Thanks for posting your feedback, Angela. We are going to stay at the Banys for one night (Hotel Continental for 2) and I will post my review when we get back in late June.

A Few Quick Questions for Angela M, was the swimming pool open yet? Could you suggest which rooms have the best views (but not to noisy)but saying that i an planning on partying alot,so no early nights for us. Do the staff speak english, as my spanish is not very good, and finally over all would you say the hotel was value for money taking into consideration location, style etc. thanking you in advance.

Kate - sorry, but I didn't even know they had a swimming pool! I didn't see any signs for one, although I heard they are opening a spa in the near future. Also, about views, our room was facing the side of the next door bldg. I don't think any of the rooms would have much of a view because of the situation of the bldg. which is in the center of the block. People in Madrid stay out very late, so if you're planning on partying all night, you will fit right in. We stayed out until 1 and 2 am and that seemed early there. Another thing, maybe it's because Madrid is right near the time zone, but it stayed light outside until after 10pm (of course, it will be different in Sept.) Oh, one nice touch Banys offered was a cooler on each floor which was stocked daily with free bottles of aqua sin/con gas.
The staff spoke English well enough to provide us with directions when we asked. Maybe I was a bit too critical of the hotel, but out of 5 hotels we stayed in Spain, this was not my favorite and was not the cheapest.

Sorry, I was speaking about Madrid concerning the daylight until 10pm thing - not Barcelona. (I'm still not over my jetlag!)

My husband and I just got back from Spain yesterday & had a wonderful time!

We stayed at the Hotel Continental for 2 nights (beginning of trip) and the Banys Orientals for 1 night (last night). I thought the Contiental was a good value and we were pleased with our stay. We enjoyed the free breakfast and coffee/water/snacks during the day. Our room did not have A/C, but we kept the window open and the fan on all night and we were fine. Our room faced the back and we were not bothered with street noise. The location was great since it was on La Ramblas and close to the train and subway.

I also enjoyed our stay at the Banys. The location was great and we enjoyed walking to all the tapas bars around the Born district. As Angela already pointed out, there were coolers stocked with water on each floor, which was a nice touch. I did not see a pool or the spa, so I'm not sure if they are ready yet. The rooms and bathrooms were big enough, but the lighting was poor. We enjoyed the in room A/C since we had just spent 4 nights in Mallorca w/ no A/C in our room.

I would stay at either place again! Let me know if you have anymore questions!

Shelbel:
Which Continental Hotel? I looked it up on TripAdvisor and 2 were listed. We will be in Barcelona in October.
Thanks!
Jane

We stayed at the original Hotel Continental. Here's the link:
http://www.hotelcontinental.com/home_ramblas.htm

I'm interested in 3 hotels. Does anyone know of any of these? Laietana Palace, H10 Racó del Pi, or the Tryp Apolo. I'm interested in location and quality of hotel. Thanks!

Many thanks for the info on these two hotels. We have narrowed our choices pretty much to these two so the info was very helpful. So am I hearing that it's a tossup between the Banys and the Continental? So should we choose whichever is cheapest at the time? We're not going till late Sept. so a/c isn't a problem (I don't think!)...we are however really concerned about street noise as we sleep with windows open and are light sleepers. Do either hotel have screens on the windows? And can you ask for a back room at the Continental to avoid street noise? Is that also an issue at Banys? Thanks!

You can request a room in the back at the Continental if you are worried about the noise. The Continental is a better deal since it's cheaper per night and includes breakfast, but the Banys is nicer & has A/C. I prefer the location of the Banys as well since it's not right on Las Ramblas. I don't remember there being screens on the windows at either place. I'm sure you would be happy with either choice!

So would the Banys be quiet no matter where your room was if you had windows open? Sorry for being so picky about this but we had a hotel room in Paris a few years ago and spent four miserable nights in unbearable heat because we couldn't open the window it was so noisy.

bashful -

See angelam's remarks above re the Banys: "The rooms were large enough, but there is absolutely no soundproofing--we could hear the people in the next room sneeze. Our room location was off the street (5th floor) but the noise from employees in the restaurant after closing was very annoying."

Sounds as if this might not be the quiet you seek. Though I think it may be virtually impossible to find in central barcelona (or any big city) - garbage pickup in particular seems to be at times when I'm trying to sleep no matter where I am.

I'm a light sleeper and always travel with (and use) earplugs now, after having a lovely trip several years ago nearly ruined by sleep deprivation.

Maribel, do you have a list of 4 or 5 of your favorite hotels in Barcelona? About 3* range? I have noticed (and copied) your recommendations for Ronda, Granada, and Seville. Now for Barcelona! We will have 2 or 3 nights there in late October.
Thanks! Carol

Brahmama -

I believe Maribel is actually traveling at the moment and will be for a few weeks yet. Here's one thread with her recommendations on it:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34421506

For others, try typing "barcelona AND restaurant" (or even adding AND maribel) into the text box at the top of this page.

Thank you, Leslie for that thread. I have - actually - done searches from "maribel" but got such a huge number I didn't know where to start.
very good idea - to pair that with Barcelona and/or hotel.
I will get on that!
Carol

I agree with Lesli that Barcelona is a pretty loud city, so it may be hard to find a really quiet hotel. My husband and I are not light sleepers, so we weren't bothered by the noise. You will have a/c at the Banys so you can close the windows if it's too loud outside. Sorry I can't be of more help!