DavidO

I last visited Barcelona in 2009 when I stayed at Hotel Arts (Ritz-Carlton) and saw Casa Fuster. (My hotel reviews from that site visit are here.) While Hotel Arts has perhaps the best room product in Barcelona, if not Spain, the hotel is located adjacent to Olympic Harbor and requires a taxi ride to get downtown and back.

More recently, I visited Barcelona two weeks ago. Here are my admittedly subject impressions of my visits — along with some photos.

Mandarin Oriental Barcelona

For now, the MO is the newest luxury hotel in Barcelona. This is a contemporary building on Passeig de Grŕcia, a former bank building that has been transformed into a hotel. I booked a Deluxe room and was upgraded to a Terrace Suite where I spent two very comfortable evenings. My suite was extremely large and spacious and also provided very large bathroom: soaking tub, two vanities set in a long terracotta counter, a large step-in rain shower, and a WC. Additionally, the suite had a large walk-in close whose light thoughtfully turned on whenever you entered.




In addition to my suite, I was shown a Deluxe Boulevard room as well as the mock-up of a new room design. Read on...



Pictured above is one of the hotel's Deluxe Boulevard rooms. While the room had everything one might want, its "long and narrow" dimensions made the room feel small. The front door opened to a narrow hallway, a small bathroom to the left and the bedroom straight ahead. The bathroom provided a single vanity, WC, and a tub (but no step-in shower in this particular room). Be sure to indicate your shower/tub preference when booking.



The new "test" room pictured just above is wider room to begin with, which creates a hint of spaciousness. Existing rooms have a somewhat industrial feel; the new room product is softer with warmer colors, a variety of textures, and a more residential ambiance. However, this particular test room lacked a desk, which fact I pointed out to the manager leading the tour. While the thinking behind this choice is based on the fact that the majority of the hotel's guests are leisure travelers, I offered the opinion that many guests will prefer to have a work space.


Bottom line: the Suites are great. If they work with your budget, you'll be extremely happy at the Mandarin Oriental. If you can live with smaller guest rooms and prefer a contemporary hotel in the heart of the best area of Barcelona, the MO would be my top choice.


The Majestic

The Majestic is an historic, family-owned hotel, that has enjoyed its prime corner location on the Passeig de Grŕcia since 1918. A traditional hotel with a sense of place, a lot of local residents patronize the bar and the Sunday Buffet (a 57€ meal that features unlimited pours of Moet Chandon and an elaborate buffet with canapés, entrees, and desserts — you could make a meal of champagne and raw oysters, if you chose!).



Rooms are on the small side, but their more square dimensions help. However, avoid the extremely small lead-in Deluxe rooms (only 23 sqm). An Executive Room (35 - 40 sqm) such as one pictured above will be a lot more comfortable.

Walls are covered with padded silk wall paper with a pattern of vertical stripes, and the room feel "homey." Bathrooms are small but provide everything you'd expect. Most rooms and suites offer step-in showers, so be sure to specify whether you want a shower or a soaking tub.


The Almanac Barcelona

Not only is the Almanac a brand new hotel, it is a brand new brand. The owner's vision is the creation of a boutique luxury hotel company. The Barcelona property will be its first opening with future openings planned for Vienna, Prague, Budapest, and Zagreb.



Reservations are being accepted at this brand new hotel as of September 1, 2017, although you may be able to get in as early as August. I was not able to tour inside the building, but this is a photo of a Cube King guest room overlooking Gran Via Avenue. The room is not large (32 sqm), and the design looks to be clean, simple, and contemporary. Room rate for this room for 1SEP is just 445€, including a Full Breakfast and free WiFi. The Almanac anticipates applying for Virtuoso membership.

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DSI

Thanks for the report.

I was underwhelmed when walking through the MO in BCN. Rooms are not suitable for families and suites are overpriced (if paying).

We stayed in El Palauet Living, which I really liked. I think it's the best for families in BCN.It's more expensive than the entry level stuff at the MO.

damaxer91

Barcelona hotel scene is very underwhelming for a city with so many visitors

scented

MO is all you need to know there. It's not perfect but service was constantly good when I was there.

