lukehead

Husband and I are going to have three nights in Barcelona prior to embarking on a cruise and one night post cruise.. Hotel suggestions? Would like to be in central area, moderately priced and include breakfast. The single night post cruise does not need to be in city center - we'll probably have an early morning departure flight so convenient to airport is OK. We like to walk, eat in neighborhood restaurants and use public transportation within the city. Don't need a fancy place. Would prefer to not use a chain hotel unless it offers exceptional value. I have been to Barcelona a couple times but husband has not so there will be some visiting classic sites i.e. Gaudi buildings, Las Ramblas, museums. And in Europe we do "do" a church/cathedral a day. Any favorite hotels that you might suggest?

suec1

I like either the Hotel Colon or Regencia Colon - they are sister hotels near the cathedral. I think they are a good value with good sized rooms - they are not hip, designer hotels of which there are many in Barcelona. Very good location, not right on Las Ramblas but walkable to the different areas and most sights.

ilid2851

Hi,

In October 2012, we spent 3 nights at
Acta Ink 606 in Barcelona,
C/ Mallorca, 606, 08026 Barcelona.
This hotel is just on the metro station,El Clot,few stops from Rambles,and close to Sagrada Familia in the very nice area.

Lily

BigRuss

You need to describe what "moderately priced" is. Actual numerical figures. The concept is different from city to city. Check into the "breakfast" too - a continental breakfast is a pastry and coffee.

Get a map of Barcelona and stay in or close to the box formed by the Metro stations Diagonal, Passeig de Gracia (or as far as Universitat), Verdaguer and Tetuan. You'll be close to most major attractions and a short Metro ride from Montjuic and another set of sites.

The Clot Metro station location Lily mentions is not close to any major attractions other than Sagrada Familia and does not meet your criterion of "central area." Usually tourists who stay outside of Eixample, Barri Gotic or El Born areas will stay closer to Poble Sec and Placa Espana, or even in the Gracia section, not El Clot. El Clot neighborhood is a long way from Placa Catalunya (the heart of the city), Montjuic and Port Vell. I would suggest you not book there.

BigRuss

Check this site, it could help: http://www.aviewoncities.com/maps/ba...htm?tab=hotels

And the ACTA chain that Lily mentioned has a hotel within a block of the Tetuan Metro station and there are inexpensive hotels within walking distance of Placa Catalunya listed on that site.

amer_can

Marina View b&b is pretty nice for being near the port and at the bottom of Las Rambles.. Great hosts, helpful and caring..Walkable distance (easy) and hop on hop off is a good way to get a general overview. We stayed there prior to a cruise on Wind Surf..BCN is an awesome place and I wish we had had more than 3 days!!!

Rubicund

Try the Hotel Rivoli or the Hotel Royal. Both are right on the Ramblas near the Placa de Catalunya and both are quiet. I've stayed in both and haven't had a noise problem.

http://www.rivolihotels.com/ingles/homeR.htm

http://www.hroyal.com

Dukey1

I've stayed in the Colon; try to get a view of the square out front and the cathedral. On Las Rambla the MonteCarlo is centrally located and very quiet and near a Metro stop and a couple blocks from Placa Catalunya

I would look on TripAdvisor about this also.

JonJones

Hello lukehead,

That is great that you are going to show your husband around Barcelona in this time of year. As you already may know, there are many attractions such as the lighting illuminating the boulevards of Barcelona at night and the huge ice skating rink in Plaça Catalunya during the day. Of course you will have to visit La Sagra Familia, the Cathedral of Barcelona, Antonio Gaudís Park Park Güell.

In regards to a hotel to stay at, in my opinion, I can advise you that you and your husband will probably find renting out an apartment would be so much cheaper. I have found it much easier and gives you more of an opportunity to find a place in time considering that hotels can be really expensive in this time of year. As you have indicated, you don't mind using public transportation, so I can provide you with a link to help you both to inform you about all of the amazing means of transportation that Barcelona has to offer.

http://bit.ly/VfWDVP
http://bit.ly/rrHx1w

I hope you have found this information beneficial lukehead.

lukehead

All this info has been helpful and what I was looking for. Re apartment rental - we like to do that. Love having the sense of being in a neighborhood. However I wasn't confident that much would be available for just three days. Will explore that option. By the way, this is not for the coming holiday season but during traditional cruising season.

lukehead

To Big Russ - ideally $200 or less. Up to $250 acceptable. Reasoning? Clean, secure,location, some creature comfort are our needs - we aren't spending lots of time in the hotel. Don't need fancy amenities.

Re breakfast - coffee, juice and bread get us going. Lunch is not far off.

amwosu

Hotel Jazz. Great location, good tripadvisor reviews, great online pricing direct from the hotel website when you reserve in advance and you can still cancel without penalty until near the actual date of your stay. Cute little pool on roof for late day chilling with a pitcher of sangria.
Ann Marie

amwosu

10% off early booking. http://www.hoteljazz.com/default-en.html

Betsy

Second amwosu's recommendation of Hotel Jazz. Have stayed there twice and will happily stay there again just as soon as I can get back to Barcelona.

Here's a tip, lukehead. Go to cruisecritic.com and spend some time climbing the learning curve at the site. It's a huge cruise site. You can find a section on Spain ports where many people have posted about hotels, restaurants, and sights in Barcelona. You can also find a "roll call" for your specific cruise and establish an on-line relationship with your fellow passengers. We found that invaluable for planning private shore excursions, which are about half the cost of the excursions the ship sponsors and can provide a much more intimate experience as well.

Bon voyage!

kimhe

Hotel Jazz gets great reviews, and it's just those few meters out of the most touristy areas (Las Ramblas, Barrio Gótico, Passeig de Gracia etc) that it's possible to find those neighborhood restaurants you're looking for close by.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/jazz.en.html

I can recommend l'Aribau in Carrer d'Aribau, 3, two hundred meters away from Hotel Jazz. On a corner close to the impressive university (from 1450). Here businesspeople and academics drop in for a three course lunch for 8,60€ (before 14, 9,60€ after 14h). Salad or today's soup, grilled meat or fish with poatatoes/vegetables and dessert. They also serve all kinds of Catalan specialities from the a la carte menu. Excellent place, and you'll find similar places all around outside the most beaten tourist tracks. http://barcelona.salir.com/laribau

I can also very much recommend the Poble Sec district, the little and very local feel area just between Montjuic and Avenida Paral.lel. Great cafés and restaurants, the best atmosphere and several great theaters close by. http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...poble-sec.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU3ePGy1_Y0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGb2pcWnJaI

If you want to splurge in a very local restaurant, there are probably no better place than La Perla in all of Barcelona. On the outskirts of El Poble Sec on the way up to the theaters and Montjuich. Only open for lunch. Expensive, genuine and brilliant: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Catalonia.html

lukehead

To Betsy:

I regularly use Cruise Critic but just for the cruise part. Never thought about using it for pre or post - duh!!! Trip reviews are lots of help - guess I need to read beyond disembarking.

stevedatraveler

Melia Barcelona in my opinion would be the best choice to stay for two reason its full of luxury that we need secondly it is near Downtown.