bARcelona--whats the best hotel

[jfd]

trying to find a hotel with a good location, near placa catalunya. any ideas? I have researched this to death and can't make a decision. 1898 is a little over budget, and monte carlo is not much less. Pulitzer seems ok but no pool. help.

 

[Parrot Mom]

There is no doubt in mt mind after three visits there and a forth one coming up.. The Hotel Continental..right on LaRambla.. no, there is no pool, but it is a favorite with cruisers, free internet service, all day buffet and family owned.. You can check out their sister hotel..a bit more upscale. We book the cruise, then if it's from Barcelona book the hotel and our driver

 

[GurlyGirl]

I don't know if you found a hotel in Barcelona, but I found the Jazz Hotel which is in walking distance to Las Ramblas, highly rated (# 5 on trip advisor), and fairly reasonable. I hope this helps.

 

[Houstonandy]

We stayed at Hotel Colon right across from the main cathedral in the old city. We enjoyed our stay there, although I wouldn't eat breakfast in their cafe unless it's included in your room price...pretty good, but very pricey. The service was excellent in the hotel...very accomodating front desk. Check out La Bouqueteria (sp?) on Las Ramblas. It's a fantastic food market, perfect for a snack or picnic lunch. Also, on Thursday morning there is a flea market in cathedral square that starts about 10am and ends about 6pm. Everything is later in Barcelona. Have a great time...it's an extraordinary city!!

 

[BruinSteve]

For the sake of future visitors, I'll report on my recent visit...

We stayed at the Hotel Continental...3 nights pre-cruise in late June...We had a Las Ramblas View Balcony...

First of all, the rate was quite a bargain by Barcelona standards--115 Euro per night...

I'll give you the good and the bad...

The bad first...
--My wide thought the bed was too hard...
--The room was on the smallish side (but so are most European hotel rooms by our standards...
--The decor is very "pink" and the furniture, what there is of it, is plastic...

The good...
--The location is absolutely phenomenal...I have been to Barcelona several times and this hotel has by far the best location of any place I've stayed. In fact, I don't think you could have a better location--right on Las Ramblas, right next to the Placa Catalunya. You can't underestimate how convenient that is--to the sights, to tranportation, to shopping, to restaurants...
--The buffet. Okay, it's not a phenomenal buffet, but it is stocked 24 hours...including free soda, free beer, free wine, free ice cream...bread, cereal, pasta, fruit, etc.
--Free internet, including a public computer in the lobby area...
--Price. Value for the money...
--The balconies...Grab a bear or wine downstairs (okay, it's not great wine...but it's free) and bring it to your room and go sit out on the balcony and watch the crowds on Las Ramblas below...

This is not a "five star hotel"...far from it...But, OTOH, it is clean, safe and convenient...
The security and logistics are a little funky...They share the building with two lesser hotels, which, generally, share the back of the building...You enter ground level from Las Ramblas and take the elevator to the "First Floor" (In Europe, this generally means the floor one up from ground level, not the ground floor)...You push gently on the front door and it opens automatically...The reception desk and buffet are on this level...To get to your room (ours was on the third floor), you exit out to the elevator area and take the elevator to the third floor and ring the bell...The front desk identifies you by the remote camera and open the door by remote...Same thing each time you leave in reverse...You need to check back at the front desk and leave the key when you leave and pick it up each time you return...

In front of the reception desk, they have a large screen TV with separate sections showing the view from each remote camera location...

 

[iggy_az]

I'm also looking for a good Hotel in Barselona

I'm planning a trip in June 2010 and the ship does a round trip back to Barselona so I'm looking to stay 2 night before the cruise and 1 night after .

I'm looking for something near the cruise ship dock but also easy to get transportation the and from the airport.

I've been told that this was a good hotel
Price range $169 to about $212 per night

AC Diplomatic
C/ Pau Claris, 122,
08009 , Barcelona - Spain
Phone. +34 93 272 38 10
Fax. +34 93 272 38 11
diplomatic@ac-hotels.com

Located in the very centre of Barcelona, beside the Paseo de Gracia, this hotel is characterised by a high level of quality in its service and a totally avant-garde interior design. It has an exclusive restaurant and seven meeting rooms which are perfectly equipped with the most modern technology.
Location
It is located in the very centre of Barcelona, next to the Parque de la Ciudadela and the Paseo de Gracia, where you can visit the cultural heritage of Gaudí. The hotel is located near the Plaza de Cataluña and a few minutes’ walk from the Gothic Quarter and the Ramblas.
This modern designer hotel has a variety of shops (20 metres away), restaurants and bars (100 metres away) and lively discos in the surrounding area.
You will find the nearest public transport stop 10 metres away.
HOW TO GET FROM MAIN DIRECTIONS
• From the airport, take the Ronda Litoral and go up Vía Laietana until Plaza Urquinaona continuing along calle Roger de Llúria and then turning left into calle Aragón. Once in calle Aragón take the first street on the left, Pau Claris and you will find the hotel a few metres along this road.
• From Madrid, take the A-2 to Zaragoza and then the AP-2 to Lleida/ Barcelona.

