My boyfriend and I have just arrived back from the Catalunya, this holiday was booked last minute and had little time to read reviews. I now wish i had.

The reviews above are very accurate, the rooms are basic yet very clean, with it being mopped and fresh towels given every day. The rooms are very, very hot and uncomfortable.

The food i was very suprised with, being a bit fussy a bout food i was shocked to find that it was tasty and enjoyable, we ate at the restaurant every night. The staff were friendly and helpful. The dinners had loads of options but breakfast was a bit basic and boring, but deffinately was edable and filled a hole.

The noise was another matter, we stayed in the hotel when it was full with large groups. There was alot of couples and the noise from the people staying at the hotel was not that bad, it was the dodgy plumbing that kept us awake making the windows rattle.

Other than that the hotel was ok but could not of stayed there another night so glad to get home to some comfort.

Greg Jones (March 2007)
Was a bit worried about the catalunya after reading some of these reviews, but found it to be ok. The noise wasnt such a problem for us, but that may have been because we were on the 4th floor. The only night we had trouble sleeping was the last night, and that was because of the locals passionate support for barcelona (they were playing real madrid that night). The room was basic but clean, and you can expect the cleaners to be kicking you out the room at 10am each day (no bad thing - you are there for skiing after all!). The hotel bar is in the basement and is for hotel clients only (the locals fill the ground floor bar - which has a good atmosphere and does a cracking tunamayo baguette!). The barman in the hotel bar (Juan) deserves commendation for providing such a great relaxed yet vibrant atmosphere. He's always happy to have a chat at the bar and if you treat him well, he will treat you even better. Invite him for a game of darts and discuss sevilla football club and you have a friend for life!!! Id actually go as far to say that if it wasnt for Juans bar then the holiday wouldnt have been as enjoyable. If i ever go back to pas de la casa, ill certainly stay at the catalunya just to renew acquaintances. The atmosphere in the bar was always great too, as everyone caught up on a days skiing. I certainly made more holiday friends in the catalunya than on any other holiday ive been on. The hotel restaurant opens at 7.30, and for me was the only drawback to the hotel. Theres stacks of food served on a buffet basis, and whilst theres nothing wrong with it, it just got a bit repetetive after 3 days. Plus the restaurant was boiling and you're always eating your dinner next to a queue of at least 15 people waiting to get to the buffet. Last but not least, the hotel is situated right next to the lowest ski lift, and will take you about 30secs walk (perfect when you're carrying ski's). Just make sure you turn right out the hotel door to get there (if you turn left towards the main high street then you have an arduous uphill struggle for about 200m - trust me, we did it the first 2 days!). So thats it, a basic hotel with a great atmosphere and friendly staff. Cheers Juan, and keep karate chopping those bottel tops!!!!

Just returned from the Catalunya on 25 Feb 2007. Stayed for a week with wife and two kids, aged 16 & 9. We had read some reviews on this and other sites, and to be honest we were not particularly looking forward to going. My theory was that since we were going at half term, there would be less teen rowdies, and more families in resort, and as such less noise. This turned out to be the case, and the Catalunya was mainly filled with families. (Apart from a couple of groups; some of whom really really didnt give a monkeys about anybody elses right to a decent nights sleep...)

We ended up in two rooms on the fourth floor, which were clean and reasonably spacious. Our only real gripe about the room was the lack of a kettle....why oh why dont they provide one?

Noise, as mentioned everywhere, is a problem. We could hear everything the little darlings in the room next door said, every toilet flush, every bed creak. Not good. Also, the open stairwells allow noise to travel up from the bar and cafe downstairs, and anybody coming in late or drunk can be heard by everybody else. The locals love the cafe, and stay till three in the morning before spilling onto the street. The bar is similarly busy till the small hours.

Good points though: food is hot and plentiful, and if you time it right you can eat twice!...the restaurant is open for hours!
(Breakfast choice could be a bit better, it alternates from : Fried eggs/sausage/beans to scrambled egg/bacon/beans, but there are toast/croissant options).

The staff are friendly and helpful, especiallly Juan in the Bar.
Location is brilliant for the slopes and Ski School...fifty yards to walk to the lifts. Free ski lockers outside your room Plenty Hot water for showers/baths, and rooms properly cleaned every day.
My advice...if youre going at school holidays, its a cheap as chips option, but make sure you put some earplugs in, and ask for a top floor room. Outside of school holidays, i would recommend going somewhere else...cause the Catalunya'll be full of party all nighters, and you'll be better off paying a bit extra for a decent sleep.

If you are one of those party animals however....go for it...theres a really good atmosphere, and you cant beat the location! Just remember to SHUT UP when you come back to the Hotel after a night on the razzle!!

Enjoy....we did

I have just arrived back home from a weeks stay at the Catalunya Hotel.
Looking forward to a peaceful nights sleep in my own bed tonight.
The hotel was very noisy all through the day and night. 3 floors up we could still hear everything going on in the bar below ground floor. The noise from outside was pretty loud to. Bars emptying bottles into the bins,shouting etc...
I also found the rooms far too warm, even after turning raidiators off and opening windows (not recommended if staying with small children. High drop and no barrier outside window.)
Apart from the above mentioned the rooms were ok.
Although on occassions there was a very strong, sewage smell present in the bathrooms, more so after having a shower. Reason unknown.
There was a wide variety of food available, but not for vegetarians. Once aware that we were vegetarians however, the staff were very friendly and provided us with a non meat or fish dish every night thereafter. We were well looked after on the food side of things.
The only other advice I can offer if considering this hotel is obey the warnings on the lift - 3 persons only. Naturally if 4 fit then you squeeze 4 in, however, i can confirm that if more than 3 people are in the lift it gets stuck. Not good.
I would probably not consider going back to this hotel myself. I dont feel it was value for money.
The only photo I have of the hotel is shown below. This was in our shower cubical. The window, if opened looks out into the corridor of the hotel. I don't quite understand the reasoning behind this, but can safely say the window stayed closed.