My husband and I are planning a special trip to Spain and are thinking of spending 5 days in Barcelona during the month of August. We are looking at staying at the Hotel Arts in Barcelona. Has anyone stayed here? Any other hotels you would recommend?

We just spent 3 nights at the Hotel Constanza and were very pleased. Try to book one of the apartments. They come complete with a huge terrace, loungers, and sun umbrella. There is a refrigerator, sink and microwave. We paid 170 euros/night (2 adults, 1 child). Friendly staff, family run, very clean and "design". Walking distance to Gaudi buildings. A winner.

The 5-star Hotel Arts is considered one of the best hotels in Barcelona. It offers unique views of the Mediterranean, the city, and the mountains. It has a spectacular beachfront location near Barcelona's finest shops, restaurants and is close to the cities historic center. It also has a rooftop pool.

Other hotels in the same category you can consider are:

The Hotel Casa Fuster, a 5-star GL, located in the heart of the city in the elegant area of Paseo de Gracia Avenue. No pool.

The Hotel Claris, another 5-star GL hotel located in the city center at Pau Claris, 150. It also has a rooftop pool.

The 5-star Hotel Majestic on Paseo de Gracia, 68 is also another excellent hotel to consider.

The 4-star Hotel Neri, located in a small 18th Century palace at Sant Sever, 5, is another unique hotel to consider for your special trip.

I stayed at the Avenida Palace, it is a very nice hotel
breakfast is very good and the location is great.

I just topped a thread for you regarding Hotel Arts (good names of places. . . something like that). You get my review there. It is fabulous, though away from the action.

If you haven't booked your flights, consider cancelling Barcelona. It's a pretentious city that is dull, and trys so hard to be hip that it's about as naff as you can get. All this new minimalism is out of vogue now, and the attractions in Barcelona are vastly overrated. Gaudi was an appalling architect, take Segrada Familia as an example, a travesty in terms of design and project planning.

You're far better going to the Basque country and spending time in Bilbao or even better still, Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastian which has just added a new spa complex. A beautiful town with lots of Michelin starred restaurants, a wonderful golden sand beach, and no pretensions to speak of! Or you could go to Seville, stay at Hotel Alfonso XIII which has the most wondeful original interiors, and of course, Seville is an utterly charming city.

Barcelona's dull, I have no idea why it's so popular. They don't even have good shops! I stayed at Hotel Arts, another overrated place. You could be anywhere, it's corporate, bland, rooms are comfortable enough (more blandness), service is excellent if insincere. The best thing about it is the position, the further away you are from that awful city, the better.

Please have more imagination and look at less obvious, and far more appealing options!

Wow..you really did not like Barcelona!!!!! Could you be joking?

Be assured he/she is an exceptional(almost like one out of a million) case. He just may learn to appreciate the city next time. I say this because I have a friend who was not impressed the first time alone there, then I took him to Barcellona a few times. Every time I take him there he like it more and more.

As to Arts hotel, I visited it (even VIP floor), looked nice enough but it's just too far from the city center. You have to take a taxi every time you want to go to where actions are (unless you want to walk 2/1 hrs along the beach), that's not a sort of thing I personally look for.

Well I'm one of the few people in the planet that doesn't care for Barcelona either. But due to logistics I'll be staying there overnight this summer so I'll give it another try. Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind about it!

Still..there's a difference between "don't care about it" and "Barcelon's dull" It's ok don't care about it, everyone has a different taste for things..a statement like "Barcelona's dull" doesn't sound as an opinion..but as an "universal truth". And I don't think m_kingdom2 is in possesion of such a thing
Said that, I love Barcelona. And I don't care about fashion, don't care too much about architecture (at least, modern one)..I just love to walk down the medieval streets of Barri Gotic, to see the flower shops at the Ramblas, to have a coffee at Cafe de la Opera...maybe I'm a simple person..but I love to do that simple things in Barcelona

I cannot understand why "Barcelona's dull" isn't an "opinion."

If everyone adored Barcelona then everyone would be living there; just because someone has a strong opinion doesn't mean it isn't valid.

I love Barcelona and i love Ritz-carlton properties but in my <b>OPINION</b> the last place I would stay would be the Arts since it is not centrally located enough for the kinds of things I enjoy doing in the city.

Great hotel but I'd look at something like the Claris, A+C Diplomatic, etc., etc. and others closer to the Gran Via/Placa Catalunya area.

