MsLizzy

Loved reading your report. Do you have a favourite hotel/B&B in Cadaques?

JulieVikmanis

MsLizzy, sorry, I've only day tripped to Cadaques so I can't make a recommendation for a hotel there. I recall a great looking one facing the harbor but unfortunately don't recall the name. Good luck finding something. I'd love to have have stayed there but DH would have expired having to drive in and out more than once.

stephh

I was so glad to see your report! I have been considering visiting BCN for my 50th birthday next February and this clinches it!!

pennypie

Julie - this is so great! Thanks for putting all this information together. You say..."We also found a couple of very nice very reasonable hotels there--in the 100 to 125 euro range" Did you happen to note the names of these places?

Thanks - we are counting the days until our trip this September.

JulieVikmanis

Pennypie, I can't find the place from which you quote but I assume it's El Born. If that's the case, two hotels we found in that range were Banyuls Vells, and Ciutat Barcelona. Do a google search and you should be able to find websites for them. I recommended Ciutat Barcelona (I hope that's the right name, I know it's Ciutat something) to friends who stayed there and really liked it. It's where I expect we'll stay next time we're back in BCN, which I hope will be soon.

pennypie

Julie-I couldnt find the exact names, but I did find Ciutat Vella at 66 Tallers - could that be the right one? And then, no luck with Banyuls Vells, but there is Banys Orientals at Argenteria 37. Both are in El Born by Parc de la Ciutadella.

I was checking out Hotel Inglaterra which Maribel recommends, and it is reasonably priced, but I'm afraid it might be a very busy area. El Born looks like such a beautiful, peaceful area!!

JulieVikmanis

penny pie, so sorry to make you work so hard. You are correct about Banys Orientals, don't know how I could have been so far off. It may well be your best bet. the website lists doubles at 99 euros. But the other one I'm thinking of is indeed ciutat barcelona and it has a website at ciutatbarcelona.com It's on the street Princessa. Unfortunately it appears that their rates are quite date dependent and vary considerably. I just put in a May date and got 200 euro a night rate, though the April dates varied between 115 and 140, at any rate, higher than you were hoping to pay. I haven't seen the rooms at Banys Orientals, but on the website they appear as nice as those at Ciutat Barcelona (though the latter has a pool, which is probably why they can charge more.)

When I google Hotel Inglaterra, it comes up at El Prat airport. For sure you'd not want to stay there. Though if you're leery of noise, Banys Orientals is in a fairly active area--but in the heart of things, not at the airport. Hope this helps. Did you check tripadvisor.com to see what they have to say about these places?

JulieVikmanis

I just checked Tripadvisor for Hotel Inglaterra and found apparently a second hotel that is near the Placa Catalunya, sort of mid way between Eixample (which is a very nice neighborhood) and Las Ramblas. The rooms looked very nice. If Maribel recommends a place, you can count on it being good. I believe she personally inspects them before making any recommendations in her guides. If price there is acceptable to you, I'd say to pick between Inglaterra and Banys Orientals, taking into account any price difference between the two, reviews on tripadvisor and location, considering the sights you expect you'll want to see. Good luck.

pennypie

You are right - Inglaterra is near Las Ramblas. I read good reviews, but some negatives were that there was construction at the time on the street in front of the hotel and it was busy and noisy. Maybe that construction will be complete by september.

I think the Inglaterra pool is at the sister location of the Majestic, so it's not right at the hotel. Banys Orientals doesnt do bookings online (I also saw the 99 euro price) so i'll need to wait for their reply to see if that's really true or not.

I'm leaning toward the Banys Orientals, if the price comes out to be 120 euro or less.

JulieVikmanis

If you want more immediate response, you could try calling. Spain is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard. Most hotel receptions have someone who speaks English. It usually takes on a couple of minutes and costs very little to call from US. Just begin your conversation with Buenos Dias. Habla Anglais? Usually the answer is yes, and you can proceed. At worst they may tell you to wait until they can put on someone who does speak English. Have you credit card # ready to use as guarantee.

Wherever you wind up staying. Enjoy your time in BCN. It's a fabulous city.

JulieVikmanis

Topping for beebs.

beebs

Julie,
Thanks so much for reminding me about this. I had actually read it several weeks ago and then forgot about it. Now I remember that it was you who got me thinking about going into France as part of this trip, because of your description of Collioure. Just one more question about Cadaques: I think we'd really like to go there, but am wondering how much time to allow. Could it be a day trip from Figueras or Besalu? Any idea how long the difficult part of the drive takes?

JulieVikmanis

We day tripped from Roses which is quite close and provided us no problems time wise. It was just knuckle wise that the drive took its toll. You might do a viamichelin check to see what times they show from Roses to Cadaques, then times from Figueres to Cadaques and Besalu to Cadaques to see if those distances add much more time. I'm guessing not.

We loved Collioure, but I can't speak to how crowded it might be at the time of the year you're going.

beebs

Thanks so much for all your help. I wasn't aware of viamichelin, but it looks like a very informative site.

peterdas

If you are planning a trip to Barcelona city, I really recommend to anyone to visit Costa Brava, specially the unknown area of Empordà, in North costa brava.
try to avoid Lloret or Blanes, and stay instead in Pals, a very nice medieval town, few meters from the beach, and stay at Pals Beach. Try to avoid the pick days of Summer, such as August, and visit this area already from April to October. I recently visited Costa Brava and stayed at a very cosy apartment for a short term rent just by the beach www.costabrava-ac.com

nysmom

bookmarking

Nywoman

Am currently in Barcelona w

Nywoman

Am currently in Barcelona. We are staying at Oasis at Placa de Palau. It is extremely conveniently located, fairly inexpensive. The rooms are small, the bathroom is square with g pebbled floor in the shower, typically modern look. I think we are paying approx $115 a night,including buffet breakfast. The hotel is OK not fabulous but for the few hours we spend in the room adequate.

So far our eating experiences have been Cerveceria Catalan and 7 Portes which we had no idea were well known places.

A few small places whose names escape me but will post a better report later on.

Barcelona is wonderful and am enjoying every second.