Hotels

Booked this hotel as we have always had great service from the Barcelo group;& we were not disappointed Room was on the 6th floor,very clean ,excellent maid service.Breakfast was continental plenty... more

Booked this hotel as we have always had great service from the Barcelo group;& we were not disappointed Room was on the 6th floor,very clean ,excellent maid service.Breakfast was continental plenty of fresh fruit/cooked meats/cheese etc. Reception staff very friendly & helpfull;spoke at least 2/3 languages. A visit to the roof -11th floor-with its pool is a must the views of the city are awsome! The exchange rate with the £-euro was a lot worse than when we visited 2years ago. We found that a pint of beer was cheaper with the evening meal in restaurants -eating out still good value-than the Irish/Australian bars we visited-Baileys+pint 10euros-11.75euros very expensive We went for the football & even if you are not a Barca fan the Camp Nou is well worth a visit . We can no longer fly direct to Barcelona from Scotland in the winter so just a big thank you to Easy Jet as we flew Glasgow-Luton-Barcelona with them without any problems Close

My husband and I stayed in May 2009 for fun after business in Poland, so we wanted somenthing funky and central. Barcelo Raval met that need perfectly. Firstly, we didn't find the area at all... more

My husband and I stayed in May 2009 for fun after business in Poland, so we wanted somenthing funky and central. Barcelo Raval met that need perfectly. Firstly, we didn't find the area at all threatening. Sure its gritty, but I has an authenticity that many parts of this very touristy city do not. Any smart traveller knows that you need to be wise about walking a strange city after dark, but we walked the area up till 11pm without feeling at all uncomfortable. However, I had a great laugh at my poor husand being propositioned by a street walker for the first time. Welcome to Barcelona! The hotel is super-cool! We loved the hyper-modern decor, from the incredible lobby lighting to the room numbers pin-lit in the carpet outside your room. Rooms have adequate space without being "roomy". Pluses include a complimentary Lavazza pod coffee machine and lovely herbal teas replaced daily. Being able to enjoy the view over Spanish rooftops from the shower was cool, and loved the big thirsty towels. Took us a few minutes to work out the remote controlled curtains, but loved the ability to enjoy the amazing views whilst reclining on the kings size bed. Rooms also have ipod/iphone dock to enjoy your favourite tunes. Lobby bar service was indifferent, but with a city like Barcelona on your doorstep, who wants to loiter in the lobby? However, the cool factor was lifted a level by a racy magazine shoot in the pink lobby recessed couch on out day of departure! PS - Don't miss Fat Bike cycle tours of the city. Cruisy, friendly and a fun way to orient yourself at the beginning of your stay (www.FatTireBikeToursBarcelona.com) Close

If you like loud music for breakfast with your cold egg and bacon then the Barcelo Raval is for you. the bedrooms have a alarm flashing light in the celing which keeps you awake all night and if that... more

If you like loud music for breakfast with your cold egg and bacon then the Barcelo Raval is for you. the bedrooms have a alarm flashing light in the celing which keeps you awake all night and if that doesn't then the street noise and noise from neighbours will . (due to thin walls) The rooms were very clean with comfortable beds, flat screen TV's coffee/ tea facilities and a lovely power shower. The front desk staff helpful and polite. We wouldn't stay here again, I like something more peaceful especialy over breakfast. Close

We stayed at the Barcelo Raval during the second half of our week in Barcelona. We stayed at the Omm in Eixample for the first half. Overall, the affordability, convenience to Old City sights, and... more

