Last month could be my favourite month in 2014!

It was a closed to 3-weeks holiday in Europe with my husband. This entail meeting up with 2 of my best friends in Paris and standing in long queue for Pierre Herme patisserie, blown away by the beauty of the Swiss Alps, and tapas bar hopping in Barcelona with frequent gelato treats in between.

Ok this is not a travelogue but I’m excited to share with you some pictures of the hostel that we’ve stayed during the 5 days in Barcelona – TOC Barcelona. 

TOC Barcelona is a hostel located in the in the Eixample district, very close to some of the most important monuments of the city and surrounded by shops, bars and restaurants. Honestly I had some reservation about the hostel when I made the booking. It seems to have gathered a mixed review in TripAdvisor. But we went ahead with the booking as the location was good (super near to the Universitat metro station) and the price was just right. We booked the suite for 2 with the en-suite bathroom, so we still get privacy even though it is a hostel.

When we arrived at the hostel, we were really surprised by how new and stylish the hostel is, and felt an instant relief..

So here we go –

(All pictures were taken using my iPhone 5s)

The lobby

Love the front desk counter that is stuffed with (real) books!

The hostel has just undergone renovation this year, everything was new and there was even a painter still working on the  geometric patterned mural wall at the lobby.

 

Corridor connecting the lobby to the lounge

The corridor is painted in dark colours and accented with mood lighting, tuning in to a more hipster vibe as you walk along to the lounge.

The lounge

This is the space for people to hang out, catch a movie or make new friends over a pool game.

Beside the pool table is a wall of book shelves made up by stacks of wooden frames in different sizes, a great idea that we can try out at home!

Another nice feature of the lounge is the screening area. Again, there are stacks of wooden boxes used for display of books and accessories, creating a cohesive look for the lounge area.

 

The bar and dining area

Didn’t try out the food there, but the ambience looked good!

So here they are, just some snapshots of the communal area of the hostel.

In the next post, I’ll show you the pictures of our room, so stay tuned!