in a bottle of wine or a couple of cans of beer in your backpack. If you want to to party this probably isn't the best place to stay; look for somewhere else. There is a bar in the park (up the steps near the Velodrome) which is open till dusk. Apart from that the only other bar we found was in the supermarket.

The Agora is quite a long way out of town but as previously mentioned on a direct metro route from Barcelona Sants station and also La Rambla. A T10 ticket is good value for travelling around being valid on the metro, buses and the regional trains in Barcelona. Aprt from weekends the metro stops at midnight so make sure you find out which bus to catch back if you plan to stay out late because it would be a walk of several miles.

Rooms are fairly basic but very clean. Superior rooms are serviced daily but not the standard ones which are cleaned weekly and on departure. The standard rooms are probably quite noisy as when we stayed there there were lots of children and teenagers there for the summer school. As the superior rooms are on the ground floor we escaped the noise.

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