Barcelona pre-cruise

[jeanne_boston]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a 2-3 night stay in Barcelona?

[cardiffmatch]

Are you looking for a hotel recommendation or things to do?

 

If hotel; what sort of budget / style? It's a large, modern city which can cater for all tastes. At the top end of the scale, the new Mandarin Oriental is superb, I've stayed everywhere from there to £10 night hostels with no windows in my time!

[Literary Lynne]

We really like the Hotel Jazz - does very well on Trip Advisor. The rooms are beautiful and the breakfast buffet is great. The hotel is just off the top end of The Ramblas, so within a five minute walk but not so noisy as those actually on The Ramblas. It cost us 15 euro in a taxi from the hotel to the port.

 

We would have stayed there pre our next cruise but it is full.:(

[Lsimon]

Barcelona is a huge city with toms of great hotels in all different price ranges. My overall best advice is to make sure your hotel is within a short walking distance of the Placa Catalunya or the Gothic Quarter. This will put you in the area of the city that has lots of great areas to tour or shop and also is close to lots of public transportation options.

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/albums-en/catalunya/index.html

 

Also be sure to look at the Spain Port of Call forum here on cruise critic.

[CathyCruises]

Cannot recommend Hotel 1898 highly enough!! Fab place and location right on Las Ramblas, would stay there again in a heartbeat!

[Dunmore2]

Loved Hotel Regina, right next to Hotel Jazz.

[Can'tstopcruising]

Was hotel Regina quiet? From your room, did you hear noise from within or outside the hotel? What were the rooms like? Thanks.

[jlijny]

We stayed in a Suite at the Majestic, and loved it. The location was great. There is so much to do in Barcelona, you want to position yourself in a prime location to walk around. Have fun!!!! Don't know what plans you have, but I highly recommend Jose from Pepito Tours if you are interested in going to Montserrat. He (and his driver) picked us up at the hotel, put our luggage in the van, and off we went for a fantastic 5-6 hr tour. When we were through, he brought us to our cruise ship. It was great!!!!

[BBsails]

When is your trip to Barcelona? The Pope will be there on Sunday, Nov. 7 (for one day only?), so hotel rooms may be scarce then.

[screwcork]

Please check this link:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187497-d619946-Reviews-Hostal_L_Antic_Espai-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

 

Hostal L'Antic Espai is a marvellous place on a walking distance to all attractions!

 

Screwcork

[Orator]

I'll be on the Connie TA leaving on the 6th. Booked the Majestic without problems. Their site shows there is still availablity, but I wouldn't wait. I do expect large crowds and will plan my sightseeing accordingly.

[LuAnn]

Hotel Monte Carlo...right on Las Ramblas...ask for a room at the back of the hotel and you will avoid the noise from Las Ramblas...as it is right on the Blvd. ...also try the HOHO bus routes ...they have several and really give you a great over-view of the city and the sites! It is a great place...enjoy every minute!! LuAnn

[beachnative]

Hotel Jazz: stayed there last summer 2 nights pre-cruise. We liked it; enjoyed the rooftop pool.

 

Hotel 1898: stayed there (same cruise) 3 night post-cruise. We loved it; rooftop pool with great tapas bar was stunning at night. Indoor pool was equally impressive. Our room had a balcony overlooking Las Ramblas...great room.

 

Beware of pickpockets and avoid the "shell game" on Las Ramblas.

 

Barcelona became one of our favorite cruise cities.

[jeanne_boston]

Thanks everyone. I'll check all of them out.

 

Jeanne.

[brentp]

Loved Hotel Regina, right next to Hotel Jazz.

 

I'll second that! Absolutely a great pre/post cruise Hotel.

 

Was hotel Regina quiet? From your room' date=' did you hear noise from within or outside the hotel? What were the rooms like? Thanks.[/quote']

 

Yes - quite, but you are in the center of a city, so not mid-west farm country quite. :)

 

Hotel Regina is located about a 100 yards off Plaza de Catalunya, the square at the top of Las Ramblas (or La Rambla as it is also called). The street in front of the hotel is a narrow one way street - so minimal traffic. Two metro stations right on the corners of the Plaza, Starbucks & Bank/ATM within 50 yards, and a small grocery store near the top of La Rambla.

 

I would call it a boutique style hotel, . . . staff is excellent. Our room had a very small balcony - but I don't think they all do. They have various sizes of rooms, some are large enough for families.

 

One tip, when ready to go to the pier, if you are taking a cab, hail the cab yourself outside your hotel. Cab rates are regulated, . . . but if the Hotel calls a cab for you, they start the meter when called, and some will add on undocumented surcharges for this and that, and it can double the fare. Ours tried, . . . we had a long discussion and he backed off when I asked a police officer to 'help translate' for me. Another couple on the cruise had the same thing - 30 Euro for what should have been a 15 Euro ride.

[Can'tstopcruising]

This is a wonderful thread because cruisers are giving their personal opinion about so many hotels.

 

Thanks for the info on the Regina and the tip on getting a cab.

 

We finally decided on the Praktik Rambla. We will be there in Oct. After, I will report here.

[dp70]

We spent two pre-cruise nights in Barcelona last June.

 

We stayed at NH Duc de la Victoria which is just off Las Ramblas in a pedestrian only area. Hotel was clean, quiet and comfortable. We paid CAD$300 for the two nights which included breakfast.

 

Plaza de Catalunya was about a 5 minute walk away. On our free day we hopped on the metro (subway) over to Sagarda Familia, then rode it (and the funicular & cable car) to Montjuic Castle, and then over to Casa Mila (aka La Pedrera), and finally back to Plaza de Catalunya. We bought one T10 metro pass for around 8 Euros which is a real bargain. Later we headed over to the gothic quarter and toured the catherdal.

 

We found Barcelona to be a very interesting and enjoyable city, and the metro was very easy to navigate.

 

I have lots of photographs here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fwwidall/sets/72157619837182530/with/3633404323/

[MiamiSpartan]

We have stayed in a wonderful hotel called The Gallery Hotel...Great location, right on the bus lines, so you can get anywhere in the city, plus within an easy walk to a lot of things as well....

Priced affordably, and they let you take home the little music CD that is in every room.....

Stayed there 3 different times and love it!

[jjk9946]

We were just in Barcelona for two days in May before our Azamara cruise. We wish we'd come for more. Loved that city. We stayed at the Le Meridian which was great! It's 1/2 way down Las Ramblas. The HOHO (hop on hop off) tours are the best way we found to explore. Enjoy!

Judy

[dalitos]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a 2-3 night stay in Barcelona?

 

Barcelona is a beautiful city and in November you will still have mild weather, not hot but not too cold either.

I second what other poster said about the HOHO busses, they are by far the best way to get anywhere that is tourism related in the city, comfortable busses, three (or four?) different routes, and come very often so you never have to wait much.

We stayed at the Cataluña Corcega hotel, it's considered a 4 star although I would call it a 3 star, nice ample room, in very good condition, good breakfast, good location (10 minute walk from Las Ramblas via Avenida Diagonal, a very nice street with designer stores, cafes, etc.).