I took a chance on this hotel as I could not find a single review on the web.
I was not disappointed at all.
It reminded me much of the Hilton hotel at Paris la Defense in France: ultra modern style, minimalist, high tech [ centralized light control, flat screen, room key on a chip-card, free high speed internet in the rooms ].
I would definitely stay here again specially given the rate I paid this weekend: 95 Euros a night. This must have been a special as the rates jump up to 210 Euros on Monday.
Pros:
- Quiet neighborhood
- Unmarked hotel in a residential area
- Free parking on side streets: there is available underground parking at the hotel but costs 9 Euros a night
- Convenient to Metro station: 3 blocks away
- Good size room with queen size bed
- Great lighting in the room
- Large shower: rectangular shape
- Safe that can hold a 15" laptop easily
- Housekeeping that works on spanish working hours: no house keeping nazi crew pounding on your door at 7:30 AM!!!
- Very very friendly staff: we checked in and the internet did not work. They had the problem resolved immediately. They had us change rooms after checking the wiring, my laptop, etc. Good follow up. Little detail: they had a staff person send the new room key. Try that at a Marriott hotel in France: they'd have you check back in at reception without hesitation!
- Safe area: a coworker lives 700 meters from hotel and vouched for it
Cons:
- Quite a distance from the touristy spots: if you want to be within walking distance of tourist attractions or restaurants, you will be disappointed. However, everything is a train ride away.
- There does not seem to be a heating system in the room: amazingly this weekend was very cold in Barcelona. The A/C works VERY well. It is odd as it was super warm in the corridors
- Sound proofing in the rooms is dismal. You can hear people talking in the corridors easily.
- Housekeeping may show up at your room around 17:00 on a Sunday. They do not seem to be in any rush to get done early.
- No view whatsoever
N/A:
- We did not try the restaurant, swimming pool, or bar.
I stayed at 3 hotels in Barcelona. My rankings:
1. Grand Marina: the view, the location on the water, the quality of the rooms, the gym, the robocop housekeeping. The downside is the price: expensive rooms, expensive on-site dining, expensive internet, expensive parking if you drive to Barcelona. If price were not an issue, Grand Marina would be my choice.
2. Eurostars Angli: it sometimes feels good to be in a small hotel with few rooms.
3. Intercontinental Princesa Sofia: old style, old building, no view but walking distance to a FC Barcelona game, to nice parks, to shopping, etc. Tends to have a young crowd in the neighborhood as it is in the universities area.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.