Best hotels in Barcelona for first-time visitor?

[OBX-Cruisers]

If you haven't booked your hotel yet you may want to do that soon. I checked out the Hotel Continental in October when we will be there and it was fully booked for the 4 nights we would need. Also, a single night over a weekend that was available was $1100/night (?!!?) Priceline (weekdays were open and more like <$150/night)......weekends will be the killer it appears.

 

Good hotels for stays >1-2 days in Rome sell out 5-6 months in advance for bookings in October we found out last year and the same is apparently true of Barcelona, especially when stays are over a weekend.

[Ti2m]

We stayed at Jazz and loved it. Great overall experience. $175ish

 

Our favorite hotel (not just Barcelona) was Suites Avenue. Perfect. $200ish

 

NH Barcelona Centro was a nice hotel and its location was the best for us in Barcelona. It is located between the Gothic area and Las Ramblas. $150ish

 

In October we are trying the Port Vell area.

 

Search the neighborhoods and the locations of the places you want to visit. Plaza de Cataluna has been the at the center of our trips to Barcelona so we try to stay within walking distance of it.

 

DO NOT WORRY ABOUT STAYING NEAR THE PORT. We walked to the port bus at Columbus Statue each time from the hotels I mentioned. Also the metro system is quite easy.

[WNcruiser]

For any honeymoon, belated or on-time, I would not recommend the Continental. The rooms remind me of a bordello - all pink, pink walls, pink quilted bed covers, pink quilted seat covers… I laughed when I got in that room (my 2 traveling friends made the reservations for the 3 of us). The Rubbermaid-like set of drawers, the very strange setup for using the electricity (more than just putting in the room card). The "all you can eat, all day, all night buffet) was a joke the entire time were were there. Rarely did it have all it's sections filled. Some things sat there for a loooong time. The wine tasted nasty. The one thing that was good was the coffee and the ice cream. Other than that, we'd head down to La Boqueria and grab fixings for our lunches and dinners and just used the buffet area for condiments and silverware. We had La Rambla balcony rooms - good to have to watch people at night and after the Champions League game played at Camp Nou between Barca and Milano...

 

Agree 100%! The hotel Continental is horrible. It shares a building with a hostel and you have to be buzzed in all the doors and hallways. There are very "interesting" people hanging out there. Our friend had his wallet stolen waiting for the elevator. Stay elsewhere.

[CRUISEBOY305]

I just stayed at the TRYP Apolo Hotel. Excellent hotel, service was wonderful and clean. Great location, not directly on La Rambla (which I prefer) but close enough to walk.

 

Please feel free to check out my pictorial review

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2351601

[slidergirl]

Agree 100%! The hotel Continental is horrible. It shares a building with a hostel and you have to be buzzed in all the doors and hallways. There are very "interesting" people hanging out there. Our friend had his wallet stolen waiting for the elevator. Stay elsewhere.

 

I forgot about the hotel sharing the building with the * hostel and the ** hotel. When you brought this up, I remembered the Front Desk Agent warning the 3 of us to always wait a little if someone was trying to enter the hotel from La Rambla at the same time due to the "sketchiness" of people going to the other 2 properties in the building.

When I first walked into my room, I wished I had brought my travel sleeping bag (2 sheet sewn together) to sleep in instead of the bed. I really wanted to walk out and find myself another hotel, I was that creeped out by the whole thing. I've been known to do that a few times on trips. I spent as little time as possible in the hotel and in the room. One of the few times that I was glad I had a big, burly guy as my personal security guard (my friend's husband)!!

[asubaru]

I have read about 100 reviews and haven't read anything about people being/feeling unsafe. Some people like the buzzer idea; I'm indifferent. I have read that Barcelona, as a whole, is not a safe city. I won't carry a wallet, or anything of importance, on the outside. I know others doing the TA in October on the Epic are staying there, so hopefully we can do some evening things as a group if we feel uncomfortable. I don't carry a wallet or anything important on my outside.

 

I don't care about the snack buffet...I do like the idea of coffee, tea and drinks 24hr, 'tho.

 

I like the location, price, and that I have a balcony over looking LR and supposedly they are bigger rooms. Noise doesn't bother me.

 

 

 

Agree 100%! The hotel Continental is horrible. It shares a building with a hostel and you have to be buzzed in all the doors and hallways. There are very "interesting" people hanging out there. Our friend had his wallet stolen waiting for the elevator. Stay elsewhere.

[abo]

 

I have read that Barcelona, as a whole, is not a safe city.

 

Barcelona is no more or less safe than any other major city in the western world. I see this type of comment on this board so often and I really do not understand where it comes from. Millions of people visit Barcelona every year and the very huge majority that do so have an enjoyable, incident free time there.

 

Take sensible precautions, but relax, enjoy being there and don't buy into the paranoia.

[CRUISEBOY305]

Barcelona is no more or less safe than any other major city in the western world. I see this type of comment on this board so often and I really do not understand where it comes from. Millions of people visit Barcelona every year and the very huge majority that do so have an enjoyable, incident free time there.

