Wirelessly posted (goingaway's phone: BlackBerry8900/4.6.1.231 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Def expected but pictures will do, too :)

Originally Posted by itsaboutthejourney
I'll be there in spirit, anxiously awaiting updates.

And with the time zone difference, the poor lad will never get any sleep :D ;)

Originally Posted by lili
(Please no drunk phone calls from 7+ times zones away )
Yeah, them time zones are really going to mess some people up.......we'll be sailing under three sheets and you won't have even started yet.

But wait until we call you at 9 pm PST!! Please, just post updates to the list and we'll read them when up and sober. Sorry to miss this event, but just can't do it right now.

Although we are currently booked at the W, I have received a tremendous Travelzoo promo offer featuring the Hesperia Tower.

This is one of the GHOW (Great Hotels of the World) and at 69 Euros including taxes, breakfast, and airport transportation, it certainly looks tempting.

Are there any first-hand reports on the place around here?

I can't seem to find this deal. Any hints.

Thanks.

That's a cheap price, but it's because this hotel isn't in Barcelona. It's in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat which is, how you say, not such a nice place. The Hesperia was built about two years ago as a conference center to try to help revitalize (err..vitalize) the area. I've heard the rooms are quite nice, design-wise, but haven't seen them.

The problem though is that this place sits in the middle of an ugly industrial park, surrounded by low-income housing projects. If you're just going to stay the night before a flight I'm sure it's fine but if you plan to do anything outside the hotel it's probably not a good choice.

In comparison, eDreams is showing a lot of 4-star hotels for Nov 2-3 for 70-90€ including the H10 Universitat, right near Plaça Catalunya. That would be a better choice if you're hoping for a bit of time in the city.

To be fair the W is kind of out in the boonies as well, but at least it's the nice boonies. :)

I second alan's view. I think I stayed in near there after my first BCN DO, and it worked well because I spent the day and evening elsewhere and came back only to sleep for a few hours before my very, very early flight. I would've been miserable if I had to spend anymore time in the area.

re: Travelzoo Hesperia Tower Deal??

"A three-night minimum stay is required. However, guests can book one- or two-night stays with the same added values for $121 per night.
Blackout Dates: Nov. 2-5, 9-10; Dec. 2"

We'll be staying at the Hotel Jazz close to Plaça Catalunya 10/29-30, and 11/2-4, and plan to take the bus from the city station mid-day on the 30th.

We had been planning three days in BCN before the doo. So, thanks to the info from alanw above, we are staying put and burning the 60,000 SPG points+++ at the W (if it is open in time for us) instead of 207 Euros at the all-inclusive Hesperia.
Which bus are you thinking of catching? I think that there ought to be an "official party bus" from the city station.

^^
There may need to be several. If AF behaves, I arrive BCN at 14:20 on 30 Oct.

Then I would think that you would be better off taking an Andorra bus directly from the airport (you likely will have plenty of FT company there) but, if you really want to come into town, to us the more the merrier. :)

http://www.barcelonanord.com/default_eng.asp

It looks like the best choices will be 10:30 or 13:00. I'm leaning toward the 13:00.