Seamus

I've done a search here and came up with a few bits of info but would like to see what others might recommend. Scenario = arriving BCN 16 May, need two nights hotel before cruise departure on 18 May. Not familiar with the city so cannot tell what would neighborhood would be most convenient, which would offer best prices but not so far way so as to make getting to the boat a pain. Most of the places found so far are >200 euro per night, would like to get something lower if at all possible. Does not need to be luxe - basic accommodation in a safe area is fine. Any suggestions?

Jeff801

Try the Colon, it is in the Gothic Quarter, opposite the Cathedral. We got a rate in August that meets your requirements, but prepaid late last year ($ has dropped 20% against Euro since then) to secure it.

It is within a few hundred meters of Las Ramblas and close to the Placa Catalonia from which the hop on hop off buses run.

Aduchamp1

The port for the cruise ships is a ten minute cab rab from the area around The Ramblas or Gothic Quarter.

Dukey

I've stayed in the Colon....it is a great place for the Gothic Quarter and is directly across the square from the gothic cathedral which by this time may actually be without schaffolding. I liked the Colon

BUT in terms of being more centrally located I suggest you consider staying near the Placa Catalunya..you'll still be close to Las Ramblas (YES, DO go there at least once with all the bird sellers, shell games, flower stalls, and the swirl of humanity and yes it IS part of the "real" Barcelona..just another aspect of it)


take a look at the apsis hotels, particularly the apsis atrium palace which is two short blocks from the Catalunya, next door to the much more expensive Ritz Hotel but cheaper

the breakfast buffet is great..extensive and you can get it at a discount if you book on line.

www.apsishotels.com

You might also consider the A-C Diplomatic or one of their other hotels, too

abram

We were very satisfied with the Hotel Lleo, which, in 2004, was 105 Euro. It was well located, had large rooms with mordern bathrooms, and the front desk staff were friendly and helpful.

suec1

Sorry Seamus but good luck! I suggest you head over to a website that has online booking and inventory ASAP, such as www.venere.com or Tripadvisor that links into several booking sites. It seems there is a big convention in Barcelona at that time - we are actually going May 13 - 19 and five months ago when I was attempting to book, many of the reasonable hotels were already booked, other hotels seemed to have premium prices for the time period - for example the rates would be advertised from maybe 120E per night but when I pulled up the exact May dates, it would be like 180E. I ended up getting an apartment.

suec1

This is a follow-up to my earlier post - out of curiosity, I ran your dates in www.venere.com to see what hotels are listed now as available. There are alot of listings (that's good!), many are in the areas a bit further out tho. I did see a central listing, Hotel Principal, for I think 149E, and it seems to get good reviews on Tripadvisor so I may have been a bit too negative in my previous post. I got very discouraged when I was trying to book a hotel for my stay - many of the hotels that get alot of buzz here and on Tripadvisor were already booked or higher priced than I wanted to pay - maybe I should have looked harder before deciding to go the apartment route but I'm willing to try something different! I just hope I don't have any problems getting all my cash together for the apartment. Hope you have a nice cruise and a good time in Barcelona!