Barcelona Hotel
 

My adult daughter and I are planning a week in Barcelona in November. We were there a year ago and stayed south of the city on the coast. I have a reservation at the Renaissance by Marriott, but would really like something more quaint and on the boutique scale. We loved the shopping, Gaudi architect, wondering about in the old quarter. Please help with any suggestions. Thank you in advance.

The Renaissance by Marriott in Barcelona is, or was, the AC Diplomatic, an upscale business hotel, and very comfortable, but not boutique style.

Take a look at the Hotle Medinaceli in the Gothic quarter (http://www.hotelmedinaceli.com/en/ ), the Hotel Duquesa de Cardona (http://www.hduquesadecardona.com ) or the one we discovered this summer, the DQ Placa Real, the first gastronomic boutique hotel in the city's historic center (http://www.hoteldoreial.com ). It has an excellent location and the staff is great.

I really liked the Hotel Jazz near placa Catalunya and it is more boutique. But it sure isn't "quaint", though. Very few hotels in Barcelona are quaint, it seems to me, most have gone modern style, expect for real old/cheap ones.
http://www.hoteljazz.com/default-en.html

<<but would really like something more quaint and on the boutique scale>>

Barcelona has a LARGE tourist apartment rental industry. See www.apartur.com

...Or stay at one of the many B&B Barcelona has to offer.... We stayed at a really nice, modern, clean, well-run and superbly located place in the Eixample district, offering 4 apartments, at a walking distance to almost all of Barcelona's "attractions"... It's called B&B Quadrat d’Or, on 91 Bruc Street.

Is it the Renaissance near the airport? If so, there are a few good things about it. First, the parking is easy and free on the street in front of the hotel. Second, they have a shuttle into town that is only about 10 to 15 minutes. Otherwise, it is a business hotel as mentioned above.

However, I too would stay in town in a B&B. We liked BCN Dreams.

I second the suggestion of an apartment. As discussed above, there are many apartments. We rented one in the Eixample area a couple of years ago and were very happy with the neighborhood. If you have never done apartments before, try looking at the major sites to get an idea: HomeAway, vrbo, airbnb, Spain Select, to name a few. We find it much more comfortable and a better way to feel like we are natives...if only for a few days.

Thank you for your responses and great ideas, I will get on it!!

I was on Kayak yesterday and had an experience that I have not had before. A price came up for a flight from CLT to BCN for $740 RT. Needless to say I moved on it and was directed to Lufthansa's website. As I proceeded and was including trip insurance and moving toward the credit card information the red sign appeared that there was a technical error. Tried again without success, returned to Kayak and showed the price available on CheapOair. Basically the same thing happened when entering the information. Called Lufthansa tech support, they operated from 1000-1800, it was 1830. Called today and they said that there was no web issues with service yesterday and the supervise was not aware of the price I quoted. Any thoughts???

Not sure about Kayak, but a read some bad reviews about CheapOair here on this forum. I had some similar experience in the past when I was quoted a great price that vanished as I started the booking process, though $740 for November does not sound like "too good to be true"...

Several times lately, after I've booked the seats and enter the credit card info, a response pops up saying that the rate is no longer available. It's really annoying. If it's not available, it should be immediately removed.

I think Kayak may not have the latest rates, but CheapOair is a discounter, so of course you may not find Lufthansa quoting the same price they do. These used to be called consolidators and their tickets were seats dumped by the airline or something, I didn't think they existed much any more.

But if you were on Lufthansa's website itself and while booking, a technical error came up, it doesn't have anything to do with Kayak or Cheapoair, so I'm not following that.

It can take hours to search for good fares, but one of the better sites for it is http://matrix.itasoftware.com which will also show you what dates are the cheapest in a month (as long as you still are flexible with those dates, of course)... Generally, I don't think you'd find anything under $1,000 RT.

"These used to be called consolidators and their tickets were seats dumped by the airline or something, I didn't think they existed much any more."

Yes, they still exist. Any Travel Agent with an IATA number can book a consolidator fare. A good agent can save you a lot of money if you are flexable.

we had a terrific 2 week stay at the k & k hotel picasso, near el born neighborhood. that might fit the bill. enjoy barcelona.

Please...what are your thoughts.
I have looked at location/value and am looking at the following four accomodations:
Renaissance Barcelona
K&K Hotel Picasso (I hear you Otto :-)
Hotel Granvia
Catalonia Passeig de Gracia
Thank you!