alexislovesspain

After reading many suggestions against staying on Las Ramblas (thank you to all who commented to my earlier thread).. we are considering the Hotel de Arts- the Ritz Carlton or either of the Hilton Hotels?

We have the option to either pay or use reward points .... does anyone have any recommendations on if these are:

1. A good location
2. A good hotel for the money (or should we use points)
3. Family friendly
4. On the Red Bus tour route

We are a family of 5, spending 2 nights in BCN and planning to use the Red Bus Tours to do most of our sightseeing. The age range of our group is 4 years to 83 years.

Thank you for any suggestions.

Dukey

Frankly, I think you should READ the TripAdvisor reviews of the Arts and i also think you need to re-consider staying near, if not on, Las Ramblas

Here's why:

the Number One hotel on TA is ON Las Ramblas (the MonteCarlo)..if that still scares you then consider staying near the Placa Catalunya which is at the top of Las Ramblas and is convenient to the airport bus, the hop on and hop off bus, the Metro, Las Ramblas, etc.

The Arts is a great hotel but it is out of the way somewhat...

start with the Acta Atrium Palace or any of those othjer places near the Placa Catalunya...

once you GET to Barcelona be sure to GO to Las Ramblas at least once...avoiding the place is like avoiding an essential part of Barcelona itself...

Robert2533

For location and style, the Majestic and Casa Fuster are two of the best in the city. The Hotel Palace (formally the Ritz) reopens this month and should be back as one of the best. It also has a great location. I really like the Hotel 1898. It's in the Ramblas, making exploring the area very easy. The new Starwood, Le Méridien Barcelona, is across the street.

The Arts, as already mentioned, is a bit far out for exploring the city unless you don't mind taking taxis everywhere. The Hilton Barcelona is fine, but it looks like any other American-style hotel (boring). The Hilton Diagonal is also a bit out of the way if you want to walk anywhere.

www.hotelmajestic.es/
www.hotelcasafuster.com/
www.hotelpalacebarcelona.com/

MLINSF_415

I stayed at the Citadines Apartment which is on Ramblas three weeks ago. It is very convient. We stayed there for two nights prior to our cruise. My friends had a room facing Ramblas and you could not hear the street noise from the room. The room has a fridge and stove which is very convenient for small cooking. The only problem is that they do not change the towels or clean the room for a short stay which is okay for 2 nights. We took the aerobus from the airport which was 5 euros and the hotel was a short distance from the bus stop. It's also where you can pick up the Red and blue tour bus. You can buy a package from the hotel to save you a couple of euors. It's not much, but it's a better than paying full price. I would also buy the 2 day package. it's not much more. The Metro station is across the street from the hotel and there is a grocery store as well.

alexislovesspain

MLINSF_415

thank you so very much ..

alexislovesspain

Beautiful Hotel .. they checked us in hours early and the staff was outstanding .. will post pictures of the rooms and lobby.

Robert2533

Interesting! Going from considering the Hotel de Arts - Ritz Carlton or Hilton Hotels to an Citadines Aparthotel.