For me , statements are too hard to be opinions, no matter if they are good of bad. Maybe it's that because English is not my first language.

Have you considered the Meridien? I like the location better than the Hotel Arts.

The Hotel Arts is on the beach and the rooms have lovely sea, city or mountain views, especially the higher floor rooms, which I would request when making a booking. They have an excellent spa, definatley make a booking there. The rooms were redone about 18 months ago and are a vast improvement over the previous decor, they are minimalist however I must warn you, nary an overdone Louis XVI chair to be found. (The word that minimalism is out has apparently not reached the rest of the world as a I am writing this from the Conrad Tokyo which opened 8 months ago and is --gasp!-- sleekly minimalist, but then again the Japanese invented it; but the Four Seasons Hong Kong which just open at about the same time is also minimalist, why didn't the designers consult with mkingdom before they committed to the room designs?!!) It is not close to the Ramblas or any historic areas in the city centre, but they are a short cab ride away (about 10-15 minutes). The restaurant Set Portes, a popular one on this site, is about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. The Hotel Arts is in a boardwalk area with many restaurants (most typically touristy but one or two good ones) and some shopping. The hop-on hop-off bus in Barcelona has a stop near the Hotel Arts, so that is convenient as well. (It is on the south loop, there are two loops to the bus route). For a website giving details about the hop-on hop-off tourist bus run by the city of Barcelona, go to tmb.net (click on to the English version). If you were in the mood to walk, you could walk to the bottom on the Ramblas from the Hotel Arts, probably would take about 45 minutes. I have stayed in the Arts on many different occasions for both business and pleasure and never found the short taxi ride into the city centre inconvenient or expensive (about $4 if I recall correctly).

As you will be in Barcelona in August you will appreciate being at the beach with the nice pool. Their pool is the best in Barcelona IMO, as it is large with a very large deck area and has a lovely beach/sea view.
You can't go wrong with the Majestic or Claris in term so location and ambience; but their pools are smaller and I think you will find larger rooms at the Arts as well, plus larger bathrooms. I don't think either has a spa, if that is an important point for you.

I like Barcelona a lot, a love the people, the food, the nightlife and the vibe; however I do think that 5 days may be a bit long, esp if you are short-changing other part of Spain. What is the rest of your itinerary?

As the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Personally, I've enjoyed Barcelona the couple of times I visited, however, I agree that 5 days is too long. Three days tops. Nad, go and make up your OWN mind!

Thanks Everyone for your advice.

We may stay 4 days adn then do a side trip. We really like the nightlife (lounges, cafes and places to dance) and love wine and great food. We have been to seville and madrid already and are looking for something new. How is granada?? or the islands of mallorca or menorca?

Loved Barcelona on a return trip last summer, four decades after my first visit. We prefer boutique hotels, and the Neri, mentioned above, fit the bill. A very pleasant roof garden was one of its best features.

le meridien was great, start to finish. the rates weren't bad either. it had the best bathroom i think i've ever been in!

le meridien was great! start to finish. the rates were pretty good too. it had the best bathroom i've ever been in!

Thanks Everyone for your advice.

We may stay 4 days adn then do a side trip. We really like the nightlife (lounges, cafes and places to dance) and love wine and great food. We have been to seville and madrid already and are looking for something new. How is granada?? or the islands of mallorca or menorca?

Nad- reading your most recent post (We really like the nightlife (lounges, cafes and places to dance) and love wine and great food. We have been to seville and madrid already and are looking for something new.), I think that Barcelona is the right place for you and your husband. If you e-mail me i am happy to send out my tops list for clubs and the like.

One thing. . . if you like to go out in Barcelona, then you might find Arts to be a pain because the good clubs and such are downtown, and getting a cab home can be a pain. Someone mentioned Le meridien, which is a beautiful hotel in a fabulous location. Also, a hotel that is not right smack in the middle of things, but still completely accessible is the Hotel Majestic. I have stayed there and had an absolutely fabulous time. I have not tried the famous Drolma (in the hotel), but I have heard rave reviews from people I trust.

As for the other locatins you mention, I think that Granada is a definite &quot;don't miss,&quot; but I would not try to work it into your 5 Barcelona days. The islands are also nice, but it is a very different kind of thing. . . very tranquil and laid back if you get to the more remote areas, though the cities have quite a life. I prefer Menorca for relaxing, and if you want to go all out, Formentera (though it crowds in August).