“We decided to spend our vacation in Barcelona this year as both my wife and I are keen on Gaudi’s architecture vastly represented in the city. We planned a 10 day vacation in June. We booked a room for two adults and our 15 year old son in Hotel Principal in Barcelona because we have heard and read some good reviews about this budget Barcelona accommodation. We e-mailed requesting a quiet room with a balcony, which we did receive on our arrival. The room was of decent size. There was a TV set, tea & coffee making facilities, nice big bathroom with some toiletries and hairdryer provided. The beds were more than comfortable with fresh bed-linen. Everything including the furniture looked very new and clean, with very pleasant decor. The room was properly air-conditioned, which is very important if you travel in summertime. Room service was excellent.

Breakfast wasn’t included and cost EUR 9.00 per person. It was ordinary and sometimes we opted to have a light snack outside hotel – there were numerous cafes and restaurants nearby Hotel Principal.

Hotel Principal is a hotel in the center of Barcelona, in easy walking distance of the famous Ramblas, a selection of museums and other places of tourist interest. It was also easy to get to Gaudi’s architectural sights by public transport.

Overall we spent a wonderful time in Barcelona and enjoyed our stay in Hotel Principal.”

We got a room on the 4-th floor with a little balcony where we spent wonderful time sitting outside and enjoying the street view. There was a lack of free space in our room, but maybe, that was because of the hotel’s architecture (historic building from 1908 known as “Casa Fuster”). The bed was a true double and very comfortable, the pillows were excellent. Our room was properly furnished with a small desk, a flat screen TV, a minibar, safe box.  The closet was large enough and we managed just fine. The bathroom was very nicely done in marble and complete with bidet and his and her toiletries.

Breakfast was very good though the hotel’s breakfast room was too dark.

We liked Hotel Casa Fuster G.L. and highly recommend it.”

The prices in the minibar were expensive, but I think that is a usual thing for top-end European hotels. Maybe to compensate the fact and please us, the hotel staff gave us drinks vouchers for two glasses of cava to use in the hotel bar whenever we wanted throughout our stay. That was really nice of them!

Buffet breakfast was not included and costs EUR 24.61 per person. At first , we decided to eat outside to save some money, but then, when we found out that the breakfast buffet was fantastic (the selection of food and drink available was incredible), we ended up eating there almost every day.

There was a lovely pool on the roof of Eurostars Grand Marina Hotel GL. The pool wasn’t big but the overall impression of this roof-top sun-bathing area was very pleasant. The pool was too small for swimming, but Eurostars Grand Marina Hotel GL was only a ten fifteen minute walk to the beach and we ended up spending a lot of time on the beach.

We had a wonderful time in this budget Barcelona hotel and that birthday turned out to be an unforgettable experience for me and my husband.”

From the very first minute of our arrival we were surrounded by friendly hotel staff. They were always there ready to help and look after us. They spoke excellent English. We arrived at the hotel at 10.30 a.m. and we were taken to the first floor lounge by the waiting staff. We were offered two glasses of champagne. A girl at the reception desk quickly checked us in and brought us to our room. Our luggage had been waiting for us there. I was a little bit disappointed that our room didn’t have a balcony. And when my husband asked if there was any possibility to get a room with a balcony, the hotel personnel were very accommodating and a wonderful room with a balcony was provided! I just wanted my birthday to be perfect and my husband did his best to treat me…”

To be continued later on…

We booked a double room. It was fantastic: spacious enough for us to move about and all our luggage and it was very-very clean. We had a small balcony overlooking La Ramblas. Amenities were just very basic - no fancy extras, but you get what you pay for: Husa Oriente is a budget Barcelona hotel. In the bathroom there was a powerful walk-in shower but not many toiletries, so bring your bath extras with you.

Staff were very friendly and helpful. When my wife asked for some extra pillows, housekeeping staff were very quick to bring them.

Breakfast was not included with our room and costs EUR 12.84 per person. Breakfast was served in the elegant dining room and contained a large selection of food which was all fresh.

We had a great time in Barcelona and recommend that inexpensive Barcelona hotel as it was really cheap and nice.

