We arrive at 5.30pm and leave on the Salvador Dali Express for Milan the following night at 8.30PM. Our goal is to find a top hotel ( 3,4 or 5 Star) close to Sants Station or conveniently located to Metro Stop close to Sants as a base. Does anyone have any suggestions ? Thank you

Quite honestly if you have so little time in Barcelona I wouldn't stay close to Sants but would get a place in the Gothic Quarter and when it comes time to leave for Milano, retrieve your luggage from the hotel and either take a taxi or the Metro to Sants.

Yes it would be nice though to not have to depend on taxis (for whatsoever reason) and be with 100 m of a Metro station or at a hotel very close to Sants. When I was in Munich recently for a short time I stayed at the Hilton. There was a subway stop under the building and it proved to be highly convenient.

SydneySteve,
We stayed at the Hotel Omm in Barcelona at the end of April, and it was very nice, sleek & stylish, and there is a metro stop just steps outside the door.

The Omm is in the Eixample area-- great location for shopping, restaurants, and modernist architecture.

Thanks Marcy - Omm was recommended in a few of the latest Travel magazines that browsed through while travelling to the US recently. I read your Spain trip reports with interest. You have enriched this Forum with the information you have provided. We will spend time in Lisbon-Sintra, Madrid and Seville in September. We have a very extensive itinerary through South America and Europe so unfortunately Barcelona is a short stay this time only. I will check the Metro Map to see if the line goes from the Omm direct to Sants. I dont want to miss our train to Milano, Cinque Terre and on to Bellagio. Thanks again.

Thanks for the kind words, Steve. The metro line by the Omm does go to Sants, although it loops south before going to the station. I believe it takes about 20 minutes. (We rode the metro to Sants to pick up our rental car there at the end of our stay in Barcelona- no problem)

marcy: obviously you didn't notice that at the Diagonal Metro station (which is where Hotel Omm is), there's the green line (which you are referring to) AND the blue line stopping. The blue line takes you straight to Sants with only 3 metro stops in between, so about 5 minutes.
I do want to warn about Hotel Omm though... I've passed by it and it looks absolutely marvelous, but I've read quite some critics about it, especially about (newness) smell and arrogant staff. When I passed there a couple of weeks ago they were closed 'because of problems with the installations'... better check reviews well and not only design magazines!
I do agree on staying in the center though. If you really want to be very close to Sants, I'd say the Hotel Plaza on Plaza d'Espanya, with views on Montjuic.
For any further reference, Sydneysteve, check this wonderful website:

http://www.tmb.net/en_US/home.jsp

In the 'Move around' section you find maps, plus giving 2 addresses, it gives you how to go and how long it takes from one place to the other by any form of public transport within the city (I love this section). Note: put 'sants estacio' in the 'tell us the place' option.

Whilst I am always fussy with my hotels - Indeed I've had great troubles with choosing "the one" in Barcelona - booked at The Claris, then The Ritz, now Hotel Arts...

You only need somewhere to sleep, you won't even be there for long. I'd stay maybe at the airport and get a taxi to the station - I don't know how feasible this is as I've never been to Barcelona, but I'd imagine it could work very well. As for staying in the city, you're not even there for twenty four hours, I'd go for budget over comfort.

Thank you for the detailed response Stardust. We are arriving and leaving by train m_kingdom2. We just want to get an overview of Barcelona and will come back there in the next year or two. Unfortunately we have had to compress some things to allow time elsewhere in a complax two month travel itinerary. I know it is a little unusual not to spend time in Barcelona. Thanks again.

M_kingdom, there are no decent airport hotels in Barcelona, since it's really close to the city, taxis are cheap and there's plenty of public transport. From the airport you can take the train (.13 and .43) after the hour which goes to Sants and Plaza Catalunya, or the airport bus, which stops right in front of the terminal. A taxi will be about 15€.

About hotels in the center, also the Majestic and the Claris are very close to the Passeig de Gracia metro station, where you can take the green line to Sants, or even faster, a local train going underground to Sants (all of them can be used with the same T-10 metro tickets).

