Originally Posted by EuropeanPete

I've just completed a long weekend here and quite liked the property. For quite a lot of the year the rates can be below the W, and it is a significantly nicer hotel.

Pre-arrival was a bit of a mess due to the botched Marriott integration. My Ambassador wasn't able to make contact with the hotel, and my request for suite upgrade pricing was met with "We see you're Platinum, but we're very busy". My Ambassador eventually got connected to the Ops Manager who wasn't able to accept a Your24 request (understandably so, as the hotel was full), but who did upgrade me in advance from a Deluxe Room (base level) to a Deluxe Seafront Room (highest non-Suite category, and beautiful!). I was also allowed breakfast in the Club Lounge as an exception given that I had quite a bit of time to kill after a 10am arrival.

The room was gorgeous, and I liked the facilities, from the restaurants (sadly the 2* Enoteca was full), the bars and the pools. The spa looked beautiful, but I didn't have time to make use of it. I am not one to pay $150 a day for an RC Club Lounge, but the Hotel Arts lounge seemed quite nice.

The main downside is probably the location. While the beach view is nice, for me at least it's the wrong side of Barceloneta. There is music from the multiple all-night clubs right in front of the hotel (we were on 18th floor and it wasn't quite bad enough to be annoying, but close) and we were warned several times that the area around the hotel was especially bad for muggings.

Barcelona remains a strong location for the Marriott Group. The W is iconic and has a fun crowd in the summer (for which you pay $$$). The Le Meridien is located right in the centre of things and has a good record of upgrading Platinums to large suites. The Four Points has excellent service and is great value. The Ritz Carlton is the highest specification hotel with the best service, but is in the worst location and obviously no breakfast even for top level elites. My favourite was probably Central Hotel, but that is no longer part of the Marriott side of Design hotels. It sounds like I need to try the Renaissance next time...