Barcelona hotels

[mamaofami]

Lisa, Sheila and Fred stayed at le Colon and loved it. Perfect location and very safe. It was recommended on CC by English in Spain before she stopped posting.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa, Sheila and Fred stayed at le Colon and loved it. Perfect location and very safe. It was recommended on CC by English in Spain before she stopped posting.

I know there are many good hotels and I am sure these are really good and could save us $$0 or $50 dollars but to be truthful two things play into this one, Tom is very leery of us venturing out on something we have really never done before plus my cost with HAL is not drastically more than what all of these other hotels are costing plus HAL does the transfers from airport to hotel and hotel to ship. The price difference we will pay is not a whole lot more and we are letting HAL handle everything and not having to drag around our luggage. Plus we got a smoking deal on Air from LAS to BCL for $554 PP from HAL.

I am sure all these hotels are wonderful I am just wanting to know if anyone has stayed at the Melia Barcelona Sarria and if the location is good. We do not arrive till 2:20pm the day before into Barcelona so will not have much time to play tourist but will want to see a few things that afternoon and evening in Barcelona. We basically want to get a good feel of doing this so that in upcoming years we can spend more time traveling in Europe.

[kazu]

I know there are many good hotels and I am sure these are really good and could save us $$0 or $50 dollars but to be truthful two things play into this one, Tom is very leery of us venturing out on something we have really never done before plus my cost with HAL is not drastically more than what all of these other hotels are costing plus HAL does the transfers from airport to hotel and hotel to ship. The price difference we will pay is not a whole lot more and we are letting HAL handle everything and not having to drag around our luggage. Plus we got a smoking deal on Air from LAS to BCL for $554 PP from HAL.

I am sure all these hotels are wonderful I am just wanting to know if anyone has stayed at the Melia Barcelona Sarria and if the location is good. We do not arrive till 2:20pm the day before into Barcelona so will not have much time to play tourist but will want to see a few things that afternoon and evening in Barcelona. We basically want to get a good feel of doing this so that in upcoming years we can spend more time traveling in Europe.

 

Lisa, I haven't stayed there but I looked up the location. It doesn't look wonderful to me IMO. It seems to be a ways from metro stops and looks like it might be taxis or buses to get anywhere.

 

It doesn't appear to be within walking distance to Las Ramblas or Gaudi's wonderful buildings. Now, I am just going by what I am seeing and I have been to Barcelona several times (including over a week at a time) so I am a bit familiar. I might be wrong, but I don't think so.

 

I know I scratched this hotel off my list aeons ago. If you go to tripadvisor you will see some similar comments - so I don't think it's just me.

 

Do you have English in Spain's new website? She has a great Spain website now and answers questions similar to here.

 

I would be hesitant to use this hotel - it appears to be very nice - it's not the hotel itself but the location. JMO

[Randyk47]

I know there are many good hotels and I am sure these are really good and could save us $$0 or $50 dollars but to be truthful two things play into this one, Tom is very leery of us venturing out on something we have really never done before plus my cost with HAL is not drastically more than what all of these other hotels are costing plus HAL does the transfers from airport to hotel and hotel to ship. The price difference we will pay is not a whole lot more and we are letting HAL handle everything and not having to drag around our luggage. Plus we got a smoking deal on Air from LAS to BCL for $554 PP from HAL.

I am sure all these hotels are wonderful I am just wanting to know if anyone has stayed at the Melia Barcelona Sarria and if the location is good. We do not arrive till 2:20pm the day before into Barcelona so will not have much time to play tourist but will want to see a few things that afternoon and evening in Barcelona. We basically want to get a good feel of doing this so that in upcoming years we can spend more time traveling in Europe.

 

I fully understand what and why you've made the arrangements you've made. Heck we're doing a version of the same thing in May in Athens by letting the cruise line handle those very same arrangements. I guess I wasn't specific enough in my earlier post but I agree with Kazu that the HAL hotel is a little....actually a lot.....a ways from the more interesting areas. Also have to say you indeed did get a "smoking deal" from HAL on your airfare....fantastic! I won't even say what our flights to Athens and home from Rome are costing, suffice to say it's far from a "smoking deal". Granted a lot of that is self-inflicted as back issues keep us out of coach but still....way to go. :)

[chrispb]

Both Hotel Jazz and Hotel Inglaterra are in an excellent positions (opposite each other), close to bus stops and 5 mins stroll to Las Ramblas.

[Live in the moment]

We used Autos Vilar. I think I got the recommendation here or on Trip Advisor and we were more than pleased with their service. A very nice Mercedes mini-bus like van and a great driver who spoke excellent English. We arranged for them to pick us up at the airport and two days later take us to the cruise terminal. Worked better than I could have imagined. Our original plans were that the other couple was arriving in Barcelona about 45 minutes ahead of us and they agreed to wait for our flight. As it turned out we were delayed by fog in London so we got in some two hours later than planned. Our driver was waiting for us but he'd already taken the other couple to the hotel and returned. No increase in charge. Service with a smile. :) Their website is www.autosvilar.com . We made all the arrangements via email.

 

Did you pay ahead of time? Or each couple when they picked you up?

[ger_77]

We spent 3 nights at the Hotel Curious (pronounced koo-rree-us) only 1/2 block off La Ramblas. It is a great little hotel with free breakfast every morning; we got there from the airport by taxi (about 30 Euro), and took the taxi to the port (about 10 Euro). We heard about it on the Spain boards, and checked it out on Trip Advisor, seeing many great reviews. We wouldn't hesitate to stay there again, as it is close to all the action that takes place on La Ramblas.

 

Lisa, if you go nowhere else in the short time you have in Barcelona, take a taxi from your hotel to La Ramblas and spend the evening wandering around, enjoy some tapas and wine or sangria. You'll love it!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[RuthC]

Ger, this is an old thread that was resurrected.

[ger_77]

Ger, this is an old thread that was resurrected.

 

Oh for crying out loud Ruth, I didn't even notice that - thank you! Time for more wine! :D

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[RuthC]

Oh for crying out loud Ruth, I didn't even notice that - thank you! Time for more wine! :D

Or less wine. ;)

 

I've learned the hard way that when I see a thread that looks like I haven't read it, but it has a lot of posts already, check the date posted on the original post. Many's the time it has saved me from getting involved in a resurrected thread.

[ger_77]

Or less wine. ;)

 

I've learned the hard way that when I see a thread that looks like I haven't read it, but it has a lot of posts already, check the date posted on the original post. Many's the time it has saved me from getting involved in a resurrected thread.

 

Sage advice - except for the "less wine" part. Thanks!

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[GeriatricNurse]

Ger, this is an old thread that was resurrected.

 

What difference does it make? :confused:

[doublebzz]

What difference does it make? :confused:

 

My thoughts exactly.

[Randyk47]

Did you pay ahead of time? Or each couple when they picked you up?

 

Each couple paid their share when we were picked up. I thought that was pretty nice in that the fare was supposedly calculated on two couples arriving more or less close to each other and only one trip from the airport to the hotel. We've now used four or five limo services in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey and not once paid or provided credit card information ahead of time for any of them. Between recommendations here on Cruise Critic and Travel Advisor we've had nothing but great service for both limo services and private tour guides/companies all over Europe. Realize this is an old thread but the information, for the most part, is still valid and I know that Autos Vilar is still providing service in Barcelona.

[RuthC]

What difference does it make? :confused:

 

My thoughts exactly.

After looking at Ger's post it was pretty easy to figure out: She was answering a question for someone who had long-since cruised and didn't need the answer anymore. :rolleyes: