Review date: 17 August 2004 - A HotelStreet visitor from Derbyshire, UK wrote:-

Review title: "A Fantastic Hotel"
Travel date: August 2004
My husband and I stayed at the hotel as a treat for our wedding anniversary and we had a wonderful time.

The hotel feels very luxurious with winding staircases, lots of brass and plush décor. The door attendant is very pleasant and the fact there is a door attendant makes it feel very posh.

The hotel is easy to get to. We took the 'aerobus' from the airport (which cost three euros 45 for a one way ticket) and which took us to Placa Catalyuna. The hotel is just a few minutes walk from there and close to the Passeig de Gracia metro station.

All the staff are very friendly and keen to help. They all speak good English but did politely put up with our efforts to address them in Spanish.

The room was lovely - well presented with matching furniture and decoration. There was ample cupboard space and a king size bed. Everything was spotlessly clean and we had maid service every day of our stay with fresh sheets at least twice (in five days) and clean towels every day. We just had a normal, double room but it was spacious and had a door which separated the small hallway and the bathroom from the bedroom. As a result, we had no noise from the corridor and because of the triple glazing in the windows, there was no noise from what is a very busy street. We had asked specifically for a front facing room (which we got) as we had heard that the inward facing rooms were smaller and darker.

The air conditioning, which we controlled ourselves, was very much appreciated as the temperature in the city reached 38 degrees! One problem we did have was that on returning to our room, the air conditioning was leaking and we had water dripping from the ceiling. We reported it to reception and were immediately offered another room. We didn't take them up on their offer though as the leak stopped after we had turned the unit off for a while on the staff's suggestion.

The shower was fantastic - the sort that almost pins you to the floor! We had endless very hot water at any time of day or night. We had various television channels, including Sky News in English and MTV, as well as a complimentary safety deposit box that operated from digits that you programmed yourself and so was very secure.

Breakfast was in the form of a buffet consisting of fresh rolls, bread (and a self controlled toaster), croissants, pieces of fresh fruit, melon, cereals, pastries, salads, cheese, cold meats, fresh fruit juices, scrambled eggs, yoghurt, sausages, bacon, jam, honey, tea, coffee, hot chocolate - the list is endless and whatever time we went down to eat (the buffet was from 7-11 a.m.), there was always plenty of food and empty dishes were replenished straight away. As a vegetarian, I am always a little worried about what to eat in Spain but I had plenty of choice, for breakfast at least! My only complaint about the breakfast buffet was that too many people were smoking for my liking, but then its seems that the Europeans are far more relaxed about where they smoke than the British so this was only to be expected really.

We did not eat at the hotel at other times because the restaurant appeared to be rather expensive, as was the room service and the mini bar (I was amazed to see four euros for a four stick Kit Kat on the price list!). However, the mini bar was very well stocked with a variety of soft drinks, alcoholic drinks and snacks, should we have wished to use it.