Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Favorite Barcelona Hotel

kandj05

By kandj05,
in Spain and Portugal Ports

 Share

Recommended Posts

Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
I stayed at the Hotel Continental for 2 nights in Oct. 2015. No issues with this hotel at all, I realize expectations might be higher for some people, I'm fine with it. Great price, food availability, water/soda, location, no complaints. I'm booking this October for my Royal transatlantic.

Susan, what TA are you on this October?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
susancruzs

susancruzs

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm on the Royal Princess, Barcelona to Ft. L., October 21st. Great ports, 3 in Spain I haven't been to, Valencia, Cartagena, Gibraltar (which I loved on the Vision cruise), Seville (Cadiz), plus Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Lanzarote (Arrecife).

 

I'm back to Princess through 2018, then I'll check on some RCI cruises again! :)

Edited by susancruzs
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
I'm on the Royal Princess, Barcelona to Ft. L., October 21st. Great ports, 3 in Spain I haven't been to, Valencia, Cartagena, Gibraltar (which I loved on the Vision cruise), Seville (Cadiz), plus Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Lanzarote (Arrecife).

 

I'm back to Princess through 2018, then I'll check on some RCI cruises again! :)

We will miss you this year, we are on Brilliance. Bon Voyage!:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
Actually I'm on the Royal Princess Oct. 2017! I was on a TA plus Baltic this Spring so no Fall cruise for me! Australia/NZ in March though.

 

Enjoy the Brilliance, awesome ship, perfect size, have fun! :)

Thanks Susan.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karinad

karinad

Posted
Posted
We've stayed in Hotel Lleo and it's now our "go to" hotel in Barcelona after previously staying many times in Hotel Continental

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

I had reservations at both and couldn't decide. I decided on The Continental because I thought the location of it is closer to the Gothic Area and we're only there for one night. I didn't book a balcony but hoping I could request an upgrade to one with a view. We'll be there in Oct. Any cons to this hotel while I still have time to change it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EnricM

EnricM

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just for clarity for other readers...

 

There are two hotels with that name. Or rather, the name used above is incomplete :)

 

These are Hotel Continental Palacete and Hotel Continental Barcelona, both 3-star and both located near Plaça Catalunya, considered the centre of Barcelona. The first one is at the luxurious Passeig de Gràcia --sort of Champs-Elysees of Barcelona-- and the second one at the top of Les Rambles boulevard, in between two mega-shops of

-one of the famous fashion brands born (and headquartered) in Barcelona.

 

Yet I suspect @karinad refers to the second one.

Edited by EnricM
Link to comment
Share on other sites
suekay

suekay

Posted
Posted

Hotel Lleo is in an old building but is more modern inside. Breakfast is served on crockery instead of polystyrene plates. There is a rooftop sun terrace with sunbeds. It's only a few hundred yards further away from the Gothic area round the corner from the start of Las Ramblas. Nothing wrong IMHO with Hotel Continental but you will be very aware that you are in an historic hotel. Balcony rooms are very popular and I would say there is virtually no chance of even a paid upgrade. If I hadn't been to Barcelona so many times I'd definitely book a Continental balcony room to people watch

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karinad

karinad

Posted
Posted
Just for clarity for other readers...

 

There are two hotels with that name. Or rather, the name used above is incomplete :)

 

These are Hotel Continental Palacete and Hotel Continental Barcelona, both 3-star and both located near Plaça Catalunya, considered the centre of Barcelona. The first one is at the luxurious Passeig de Gràcia --sort of Champs-Elysees of Barcelona-- and the second one at the top of Les Rambles boulevard, in between two mega-shops of

-one of the famous fashion brands born (and headquartered) in Barcelona.

 

Yet I suspect @karinad refers to the second one.

 

Yes, it is the second one. Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
karinad

karinad

Posted
Posted
Hotel Lleo is in an old building but is more modern inside. Breakfast is served on crockery instead of polystyrene plates. There is a rooftop sun terrace with sunbeds. It's only a few hundred yards further away from the Gothic area round the corner from the start of Las Ramblas. Nothing wrong IMHO with Hotel Continental but you will be very aware that you are in an historic hotel. Balcony rooms are very popular and I would say there is virtually no chance of even a paid upgrade. If I hadn't been to Barcelona so many times I'd definitely book a Continental balcony room to people watch

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

Thank you! I seen that Hotel Continental is sold out in all the cheaper rooms (ours). They still have the balcony rooms that are priced close to $200/night. I guess it couldn't hurt to email and ask. If not, for a night it'll be ok since we plan on being out sightseeing. It would still be nice to be able to walk out on the balcony. I wouldn't go without one on our cruise. Nice to know that the location of the Hotel Lleo is near the Gothic area. DH loves the old architecture.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EnricM

EnricM

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just a reflection...

 

I can understand the allure of the El Gòtic neighbourhood (the Gothic Quarter), being the origin of the city of Barcelona over two thousand years ago. Yet, as in all cities with an old neighbourhood, one has to consider how these ancient European cities were formed and most importantly how the buildings were tightly grouped to one another in order to increase the available space within the city walls. These areas have normally few major avenues/boulevards and plenty of small streets and back-alleys. Barcelona was been one of these fortified cities and has had walls for centuries, in fact, three walls altogether built as the city grew. The last wall was torn down just 150 years ago and one can still see bits of it scattered around the El Gòtic and El Raval neighbourhoods.

