lynnalan

Has anyone ever stayed at the Hotel ABaC in Barcelona? The reviews are glowing but there are not that many of them. Trying to decide if the promise of good service and food (and quiet street) is worth the trade off of having to travel to the city center and sights by metro. Appreciate any feedback.

whiskey

Hi Lynnalan I will be staying at ABaC in about 2 weeks - if that is not too late for you in making your plans I will report back when I return. I also wondered about the location in that its not terribly central, but as its not my first time to Barcelona I thought i would give it a try. By all accounts there is a metro nearby and other reviews I read (agree there were not a lot) did not suggest this was a huge drawback. Undecided as to whether i will try the restaurant there as I have so many other places on my list Cheers!

danon

I don't know the advantages of staying so far for a first time visitor.
The very center of Barcelona is Placa Catalunya.

lynnalan

Thank you Whiskey! I am not traveling until March so please do report back .... I will very much look forward to your feedback.

whiskey

Hi Lynnalan - just back from Barcelona - had a wonderful stay, its such an amazing city. The ABaC hotel is lovely - quite small, very quiet and the staff is very friendly, but not ovebearing.

My room was quite spacious, including a spacious bathroom and had lots of closet space - it also had lots of natural light which I enjoyed - very minimalist in terms of the decor and design, but you probably gathered that from the pictures on the web site. I had no issue at all with the location, as the metro stop is just across the street. The stop (Avinguda del Tibidabo) is the first (or last depending on your perspective!) stop on the L-7 line and its no more than a 10 minute ride to Placa catalunya, where you can change to several other lines. Alternatively at Provenca stop, which is the stop just before Catalunya, you can get to the blue line L5]. I have been to barcelona before, so didn't mind the few minutes it took to get into the city - it gave me time to plan my day First timers might find it a bit of a hassle - or anyone else who wants to be able to walk out of their hotel and be right in the thick of it. One thing to note, if you plan to be out and about late at night, is that the metro closes at midnight (except Fri/Sat). I found this out the hard way as I ate quite late on Sunday evening, and had forgotten about the metro closing at midnight on sundays -I ended up having to get a taxi back to the hotel, but had no issues getting one. This would not deter me from going back but just thought I should mention this.

[FYI I would not actually describe the *street* as quiet - the hotel is right on Av del Tibidabo facing a round about and there seemed to be a fair amount of traffic. But the hotel itself is hidden behind gates and is set back from the street a bit, so the hotel itself was very quiet - i did not hear a sound from the outside]

Unfortunately I did not get to try the restaurant - I had a few other places I wanted to try, and they are closed Sundays and Mondays, 2 of the 4 days I was there. So I cannot offer you any helpful insights into the food.

So, in summary, I had no complaints during my stay and would definitely stay there again.

Final note - I appreciate that most people don't go to Barcelona to relax, but should mention that I had a facial at the small spa at the hotel and it was very nice.

Hope this is helpful

tjhome1

Haven't stayed there but did eat and as others have said the metro is just across the street so very convenient and the hotel is set back from the street frontage and has a very quiet setting. The food is very high end but I loved it. Six of us went though and half loved it, half weren't that impressed. I would love to stay there and it certainly didn't feel like it was a long way out and given that you will use the metro anyway, wherever you stay, I think you won't regret it.

lynnalan

Thank you Whiskey for your great report and tjhome for your input. Sounds like you had a good trip! Any other restaurants to recommend? I have a list started but still have another couple of meals to fill. I am leaning toward staying at the ABaC for the last night of my trip when I will be back in Barcelona after skiing, and staying at the Hotel Pulitzer for the first two nights when we will be doing a lot of walking around. Very interesting that the Metro stops at midnight - I have not heard that!

Cowboy1968

Not that it would be really important, but the Barcelona Metro does not stop at midnight. But the trains you take to Avinguda Tibidabo are not Metro but FGC trains, a different transport company. But you use the same tickets.