HOW TO GET BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT
• By bus from the airport you can take numbers 16, 17, 22, 24 and 28, as well as the aerobus which takes you to the city centre.
• By metro, the nearest stop to the hotel is Paseo de Gracia, on lines L2, L3 and L4.
• By RENFE train get off at Paseo de Gracia.

NEAREST METRO STATION
• Paseo de Gracia, lines L2, L3 and L4, 100 m. from hotel (metro – underground).
• Paseo de Gracia, line 2 RENFE (train).
Attractions nearby
• Paseo de Gracia – 500 meters 1/3 mile
• Parque Güell – 3,8 Km. 2.4 miles
• Casa Batlló – 200 m. 650 ft
• Sagrada Familia – 2.1 Km. (1.4 miles)
• Ramblas – 2 Km. (1.2 miles)
Rooms
The Hotel AC Diplomatic provides an impeccable service based on taking care of each aspect of your stay.
The exquisitely decorated rooms are full of exclusive details, such as four pillows, special reading lamps in the headboard, mini-bar or free Natural AC, personalised air-conditioning and heating system. TV with 20 channels, pay-per-view TV, high speed Wi-Fi Internet connection, laundry service, 24 hour room service.
Total number of rooms: 211.


Any other ideas?

 

[iggy_az]

Do they have taxis?

Question #1
So where is a good 3 or 4 star hotel near the port?

Question #2
What method of transportation can be used from the
Airport to the hotel?
Hotel to the Port?

Are taxis expensive? or does everyone use public transportation?

Any idea of the costs would be helpful

Question #3
Do you think it is better to buy some Euros at the airport or ?

 

[Jack-]

very nice hotel

http://www.hotelfrontmaritim.com/

4 stars hotel, clean, near the port and not expensive.

 

[iggy_az]

Hotel Atrium Palace in Barcelona

Well after looking around I finally booked the Atrium Palace before and after my future cruise. The price was around $183 per night and you get a higher quality, more secure hotel than many other cheap places along the Rambla. It has free wireless in rooms and a few computers and printer in lobby. It is a 4 star rating as it goes in Europe.

If you look around more about Hotel Continental you will find out it is a low level motel 6 with small elevator, small small rooms. Small toilets, dirty dark hallways. So for $115 - $119 Euros you get a place you wouldn't take your wife or girlfriend. A bunch of guys sure.

That is my 2 cents.


Oh I almost forgot. Use Priceline.com to make your reservations for Atrium Palce or it will cost you $500 Euros a night if you go to their website.

 

[evgal]

well i have to say the hotel contential right on las rambles was great! it was the first time we were in europe, didn't know what to expect. we were there 2 days pre cruise.
BruinSteve did a great review, the hotel was full of cruisers, most from our ship lol, the room was small, wheelchair & luggage made it tight! the plastic furniture was covered in flowered slip covers & the whole room looked like laura ashley catalog lol. truthfully we didn't spend much time in our room, sight seeing all day, out for tappas @ nite. really appreciated the buffet area being opened 24/7. free drinks !!!!!
BUT....... the BALCONY............ we spent most of the time in our room out on the balcony! right on las ramblas, PEOPLE watching & oh my, one nite there was a group of people [about 100 of them] singing, wearing loin clothes!! what a experiece!!! we loved all the little excentricites of the hotel soooooo not like the usa!!! was it a motel six well i guess, we paid less than $100. 3 yrs ago.
location wise was perfect, 1 block from the main square @ the top of las rambalas, sub way, city buses & ho-ho buses all right there, large department store with nice wine selection also. diagonally across the street was a supermarket, lots of tappa bars ect.
took a taxie from airport, and to the cruise ship, thought it was reasonable.think the airport was about 40 euros/ 2 couples, ship was only about 10 euros again 2 couples.
short ride to ship, the hotel called for taxie for us, both taxies we took were van types.
i'd stay there in a minute again!!!!
check out cruise critics.com do a search on the europe board lots of reviews of the barcelonia hotels & yes a lot on hotel contential!
karen

 

[leonrdofan]

Don't know if anybody is still reading this thread, but I have stayed 3 times at Aparthotel Atanea Barcelona,
4 stars, roomy, modern, department store with gourmet food shop and metro 1 block, at Avenguda Diagonal
in Les Corts neighborhood. Easy taxi to port. Less than USD 100. Can reserve through booking dot com