Now as for how to see Barcelona in one day. After checking in in the hotel (let's presume it's one on Passeig de Gracia), walk down Passeig de Gracia, stare at Casa Mila, Casa Battlo and it's neighbour, go down to Plaza Catalunya, strawl down the Ramblas to the port, go left towards Barceloneta, have some seafood at one of the terraces at the old port (or if you feel like some more walking, cross Barceloneta and pick one of the good restaurants at the Passeig Maritim, close to the Arts hotel) with the beach in front of you. If you get that far, take a taxi back.
The next day take the hop-on hop-off tour. Get off at the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell and something more if it seems really interesting to you.
I'm leaving Barcelona in 3 weeks and now that I'm writing this I already feel sorry for it... I should do all the sightseeing stuff again before I leave

stardust,
As far as the metro from the Omm to Sants, actually I <b>did</b> notice the blue line as well as the green line from the Diagonal metro stop.

However, to take the blue line you have to walk through a fairly long tunnel, and for the green line you get on the train right there, so with luggage I would opt to ride a few minutes longer in order to not have to schlep the luggage through the tunnels.

I have seen the reviews of the Omm, and I have to disagree, at least from our experience. We did not notice any unpleasant &quot;new&quot; smell, and we found the staff to be very pleasant and helpful; not the least bit arrogant. They are still working on the hotel-- the spa was not yet open when we were there, but the rooftop pool and deck were open. The pool is very small, but attractive, and there is a great view of the rooftop sculptures of Gaudi's Casa Mil&aacute; in the next block.

I did see that the hotel was closed for a little while after our stay there. I have no idea what that was about, but another poster on this board was given a room at the Claris, instead, at the same rate, so at least the Omm made good other arrangements for him.

Marcy, I can understand your point of view with the tunnel and the luggage. Guess that me and my backpack don't really notice that much. The tunnel stretches over one block more or less (about 2-3 minute walk, by the way). Then again, once you get to Sants, the tunnel from the green line to the stacion is about a block as well, while the blue line is under the station, so it stay the same.

As for hotel Omm, I assume it's getting better every day, with the newness faults being polished away and I'm glad you had a nice stay. Just wanted to point out to SydneySteve about the negative comments.

Hi SydneySteve,

I definitely agree that the series of tunnels at Sants would be quite long to manage with luggage. You would also be lifting the luggage up and down steps, etc.

Another option is to stay near the Plaza Catalunya. You can take the 5 minute Catalunya Express train to Sants. It runs every two minutes or so. This would put you in a very good area to walk and take metro to other sites. Plus the Bus Turistic leaves from Plaza Catalunya. By taking the Catalunya Express from Sants to Plaza Catalunya you will have very little walking to do on either end with your luggage. If you take the Metro from Plaza Catalunya, you do all the walking and lifting. There is also more room on the Express train for your luggage.

Placa Catalunya would put you right in the thick of things and there are several hotels within easy walking distance and different Metro lines to choose from.

If you have not already discovered Maribel's files, check out http://www.maribelsguides.com. Her recommendations are splendid!

We stayed at the Regencia Colon and had a nice stay there. You can read a super-duper lengthy trip report about our travels in Barcelona. In my report I provided several URLs to many of the attactions and this would help with your planning. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34483366

Happy travels,
Sharon

It seems to me that the cost differential between two (I assume) tickets on the metro at &euro;1.30 each v. a taxi for &euro;5 or &euro;7 doesn't warrant the struggle with hotel location, bag schlepping, tunnels, all that. Or perhaps I'm just lazy.

Anyway, we stayed last month at the Hotel Condes de Barcelona (4 stars) and though it was ideal - on Pg. de Gracia 3/4 of a block from the metro station (Diagonal - 3 stops from Sants sta.) and a block each way from Casa Matllo and Casa Mila, bus across the street to Parc Guell, 10 min. walk from P. Catalunya and the top of the Rambla... Got a great rate on Expedia, too.

Gardyloo, you're right about cheap taxis and avoiding the hastle of luggage, however, taxi drivers have the right to charge you an extra 4&euro; if you're travelling with luggage. But I have to correct you that a singe metro ride costs 1.10&euro;, while a 10-ride ticket for the metro costs 6.00&euro;. Plus with the 10-ride ticket you can use any mean of public transport (even trains, even the train from the airport), as long as your last change is within 75 minutes after you first validated your ticket.

As Gloria said, staying near Plaza Catalunya probably is a good idea.

M&euro;a Culpa.

Why hasn't anybody mentioned the hotel right on top of the Sants train station? Barcelo Hotel Sants. I stayed there, it wasn't bad. It was very convenient for train, airport, metro. For a four-star hotel it wasn't that expensive. The staff do need a few lessons in friendliness though.