Five-star Barcelona hotels usually have more spacious apartments in comparison to mid-range Barcelona hotels. Rooms and public areas of luxurious hotels are stylishly decorated by famous designers; apartments are luxuriously furnished and equipped with the best modern facilities including safes. Barcelona Apartments here meet the highest international standards. There are en-suite bathrooms with baths and thermostatically controlled showers, bathrobes, toiletries and fresh towels. Guests can order room service with meals until 11 p.m.; turndown service is also available on request.

Top-end Barcelona hotels usually have indoor swimming pools and gyms with exercise facilities and professional staff. More and more five-star Barcelona hotels have their own spas. There are usually one or even more restaurants in such hotels. They offer menus with a diverse range of traditional and European dishes; wine lists are usually also impressive. Meals are cooked by famous chefs and presented to an excellent standard using high quality ingredients.

Barcelona hotels have their own unique styles and offer a wide range of services and comforts so that hotel guests could feel completely at home. All top-end hotels in Barcelona offer top-quality services and professional customer assistance, which meet European standards of quality.

I will continue reviewing Barcelona hotels and other types of budget Barcelona accommodations in my future posts. I am waiting for your opinions as well.

Bye!

There are three different terms given to Barcelona accommodations - Hotel, Hostal, Hostel and Pension. One coming to Barcelona should realize that these are not the same as it may seem. A Hostal is something similar to a guest house or hotel, while a Hostel (with an “e”) is a youth hostel. The original term given to a youth hostel in Barcelona is Albergues Juveniles. Hostals are categorized by the tree star rating system. Pensions are usually cheaper and often family-run. They are usually rated one or two stars. Some hostals have shared bathroom facilities. However many hostals have rooms with an en-suite bathroom, so you will need to check with the hostal before you make your reservation. Barcelona hostels and pensions tend to cater for the budget traveler.

A five-star rating system is used to classify hotels in Barcelona. Only the super deluxe Barcelona hotels obtain five stars. Five-star Barcelona hotels are luxurious accommodations with a wide range of extra facilities added to the basic ones. The hotel staff of top-end Barcelona hotels provide multilingual service, so don’t afraid of misunderstanding. The personnel of such hotels are always nice, attentive, helpful, efficient and unobtrusive. Secretarial service is usually available on request. Services provided by luxurious hotels are well supervised and flawless in attention to guests’ needs.

To be continued later on…

To be continued later on…

Ciutat De Barcelona was in a great location. The hotel is not far from the airport (you should take the train to Estacio de Franca and then walk for about five minutes to the hotel). Jaume metro station is in a 5-minute walk. La Rambla and very busy main shopping area is reachable on foot. There are also plenty of bars, restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques near the hotel. All in all, the location is very convenient for exploring the city.

Our room was spacious and comfortable with all the basic 3-star hotel facilities; king-size bed was a pleasant surprise. A lady at the front desk offered us a room at the front of the hotel overlooking the street, but we didn’t like it because of the bath absence (only shower). Then she kindly offered another room which overlooking a courtyard, so it was very quiet all day and night long. The terrace and the pool area of the hotel were great; we spent a few pleasant hours swimming there.

Buffet breakfast was not included in our room rate and we paid extra EUR 10.25 per person for our food which was very good.

We liked Ciutat De Barcelona and recommend it for your frequent leisure and business trips”.

A good acquaintance of mine stayed in this Barcelona hotel, he praised it a lot and recommended it for tourists looking for 4-star accommodations in Barcelona. In case you decide to settle in Barcelona Spa Hotel, book rooms in advance, because it is very difficult to find a room in Barcelona on a short notice. Almost all hotels have no vacancies during the weekends and peak seasons. There are 4 meeting rooms and a business center in Senator Barcelona Spa Hotel. People coming here for some business reasons will be able to combine work with pleasure. Acquaplaya Spa with its grotto-like fruit bath and eucalyptus sauna is at your disposal, as well as an outdoor swimming pool with good views over Barcelona.

My friend’s room wasn’t too spacious but included a good bathroom, large comfortable bed and air conditioner. Free mini-bar was a pleasant surprise. There also was a safe, satellite TV with more than 30 channel, hi-fi with CD player, coffee maker and ironing table.

Buffet breakfast was not included and my friend had his meals out of the hotel in the nearby cafes, so he can’t comment on the food served in Senator Barcelona Spa Hotel.

The hotel staff was very-very friendly and always ready to help, so don’t hesitate and choose this Barcelona to spend a wonderful weekend in Spain.