We stayed at the hotel for 5 nights in room 433, I was very worried after reading the previous reviews & did consider canceling my reservation, however I'm very glad we didn’t. The hotel was lovely & clean, the staff were also very helpful, Housecleaning is everyday with your option to have clean towels etc on a daily basis. The Location:- We could in fact see the sea from our room which is a 5-10 minute walk away, a Shopping mall is also a 5 -10 minute walk away, The hotel is slightly further out from the centre but the Metro & Tram stops are a 5 minute walk. As a couple we found being a bit further out suited us better, if we wanted to go out drinking etc we could as it was just a few stops away but most evenings we were quite happy to stay locally. If you’re in a group then maybe staying somewhere more central would be easier. We of course did lots of sight seeing which meant at the end of the day we wanted to relax, the area is perfect for this. We didn’t use room service or eat in the restaurant but we did use the bar, the drinks were reasonably priced & the staff helpful, this hotel has lots to offer & we would definitely stay here again!

I stayed at the the hotel for 4 nights while attending a conference at the nearby CCIB. Like a recent review, I found the location of the hotel really surprising. It literally is like being in the ghetto. If you want the closest beach (which was closed due to construction work - well it was November!!!) that was a good 20 minute walk away. When it comes to the area late at night it was pretty seedy however didn't encounter any problems myself.

Rooms:
I was on the first floor and from seeing the pictures on this site was expecting to see a swish and cool decor. To be honest it was tired and unkept. I booked my hotel via the conference travel service and was sure it said free wifi however they where charging 9 euros an hour and the reception was poor. I ended up walking down to the local shopping centre and getting a network cable and using that instead as wired internet was free.

The safe wasn't big enough for my laptop which I thought was odd for a business hotel as other ones I've stayed at like one recently in Brussels had safes designed for them. I ended up having to do something with a kensington lock, a suitcase and a wardrobe:)

On arrival I thought I would get room service and ordered a ham and cheese baguette. The baguette was so tough it felt like it was going to cut my gums!!! Apart from that there was barely any filling so was not impressed.... I gave room service a miss after that.

The hotel:

I'm sure the owners of the hotel thought they had something really cool with their "starck like" style however its done to such a poor quality it just looks more naff than starck. The japanese garden was literally some grass, tables and chairs, some rasied planting areas that contained just bark??? Oh and some wooden posts.... The bar was big but empty. It looks like it should be a swanky cocktail bar but it didnt quite carry it off. I've been to better empty cocktail bars that have more character than this one. Breakfast was the usual European affair of something from everyone. Hopeing to get a nice English breakfast unfortunately the bacon was like chewing on slithers of leather, the eggs where soggy and well everything else was just poor.

In my stay I unfortunately joined the enormous number of visitors to Barcelona who was pick pocketed (as did two other conference delegates I was out with that night). This was despite the fact my wallet was in the front pocket of my jeans.... As frustrating as it was for me those Catalans seem to have thieving down to an art!!!! When I got back to the hotel, the reception staff gave me a new key and opened my safe for me (the safe is controlled using your own credit/debit card) I couldn't get through to one of the numbers to cancel one of my cards due to a block on that number prefix not being allowed so they had to patch my call through. Not so much of a problem apart from the fact it took me a good five minutes to explain this to the staff as their English is about as good as my Catalan.

Next day I spoke to the hotel about what do do about paying for my bill since the card I'd used to pay the deposit had now been blocked. For some reason they thought this would still be okay however looking back something was lost in translation there. Come check out day, you've guessed it "Can I have your card please?", "Sorry its been stolen. I spoke to your colleague?" , "You must have a card here to check out", "But I don't have one".... This went round and round for a few minutes and ended up waking my partner at five in the morning to ask her to give them their card details. For some reason thats no good though as they needed confirmation the card details could be used in writing by the card holder???? ARRRRGGGGHHHH. Eventually the lady at the desk agreed to accept an email of confirmation so half an hour later it was sorted out.....

Summary:

My biggest gripe about the hotel has to be how unhelpful the staff where when it came to having my wallet stolen and checking out. Lost in transalation is an under statement, the staff had no idea what I was saying and despite speakiing perfectly clear English, and this being a "business hotel" most of the time it seemed to take ages to get across what I was trying to say.

Summing up in one line though, this hotel is unlikely to be the swish, cool place you expect it to be.

If you are going to Barcelona on holiday I would suggest staying somewhere more central, there is nothing to see that far out . If you are going for business, you could do better than this. if you are going for a conference at the CCIB you will be much better off with the Barcelona Princess which is opposite the conference centre, or staying in the centre.

We stayed here at the end of November 2006 for a short 3 night break.

Good Points:
- although the hotel is based in a residential district close to the beach the metro stop is 3 minutes walk away and it doesn't take long to get to La Rambla - aout 15 mins. Be aware the metro closes at midnight and after that you must get a taxi.

- Rooms are big and very nice in design, very contemporary and good value at the price
- Walls are too thin, you can hear everything from next door and the accross the corridor.

We didn't have breakfast at the Hotel but at Mago which is opposite the shopping centre a few minutes away which was excellent value.

A good hotel if you don't mind staying away from the centre.

This was my 3rd visit to Barcelona and the first time I stayed in this hotel, upon checking out at 12 I asked the reception to keep my baggage as my flight was not till later. I had brought a brand new shirt which was packed in my suitcase, when I arrived back in the UK I discovered my new shirt missing, no other items had been taken.

Since then I have emailed the hotel on a number of occaisons and have received no response. I know that my shirt was in my suitcase and the only time it could have been taken is whilst the suitcase was in the custody of the hotel. What is even more disturbing is their lack of response or even ackowledgement.

Apart from that the hotel and room were nice however the walls are so thin, if somebody is having a shower next door you think it is in you room. I don't really recommend the area either as on several occaisons comments were made by groups of men passing in cars.