We stayed at the Barcelo Raval during the second half of our week in Barcelona. We stayed at the Omm in Eixample for the first half. Overall, the affordability, convenience to Old City sights, and visual style of the Barcelo were superior to the more expensive Omm. However, the Omm offered more perks and more luxurious digs. I'd recommend the Barcelo Raval to folks that want a trendy, boutique-style hotel experience that is near all the sights but off the main tourist beaten path. Folks have said that the location is a bit dodgy so I wanted to address that. The location, in El Raval, is a more working class residential area with actual Barcelonans around and the shops and restaurants they patronize. After basking in the golden glow of Eixample for a few days, this was a great change of pace. We always felt safe in the area around the hotel, which is on a wide, boisterous street with a plaza that has a market on the weekend. You're only about a 10 minute walk from the Ramblas. The buildings and shops are a bit more run-down that those in El Born or La Ribera, but the streets are just as cute and winding. Nearby you'll find an entire street of vintage clothing boutiques and some good Pakistani food. You won't find any gourmet restaurants or high-end shops, but there are plenty of little dive bars and bodegas. The very large hotel itself was very stylish in appearance, though a bit of an eyesore from the outside. There's a rooftop terrace that offers an excellent, 360-degree view of the city. In the summer, the pool up there would be quite sweet. There's a gym, which seemed very nice with some cardio machines and free weights. The B-lounge on the ground floor is the hotel's restaurant/bar. It seemed a bit like an afterthought. There was a DJ spinning dance music there a few nights, but no one dancing. With all of the restaurants in the Old City and great South Asian restaurants nearby, there isn't much reason to eat the hotel. There's also a bunch of grocery stores close by if you want to grab some food and chill in your room and watch some bad TV shows. The rooms were fine overall: Pros: free wireless Internet, cool electronics, and an exquisite rainfall shower. Cons: annoying pink room lighting, windows do not open, weird perfume-y fragrance throughout hotel, and the rooms offer no privacy at all (Rooms would be bad for families, coworkers, friends, or any other folks that require some privacy from one another. The shower is towards the center of the room in a glass booth--so your roommates have a front row seat to you soaping up. Only the toilet room, which is about the size of an airplane bathroom, offers privacy.) There are no service frills to this hotel. No turn-down service, bell-hops, or friendly front desk greeters. The staff do not seem particularly accommodating and I'd fear what would happen if something went wrong in a room. Overall, if you are looking for a trendy, boutique-style hotel with no frills in an area that is off the beaten path, then the Raval is a reasonable option--if you can get a good price. Families, coworkers, and friends that aren't so close should stay elsewhere. Close

We were a group of 5 people (family) and stayed over the weekend. My summarization is: The hotel is very stylish and clean, but staff could be more friendly and service oriented. the area is not the... more

We were a group of 5 people (family) and stayed over the weekend. My summarization is: The hotel is very stylish and clean, but staff could be more friendly and service oriented. the area is not the best... Hotel is very stylish so gadget people will love it. The hotel was clean and the beds were very comfortable, so sleeping there was fine! Be aware of the area... The area around the hotel is a little strange, narrow streets with prostitution and drugdealing also during the day. However, it is very centrally located, it is walking distance to Las Ramblas. Service really needs improvement. When we arrived we asked specifically for non-smoking rooms. We were told that non-smoking rooms where only avalable in 2 hours. When we came back, we were given smoking rooms.We decided to keep the rooms because it did not smell so badly. At 6 o clock in the morning the alarm clock went on that the guest the night before had used. I would expect that this would be one of the things a maid checks and switches off when she does the room. I had trouble dealing with this high-end-tech-thing that I wasn't able to switch it off so tired I was! In the morning we realised the hairdryer did not work. We complained at the reception and waited but the hairdryer never came. We went down for breakfast with wet hair and even after we came back still no hairdryer. We complained again and when we came back at night, we had a hairdryer but it was not working at full speed and was smelling like burned plastic. Breakfast is not to be recommended. The price they charge is too high. There was chaos in the breakfast room, dirty dished piling up, the buffet empty, no coffee, the eggs that we ordered were cold. When we complained we were not charged for beakfast which was a nice gesture. But what also counts is how a message is delivered and most of the staff hardly ever smiles! With some exceptions the service personal at reception and at breakfast made an overstrained impression. I would not stay there again. Close