 

Take sensible precautions, but relax, enjoy being there and don't buy into the paranoia.

 

I agree with you.

 

Like any other city in the world, be vigilant of your surroundings, monitor your belongings, etc.

[Markanddonna]

I agree with you.

 

Like any other city in the world, be vigilant of your surroundings, monitor your belongings, etc.

 

We were prepared for the pickpockets but saw no incidents while we were there. We like funky hotels and there was nothing about Hotel Continental that bothered us. We were also there during the May 1 protests which started peacefuly but esclated after an hour when the protestors started going down side streets and the police started to jump out of their vans to block them.

 

The only time I felt "unsafe" was during this escalation of police actiivty and the North Africans came out of nowhere to sell their goods on the side walks. This was likely illegal but the police were intensely preoccupied with the protests. We just went back to the hotel and stayed there.

[CRUISEBOY305]

We were prepared for the pickpockets but saw no incidents while we were there. We like funky hotels and there was nothing about Hotel Continental that bothered us. We were also there during the May 1 protests which started peacefuly but esclated after an hour when the protestors started going down side streets and the police started to jump out of their vans to block them.

 

The only time I felt "unsafe" was during this escalation of police actiivty and the North Africans came out of nowhere to sell their goods on the side walks. This was likely illegal but the police were intensely preoccupied with the protests. We just went back to the hotel and stayed there.

 

I left the morning of May 1st. Thank goodness I missed all the excitement :eek:

 

I have these pants where the pockets have zippers on it. Extra step for the pickpockets. Why make it easy for them. lol

[slidergirl]

I'm not one to panic - I travel solo all the time all over the world. But, when a Front Desk Agent gives me a warning about entering his own hotel, I take it to heart. I had no issues with having to be buzzed through all the different doors within the hotel. When I stay at a hotel, asking about safety around the hotel at night is something I always ask. But, to have it given to me unsolicited, was a tad unsettling.

Maybe part of my issue with the hotel is that I not usually stay in Europe at 3 or 2* hotels. I've been lucky enough to be spoiled by 4* and the occasional 5* hotel (courtesy of my now-ex and my hotel business employers). I do not stay at Motel 6 or Super 8 at home unless I am in a town where there is no alternative - the Continental fell into this category for me.

[4cats4me]

We have one night pre-cruise and two nights post-cruise in Barcelona in late August/early September.

 

I don't know where to stay. Las Ramblas looks interesting, still learning about various areas tho. Where do you think we should consider staying? Would it make more sense to stay in two separate hotels/areas to experience more of the city, or get to know one area well?

 

What hotels and areas do you recommend? Our budget is moderate. We don't want to spend $400 a night, but anything $250 and less is fine since this is our belated honeymoon and we want to treat ourselves to a wonderful experience. But the less we can spend and still have a great hotel experience, the better.

 

 

Hi,

I haven't read the replies to this thread yet, but I highly recommend

Hotel Jazz!

We were able to get a very reasonable rate last year about 6 months out. We stayed precruise and post cruise and it was right next to Universitat metro station, very near Ramblas, and most importantly, very quiet at night when we wanted to sleep, especially the interior facing rooms

On my recommendation, many others I. Our group booked the Jazz and all were extremely happy there. Right next door was a good little coffe shop th pastries, so no need to buy their breakfasts at the Jazz many other cafes nearby

[abo]

... when a Front Desk Agent gives me a warning about entering his own hotel, I take it to heart....

 

Now that, I completely understand. If we were being given that type of warning as we were checking in, I'd be turning straight around and finding a different hotel. There are so many good hotels in Barcelona where you can stay feeling safe and comfortable. (I'm a fan of the Jazz, like several people on this board).

[Hlitner]

We do think the Jazz is a decent hotel in a good location. But our favorite hotel remains the Colon, because we love being in the Gothic Quarter. And the atmosphere of sitting outside at the bar/cafe enjoying a drink in the shadow of the Cathedral is another plus.

 

Hank

[CRUISEBOY305]

I know a few people that have recommended the Jazz.

[cc_rider]

We were in Barcelona mid-April and early May. For a week pre-cruise we had an apartment a half block from the Sagrada. Loved the neighborhood and the apartment was great. SF Apartments, booked through Hotels.com.

 

Post-cruise we stayed at the Hotel Lleo for 3 nights. Don't think it is as fancy as the Hotel Jazz, but it worked out well, and the price we good at around 110,00 (booked early, non-refundable)

 

Only issue was that the Carrer de Pelai and Ronda de la Unversitat, like that Ramblas, are very busy and very touristy. Now that I know the area, I wouldn't want to stay on the main streets, and especially not on the Ramblas. I'd rather stay a couple block into El Raval, which we had great fun exploring. Would probably consider Hotel Ciutat Vella or Hotel Reding. Saw them both from the outside and I liked the look of them. That part of El Raval felt safe, even very early in the morning (after midnight)