Help choose Barcelona hotels?

I have only been in Barcelona on a 3 day pre river cruise where we stayed in an expensive hotel (off Las Ramblas) with tours included so no planning to be done by myself.

We are two 65+ year old ladies. We would like to see the attractions during the day, dinner out, back to the hotel.

We are interested in seeing Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Maybe a hotel around them?

We are in the planning stage for a Celebrity cruise out of Barcelona Sept 2019.

We have not yet decided to stay 1 or 2 days pre cruise since flights are not out yet.

I would like your opinion of the hotels others on CC have mentioned.

H10 - Madison

H10 Art Gallery

Hotel Sagrada Familia

Europark (don't know which one)

How to get from airport to the hotel?

How to get from hotel to Celebrity dock?

Not helpful for hotels -other than the odd comment about location if you're interested- since I live here, sorry.

But a few comments....

1.) I am afraid 1-2 days is far too short for Barcelona, you'll regret if you don't plan for a longer stay (if you can)... just sayin'. There are literally dozens of things to do and places to see, even if you had already been in the city. Some sites to peek for ideas:

http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/

http://www.infocatalonia.eu/

http://www.timeout.com/barcelona

http://lameva.barcelona.cat/en

http://www.barcelonaesmoltmes.cat/en/inici

http://patrimoni.gencat.cat/en/discover/search

2.) The city is safe to move about and public transportation is great (bus/train/tram/subway); most Barcelonians we use it to go out and about in the city. Saying so because there's no reason to look for a hotel "near to this or that" just because you want to visit it. In fact, it's far better to choose a hotel for other reasons (it caught your eye, the price is right, etc) since moving from one end of the city to other with public transportation is fast, safe, cheap, effective and convenient.

3.) Barcelona is the biggest commercial port in the Mediterranean, in fact, there are several ports and marinas in the city, therefore, you'd need to be much more precise: where exactly will your cruise dock? and which pier/wharf? Same goes with your question about how to get from the airport... that'll depend on the hotel you finally choose (duh!) :)

4.) In September there are several festivals and celebrations, among which La Mercè, one of the saint patronesses of Barcelona, and a festival is celebrated with over 2 million attendees coming from all over Europe and beyond. 600+ free activities spread across the city: art, music, heritage, theatre... more info: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/coGFA and the pyromusical in the last evening is a must: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/FHZwO The festival is always around the 24th and it's held over three or four days, but given the complexity to organise such a large festival the exact dates are not final until a few weeks in advance.

Enjoy!

Thanks

I have only been in Barcelona on a 3 day pre river cruise where we stayed in an expensive hotel (off Las Ramblas) with tours included so no planning to be done by myself.

 

We are two 65+ year old ladies. We would like to see the attractions during the day, dinner out, back to the hotel.

 

We are interested in seeing Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Maybe a hotel around them?

 

We are in the planning stage for a Celebrity cruise out of Barcelona Sept 2019.

 

We have not yet decided to stay 1 or 2 days pre cruise since flights are not out yet.

 

I would like your opinion of the hotels others on CC have mentioned.

 

H10 - Madison

H10 Art Gallery

Hotel Sagrada Familia

Europark (don't know which one)

 

How to get from airport to the hotel?

How to get from hotel to Celebrity dock?

I agree with Enric about needing to stay as long as you can pre-cruise, but in two days you can have a good time.

I think the best strategy for selecting a hotel is to wait until you get your dates and looking on a hotel search site and seeing what prices come up. It is amazing how they vary. I would select something central - around the Gothic distric or Las ramblas. There are some good 3* hotels around. Come back on to the board with a couple of choices when you have more information about options within your budget. I know that you say you want to visit the Sagrada Familia, but that is just one site, you can get there by taxi or public transport. You will have more restaurant options and access to other sites if you stay centrally.

You can lock in a cancellable rate and keep an eye on prices.

On the day of your cruise you can fit in a visit somewhere and check out of your hotel (or check out early and leave your bags with them). Go back to the hotel, pick up your bags and get a taxi to the ship. It will be under $20 and a good start to your cruise.

Barcelona is a large city, main sites are spread out so you will have to get transportation between them. You are therefore better finding a hotel near a metro station and where there are restaurants etc.

We have visited a number of times and have always stayed near Ramblas, but you have to be careful as some streets are very noisy late into the night.

Last visit we stayed at Hotel Cristal Palace which is in the area of high end shops close to a number of Gaudi buildings. Its a 5 minute walk from Ramblas Passeig de Gracia station which has direct train services to and from the airport. For its location it is excellent value for money for Barca.

The other bonus is its on a side street so very quiet, yet within a minute there are grand boulevardes full of restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Hi Phabric,

I am also on a celebrity cruise leaving September 30th. 2019 to the Greek Isles and already looking at accommodation options. Our last cruise out of Barcelona we made the mistake of only flying in 2 days prior from Toronto.

Our first day was jet lag adjustment for DH and I and we did not get to do much sightseeing.

This time we plan on flying from Toronto on the Thursday night for arrival into Barcelona Friday and book us a three night hotel stay. Ship sails on the Monday so that will give us Friday to adjust to the time change and just browse around a bit and then Saturday/Sunday and part of Monday we can plan our sightseeing.

Cheryl

I have only been in Barcelona on a 3 day pre river cruise where we stayed in an expensive hotel (off Las Ramblas) with tours included so no planning to be done by myself.

 

We are two 65+ year old ladies. We would like to see the attractions during the day, dinner out, back to the hotel.

 

We are interested in seeing Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Maybe a hotel around them?

 

We are in the planning stage for a Celebrity cruise out of Barcelona Sept 2019.

 

We have not yet decided to stay 1 or 2 days pre cruise since flights are not out yet.

 

I would like your opinion of the hotels others on CC have mentioned.

 

H10 - Madison

H10 Art Gallery

Hotel Sagrada Familia

Europark (don't know which one)

 

How to get from airport to the hotel?

How to get from hotel to Celebrity dock?

Ohla Eixample Hotel is very close to Sagrada

http://www.ohlaeixample.com/en-gb

We LOVED our accommodation during on our last trip to Barcelona, have fun planing :D

We are cruising in September 2018 and end in Barcona for 2 days post cruise. One interesting site that does tours also has a map of areas of Barcelona that may not be 'nice' at night and suggests avoiding these. It is on Barcelona Day Tours website. We

liked Hotel Rec and Hotel Curious but have decided to stay at Hotel Lleo for its proximity to Placa Catalunya where the airport bus and Hop On buses stop. Hotel Jazz is popular on Cruise Critic too.

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We are cruising in September 2018 and end in Barcona for 2 days post cruise. One interesting site that does tours also has a map of areas of Barcelona that may not be 'nice' at night and suggests avoiding these. It is on Barcelona Day Tours website. We

liked Hotel Rec and Hotel Curious but have decided to stay at Hotel Lleo for its proximity to Placa Catalunya where the airport bus and Hop On buses stop. Hotel Jazz is popular on Cruise Critic too.

 

Sent from my SM-A320Y using Forums mobile app

I will 2nd the recommendation of Hotel Jazz...we've also stayed at Hotel 1898.

We will be flying into Barcelona two days before our cruise of the Med and would much appreciate any information on the best transportation from the airport to a centrally located hotel.

There is a regular Aerobus that runs from the Airport to Placa Catalunya which is at the top of Las Ramblas, there are plenty of hotels near the Placa.

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@Pamluis... sorry but your question is too vague... this city is not huge but it's "sizable", so "centrally" means little. Do post the exact address and I'll gladly advice. Depending on where you go in the so-called "centre", there are up to 4 different means of transportation.