 

But this romantic heritage of the past carries a burden, which in the case of Barcelona is aggravated by the density of population in the city, one of the highest in Europe. While the city in itself 'merely' has roughly 1.6 million inhabitants (5 mil within the greater metropolitan area), Barcelona has an area of just 40 sq miles, which yields a density of 41000 inhabitants per sq mile and that is specially appreciated in the oldest neighbourhoods, such as El Gòtic, La Ribera or El Raval. Already in the late 1800s, when the neighbourhood of L'Eixample (meaning "the widening" in Catalan, the local language) was developed, the bourgeoisie of the city rushed to move out of El Gòtic and had their mansions erected in that area. This is the reason why l'Eixample has the most number of magnificent Modernist buildings (ie. Casa Batlló, La Pedrera, Casa Ametller, LLeó i Morera, etc).

 

So, what then?... this is to reflect on the fact El Gòtic is a maze of small streets and back-alleys, with lots of people, local and visitors alike, and that at times can be overwhelming. This is why El Gòtic is an area one must indeed stroll if visiting Barcelona, but one might not necessarily want to 'stay in' overnight moreover having plenty of attractive options in neighbouring areas, at a stone throw away from "the center", which can make resting at night a more pleasant experience.

 

Well, everyone has his preferences of course. Just sayin'

 

Enjoy!

 

MAP OF NEIGHBOURHOODS OF BARCELONA

 

PS: Yeah, I probably cheated... the picture is from a commercial street (Portal de l'Angel) during Christmas :))

Edited by EnricM
Link to comment
Share on other sites
brazilgirl "Live from...." Rare

brazilgirl

Posted
Posted

I also recently stayed in L'Eixample and was very pleased with the location. Very charming neighborhood.

 

We stayed at a nice 4 star hotel with excellent family rooms and a good rate.

http://www.derbyhotels.com/en/hotel-granados-83/?utm_campaign=afiliados&utm_medium=afiliados&utm_source=AffiliRed&utm_content=afiliados

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ron & Kristy

Ron & Kristy

Posted
Posted

I should have possibly read this before booking our hotel. Now I am having doubts after reading the post by EnricM. We did book our hotel in El Gotic. It is Hotel Barcelona Catedral. It is a 4 1/2 star hotel with great reviews. We only have one day in Barcelona after we get off the ship and then we fly out very early the next morning. It is very close to a beautiful cathedral, Las Ramblas, and Plaza Catalunya. We know we won't have time to see much so thought it was the perfect solution. Have we made a mistake? We would really like to end this trip of a lifetime in celebration of our 20th anniversary on a positive note. :confused:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bobal

Bobal

Posted
Posted (edited)
I should have possibly read this before booking our hotel. Now I am having doubts after reading the post by EnricM. We did book our hotel in El Gotic. It is Hotel Barcelona Catedral. It is a 4 1/2 star hotel with great reviews. We only have one day in Barcelona after we get off the ship and then we fly out very early the next morning. It is very close to a beautiful cathedral, Las Ramblas, and Plaza Catalunya. We know we won't have time to see much so thought it was the perfect solution. Have we made a mistake? We would really like to end this trip of a lifetime in celebration of our 20th anniversary on a positive note. :confused:

 

You definitely have not made a mistake. We stayed in its sister hotel Catalonia Catedral, which is on the adjacent street. It's a great location right in the heart of things and wouldn't hesitate to stay at either of those hotels.

Edited by Bobal
Link to comment
Share on other sites
EnricM

EnricM

Posted
Posted (edited)

Wow!... thanks for trusting my words so much but I am afraid I might have conveyed you (and perhaps others) an erroneous idea: there's nothing wrong with staying in El Gòtic per se. What I was trying to say is that (1) there are other areas to stay, Barcelona is not only El Gòtic, it's much much more and there are different areas, with different "ambiances", that might suit different travellers; and (2) El Gòtic can be quite busy -especially Jun to Sep- to the point of being suffocating at times, thus looking at other areas can be a relief. This however doesn't mean that all of the streets of El Gòtic are necessarily packed.

 

This is the map of neighbourhoods of Barcelona: http://monbarcino.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/barris_bcn.jpg and, if anyone wonders, "stuff" visitors are interested in is spread across the city, not concentrated in a single point/neighbourhood.

 

In your particular case, Ron & Kristy, your hotel is in a side street by the Pla de la Seu (the square in front of the Cathedral of Barcelona) which is not that busy... don't worry.

 

Some of the streets that are really busy (or noisy) in the area of El Gòtic are, for example, Les Rambles, Plaça Reial, Via Laietana, Carrer Pelai, Plaça Catalunya, Carrer Boqueria, Carrer Ferran... as I've mentioned many times, it's more about this or that street than a general view on the whole area. But again, there are literally hundreds of avenues, streets, little streets and back-alleys... I couldn't possibly name all of those that I wouldn't recommend (as per being very busy or being noisy), could I? :))

Edited by EnricM
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...