reigndrop

I stayed here in late July and think the property has really gone downhill. Don't expect any recognition or acknowledgement as a Platinum. Frankly the hotel suffers from overcrowding due to sheer size and their youthful / seasonal staff means service isn't polished. Nowhere is this more apparent than their pool and at breakfast.

Around check in time, it's a madhouse with reception unable to handle the volume and concierge pretending to be busy.

Rooms are starting to become outdated and need a refresh / deep clean, their blanket is a pathetic excuse for luxury.

For food, try Xiringuito Escriba for paella (15 min walk) or cuines de santa caterina (short cab) for tapas.

Next time I'm in BCN, I'll try the MO but hopefully your experience is better. Do share with us your experience.

DavidO

What reigndrop wrote about the "madhouse" at check-in time is accurate. This is really a large hotel — and this is why, if you're staying at Hotel Arts, I highly recommend booking a room on the Club Floor. The Club Floor functions as a "hotel within the hotel" with its own check-in/check-out facilities and concierge.

The Club Floor is a luxury experience. Outside the Club, Hotel Arts is too large for luxury and felt to me like a hotel for business travelers.

Kagehitokiri

at one point >
410 rooms
45 club
28 apartments

Susiew237

Stayed here last year for 3 nights in a club room. Was completely underwhelmed. The food offerings in the club pretty much stayed the same all day and didnt change much over the course of of the 3 days, the staff there were hit and miss, either gushing (insincerely) over you or ignoring you. I dont really remember our room very well but I"m sure it was fine. Each to their own of course, but I would not stay again.

uclabruin82

Three things to note from my stay in July 2016:
1) The pool is not relaxing. Very crowded/tough to find a chair in the afternoon, and filled with kids going crazy
2) The breakfast buffet (included in my booking) was fantastic
3) May not appeal to others in this chat, but the only thing the hotel is really located well for is late-night trips to the casino / clubs. I would not stay here to be close to the beach during the summer, as the beach is not nice.

fj58

TLDR: Against most everything written here, we had a marvelous stay with strong platinum recognition, gracious staff, and wonderful poolside afternoons.

The germ of our visit was to burn our six complimentary night certificates (3x me; 3x wife). I am platinum, she is gold. Booked two consecutive 3-night stays and corresponded with the hotel in advance to ensure that we would not have to check-out/-in mid-stay.

A handful of days before our trip, after reading here and other reviews, we decided to cancel the 2d half of our Arts visit and instead booked the Le Meridian Ra Beach.

After overnight flights we were greeted curbside by a pleasant and efficient porter that directed us to reception (both entrances to the porte cochere were blocked by massive potted shrubs and vans; we were told by order of the police).

Reception was far from busy – me thinks there were more staff than guests. There were two staff that checked us in (one obviously an intern) and Platinum status was immediately acknowledged and thanked. One went so far as to say “you must live in Ritz Carltons and Marriotts.”

As it was 11a our room was not ready. We were offered (and accepted) lunch for the inconvenience. Afterwards we were escorted to the bar where we were introduced to the bartender as “platinums.”

Room was ready 3ish. After booking the lowest rung “deluxe,” we were upgraded to a king “Corner Executive Suite” on the 28th floor (09 with clean windows to TPG’s 07). Great room. Phenomenal view. Odd shower.

Spent the balance of the afternoon at the pool. No kids. Plenty of lounges. Decent snacks. Efficient and genuinely pleasant attendants.

Back to the bar. We were introduced to the second bartender by the first.

By day 2 we began questioning our wisdom in cancelling the 2d half.

I asked if we could rebook the 2d half and keep the same room. Reception said they would check and Email the results (we were off to the pool again). Shortly afterwards the message arrived “no” on the same room, but “yes” on an 18th floor “seafront” (not “seaview;” it is an Exec Suite without the lounge area and 2d bathroom). I said we would take it and asked if breakfast was included. The response was along the lines of: “Breakfast is never included, but happy to make an exception.” As a kicker, a third Email arrived pointing out the fact that the first reservation did not include breakfast, but now it does.

General thoughts:

• Yes, much of the staff are interns. The handful we interacted with were from either the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne or Ecole Superieure d'Hotellerie, Paris, and many were on their last several days. Their performance was at least as expected, frequently above and beyond.

• The reception lobby did get fullish on Sunday afternoon, but there were sufficient staff and cava to make it appear calm.

• There was a huge international finance convention onsight for most of our stay. The only impact it had on us is when a major session let out the bar was slammed.

• There were a handful of kids at the pool over the days, but all well reigned-in. We never found the pool crowed and had no problem choosing lounges – even on the weekend.

• Breakfast buffet was wonderful. Pity we are not big morning eaters.

Perhaps Arts management read the recent posts here, perhaps it was due to shoulder-season, perhaps it was simply a unicorn visit, but our stay was a delight.

YMMV

damon88

EuropeanPete

offerendum

EuropeanPete

I've previously stacked this hotel with Virtuoso meaning guaranteed one cat upgrade plus breakfast (which I actually almost never do), plus Ambassador benefits on top which has got me the top level non-suite upgrade once and at least one category on other occasions, but never a suite. Given my Marriott status, my use of a premium travel agent, the relatively high rates I use and my repeat business I tend to feel a suite upgrade at some stage would be appropriate, but I don't really feel one would be in my future at this property.