The entire Spanish hotel market is underwhelming, which is a pity considering youth unemployment rates there. Barcelona, Madrid, the islands... is there anything worth visiting aside from Cap Rocat? They either went the budget route (Gran Canaria, Ibiza... frightful -- nothing there except for parties and clubs) or the luxury options are underwhelming. In a way MO is quite good considering the competition?

offerendum

Only problem with MO-suites is the ridiculous surcharge.

FlyingDoctorwu

That deluxe room to terrace suite upgrade is, at least in my guess, not standard....

fdw

Zephyrous

I am not a fan! I think it is one of the weaker MO properties that I've been to. Perhaps one of the worst value for money offerings out there also. In traditional sense of "luxury" of course it is perhaps the best offering but I wouldn't return.

In a city that is characterised by its charm, there are a ton of excellent boutiques/indies that are great alternatives. I thought that the Mercer where we stayed recently had far superiour service to the MO. Of course certain aspects of the hard product do not even compete between the two, but I am glad we stayed there over the MO.

DSI

While I could never disagree with Scented, who's 1000x more traveled than I am, and be rational, I must beg to differ. If size matters, the MO is not a good choice. To spend $4000 for a decent sized suite vs. El Palauet, which not only offered a more authentic experience but had two bedrooms (I'm not really a fan of having the family pile into one room when it's not necessary) and IMO, was in a better area unless going to buffet breakfasts or tourists traps is your thing, then I just would never recommend the MO.

I never stayed at the MO, but I did go in and visit last July. I've walked past it half a dozen times and went in several times.

I think for BCN, conventional BIG-BOX style hotels are just not the clear winners to me, even if they are the safe choice.

I saw some fantastic rooms online on Luxury Retreats (AirbNB), too. I never visited, but they looked nice.

uggboy

We would be interested to hear more about these hotels in Barcelona including:

https://www.monument-hotel.com/en/

http://hoteltheserrasbarcelona.com/

http://www.hotellaflorida.com/en/

https://www.h10hotels.com/en/barcelo...-one-barcelona

Thanks in advance.

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

offerendum

Thought about La Florida recently as it is a bargain. My problem is location. While it seems to offer great views it´s quite a distance to the centre.

uggboy

Thanks offerendum, Gran Hotel La Florida is keenly priced indeed, they see themselves more as a retreat then a "real" city hotel maybe as a relaxing "add-on" to another hotel for city exploration beforehand, from the look of it on their website it's a gorgeous hotel and has lots of potential. It's a member of LHW too.

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

Kagehitokiri

thanks DavidO, interesting MO keeps changing/adding

MO really seems to vary dramatically within categories
some of the website photos and floorplans seem odd
re bedrooms: €1350+ studio (& premier & penthouse)
many other suites put all the 'space' outside bedroom

barcelona lacks luxury supply and MO lacks suites/rooms
(RC for example has 6 suites in line with some MO rates)
2014: added 17 suites (current 28 still few) & 5 rooms
2013: 6 Mandarin Terrace rooms, 10 suites, RevPAR +18%
2009: 2nd best suite was €1500, opening during crisis

scented

Thank you, DSI, but do disagree - nothing more healthy! Truth is I would never spend anywhere near 4,000$ at MO Barcelona, but in the several instances I was there I quite enjoyed their service and atmosphere. It is true that the hotel has challenges with its blueprint and many MOs generally are very bad value for money, especially on suite level (save for a few exceptions, such as BKK).

Not really much choice in BCN. One of the locations we should look into AirBnB (and knowing me it won't happen).

DSI

I've already been there and done it. El Palauet isn't perfect, but it's the best option for families in BCN. Sure, with two people you can squeeze into a lower room at the MO BCN and be fine.

I think that are far superior options worldwide on Airbnb than the near vast majority of hotels discussed in this forum (e.g. places like Westin, Aman, or MO). My case is probably unique, but I often have to choose the hotels on this forum for budget reasons--I can't afford the high-end luxury options (villas on Airbnb and the like)! I wish that weren't the case, but I would love to be able to stay at the very best places worldwide, but alas I can't afford to.

tcmb99

i do not plan on staying anywhere else in Barcelona unless something really bad happens to Hotel Arts or somewhere new and amazing opens up. I do not think MO is an alternative to what you can get at Hotel Arts.

I would much rather take a taxi a few times a day and stay by the beach with amazing views than stay inland within the city.