El Avenida Palace Hotel—A Word of Warning

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Here is a word of warning about this hotel.  We are just heading home after 4 days in Barcelona, Nov. 13-16.  It has been unseasonably warm here with temps at 75-77 degrees.  We checked carefully to see that this hotel has air conditioning, having had some unpleasantly warm stays in hotels without ac.  This hotel has ac….until it doesn’t,  They turn it off seasonally and will not turn it back on if the weather turns warm.  So we would leave each morning to explore, and leave the windows open, only to return to the room to closed windows and absolutely roasting hot.  This necessitated opening the windows at night, and in would come the bugs and mosquitoes. I currently have five mosquito bites on my face.

 

So, fair warning that it is either close the windows and swelter or open them and itch.

 

You can do MUCH better than this hotel!

[Girr]

It wasn't the hotel limiting a/c.  The Spanish government puts limitations on what a termostat can be set at.  I believe starting 9 Aug thru the end of November a/c has to be set no lower than 80.  I know when we lived in Italy years ago we had similar limitations, but on heating!  When we lived in Italy a/c (especially in the north) was unheard of.  We quickly learned with the thick walls in the mornings we opened up all windows, cooled the house off as much as possible, but by 9:30 closed up all the windows, closed the drapes and lowered the shutters to keep in what cool there was.  

Edited November 16, 2023 by Girr
Adding info.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

  @Girr I believe starting 9 Aug thru the end of November a/c has to be set no lower than 80.  
 

We were there Nov. 13-16 and there was no ac for the rooms, but there was ac in the breakfast area, so I am not sure your info is currently correct.

 

my point in posting is to make people aware that just because a hotel states they have ac does NOT mean you will have it when you get there.  If there are governmental regulations about ac, they should state it in their advertising.  The hotel at no time mentioned any governmental regulations when we discussed how hot our room was.

[bison2013]

I appreciate this information- we have had the same with facilities that indicate 'heating' is provided in off season Europe. Where the 'heater' is the air con turned up to a higher temp...  a very slow and (to a Northern American) unexpected system to what we are used to.

 

Being aware of this potential in advance vs discovering it on site is the goal with these posts- so thanks again to @GeorgiaPeach51 for posting.

[Joanne G.]

@GeorgiaPeach51, thanks for the warning.  You might want to warn even more people with a Trip Advisor or Google review.  Choosing between a stuffy hot room or bugs sounds awful.  (I would have gone with stuffy and hot. I hate bugs - had a fly get into the room in a Paris hotel when I opened a window for fresh air. I couldn’t sleep until I finally managed to swat it with my paperback guidebook.) 

I have found hotel rooms can get stuffy and uncomfortably warm (by our American standards) with no or inadequate a/c even if outdoor temperatures aren’t super-hot.  And I don’t like opening windows without screens!  
 

 

[GeorgiaPeach51]

@Joanne G.  I did, indeed do a Trip Advisor review!  The interesting thing to me is that this hotel is pretty highly rated and has enthusiastic reviews.  Puzzling, but perhaps they had ac!

 

I am with you on the bugs.  After the first night I had FOUR mosquito bites on my face, and after that I tried to sleep with the sheet over my head.  😵‍💫🙄

 

Joanie

[cruisemom42]

I’ve traveled in Italy for years where the government did not allow use of A/C after a certain point in the season. It used to be September 30 then was moved to October 31 …. That said, Italy can still have warm days in November, especially in southern Italy.

 

I remember reading about some rule changes in Spain last year regarding A/C use but thought hotels were exempted.

 

I guess the moral is to be very specific in enquiries to hotels if having A/C during shoulder or off season is a deal breaker. 

[alserrod]

9 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I’ve traveled in Italy for years where the government did not allow use of A/C after a certain point in the season. It used to be September 30 then was moved to October 31 …. That said, Italy can still have warm days in November, especially in southern Italy.

 

I remember reading about some rule changes in Spain last year regarding A/C use but thought hotels were exempted.

 

I guess the moral is to be very specific in enquiries to hotels if having A/C during shoulder or off season is a deal breaker. 

 

 

Hotels were exempt and.... all rules ended by November 1st 2023 anyway.

They were very extrict in 2022, not so much in 2023.

 

anyway, when a new rule is on, it is supposed citizens and customers to be informed by themselves, not by hotels as it has been suggested.

[SoloAlaska]

This is definetly a cultural thing. I always find it interesting when traveling in the US how little people tolerate temperature variations. Air conditioning is on one day and heat on the next. If it’s a high of 77 I would have the windows open in the morning and close everything up before the heat set in for the day and when I returned air out the room again but would also close things up before the bugs set in. Keep in mind however seasonal shifts in weather were I am is much greater than most so it’s what I am use to, we get highs of 105 and lows of -40.

 

The hotel may very well have air conditioning but just a different cultural attitude towards when it is used. 

[Harters]

On 11/18/2023 at 3:56 AM, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

has enthusiastic reviews

One of which well have been from me. We stayed there for two nights in June. Lovely hotel. As I recall, we had no need for the air con, as just opened a window. 

 

More recently, we stayed in an apartment (owned by a hotel) in Mallorca in September. There was certainly a limit to which the air con could be set. Not sure but think it was 27 or thereabouts, so quite warm. 

 

It's always a treat to have the cooling effects of air con. It's not something we have at home or come across very often when we travel. 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Harters

[Coral]

On 12/1/2023 at 8:23 AM, SoloAlaska said:

This is definetly a cultural thing. I always find it interesting when traveling in the US how little people tolerate temperature variations. Air conditioning is on one day and heat on the next.

I actually can run both the same day. Though I live in an area where we can have 50+ degree weather swings in less than 24 hours. I am guessing you don't have this in Canada as much.

 

We can have highs in the 70's (F) one day and lows in the teens the next.

Edited December 10, 2023 by Coral