We will be in Barcelona in October. We will only be in the city for 3 nights which is not enough time to take in everything. We need a 4-5 star hotel in a primo area that will allow us as much museum and restuarant time as possible. We would like to be in the pulse of the city due to our limited time. We adore hotels that have character of the city. Any suggestions????

Unless you want to be down near the water at the Arts (a Ritz-Carlton actually) the Colon is directly across from the gothic cathedral and for the Gothic Quarter is an excellent location. The view of the cathedral and vibrant plaza in front of it is wonderful provided you get one of the balcony with view rooms.

Hi!
I've been in barcelona 2 years ago and I spent a week in a lovely hotel called Barcelò Sants, I had a car to travel all around the city but I didn't use it, the hotel is not properly in the heart of the city, but it's very well connected because it has also an entrance in the train station, strange but true! don'tbe scared of it!.. I discovered that tihis is also the hotel used by the major airlines of the world.

Based on what you're looking for The Colon would be the best choice. As mentioned it's in the heart of Barrio Gotic, right across from the Cathedral. This area is always hopping, especially at night, and Las Ramblas is just a few minutes away by foot.

Check out the site:

www.bcn.es

It is offered in Spanish, English, and Catalan. It has a city map that can diplay pretty much any thing you want. You can have it show all the 4 and 5 star hotels. Close to the Colon is a 4 star hotel called Laietana Palace that my wife and I will be staying in in August. It is about equal distance from Las Ramblas but is closer to the water. I believe the usual rate is around 230 Euros(Listed at $280 US on Hotels.com) but we were able to book it for 109 Euros via their website(the bcn.es site allows you to click on the hotel on the map and get further information about the location like phone number, email address, and website). I can't tell you now what the hotel is like but I can in mid august if you are still looking.

We stayed 5 nights at the Majestic and were very happy. Wonderful area of great architecture, good tapas bars, top designer stores of the city. Casa Mila is just a block away. You can walk to Cathedral and Ramblas or take a subway a block or so away.
Whatever you chose, don't stay at the Ramblas, it's noisy, crowded, and full of pickpockets.
We absolutely fell in love with a restaurant called La Dama. It's in a Gaudi building, so the setting was very much that period, and the service and food were excellent. Dinner with wine for 2 cost us $127.

Aleta....I'm very interested in the Majestic for next year's trip to Barcelona,but I've read several comments here and on tripadvisor that the beds are rock hard and the walls thin. What was your experience relative to these issues? Thanks.