Barcelona EDITION - Spain [Master Thread]
Feb 28, 2019, 2:08 am
#16
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,712
FYI, the hotel's website email for elites is currently not in compliance with the Marriott Bonvoy programme:
"· We can extend a one-category upgrade upon availability. The Barcelona EDITION is a modern luxury hotel located in the el Born district. We are in the heart of the city centre, right next to the Barcelona Cathedral and within short walking distance to the beach."
I've asked my Ambassador to resolve before my stay or move me to Cotton House. One should not have to bargain with Marriott's brand new flagship luxury properties in order to receive the programme terms.
"· We can extend a one-category upgrade upon availability. The Barcelona EDITION is a modern luxury hotel located in the el Born district. We are in the heart of the city centre, right next to the Barcelona Cathedral and within short walking distance to the beach."
I've asked my Ambassador to resolve before my stay or move me to Cotton House. One should not have to bargain with Marriott's brand new flagship luxury properties in order to receive the programme terms.
Mar 5, 2019, 7:32 am
#17
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,712
In the end I had a very good stay here, but felt playing fast and loose with the English language and the Marriott terms created a lot of unnecessary distrust on their part. This is the best hard product in Barcelona (a city with lots of great choices), but I am uncomfortable with their "Marriottism" of standards.
As mentioned above, my confirmation booking said that as an Ambassador I was entitled to a "one category" upgrade on arrival, subject to availability. It seems clear to me this is against the programme terms and so I raised the issue with my Ambassador. He rather surprisingly came back with the interpretation from Marriott that the fact that terms say hotels can pick which rooms are in the upgrade pool means they can also pick to only upgrade people a max of one category by standard if they so choose. I obviously challenges this as it 1. Is not a valid interpretation of the English language and 2. Would mark a huge and unannounced change to the Marriott programme. For now I wait.
Secondly, I booked a room on a special rate incl. €50 and a one category upgrade at time of booking. Needless to see I didn't get an upgrade at time of booking which the hotel explained was because when I booked a Superior Room on an "Upgrade at time of booking" rate, I was already booking an upgraded room and so I had already received the upgrade. Again, unacceptable in my view and a manipulation on their part of what their own terms mean (upgrade at time of booking is a fairly standard concept).
In the end the drama was all for nothing as I was upgraded 2 categories to a "Loft Room" which is advertised as their entry level suite. That worked for me and met my expectations, but I will point out to anyone booking it that the Loft Room is in no way a Suite, Junior or otherwise. It is a marginally larger room with a second seating area and a second table. If I had paid for a Junior Suite I would be extremely unhappy.
Onto the stay itself, I really liked the hotel itself - such a shame to pointlessly pollute the experience. Service was excellent, the quality of the hard product is amongst the best I have ever seen at a Marriott anywhere and I liked the F&B offerings - from the cool rooftop to the London-inspired Punch Room and the high quality room service.
Make of this all what you will - Similar to my relationship with Marriott overall, I need to trade off recognition and great hotels vs. a lot of unnecessary ........ in the overall experience.
As mentioned above, my confirmation booking said that as an Ambassador I was entitled to a "one category" upgrade on arrival, subject to availability. It seems clear to me this is against the programme terms and so I raised the issue with my Ambassador. He rather surprisingly came back with the interpretation from Marriott that the fact that terms say hotels can pick which rooms are in the upgrade pool means they can also pick to only upgrade people a max of one category by standard if they so choose. I obviously challenges this as it 1. Is not a valid interpretation of the English language and 2. Would mark a huge and unannounced change to the Marriott programme. For now I wait.
Secondly, I booked a room on a special rate incl. €50 and a one category upgrade at time of booking. Needless to see I didn't get an upgrade at time of booking which the hotel explained was because when I booked a Superior Room on an "Upgrade at time of booking" rate, I was already booking an upgraded room and so I had already received the upgrade. Again, unacceptable in my view and a manipulation on their part of what their own terms mean (upgrade at time of booking is a fairly standard concept).
In the end the drama was all for nothing as I was upgraded 2 categories to a "Loft Room" which is advertised as their entry level suite. That worked for me and met my expectations, but I will point out to anyone booking it that the Loft Room is in no way a Suite, Junior or otherwise. It is a marginally larger room with a second seating area and a second table. If I had paid for a Junior Suite I would be extremely unhappy.
Onto the stay itself, I really liked the hotel itself - such a shame to pointlessly pollute the experience. Service was excellent, the quality of the hard product is amongst the best I have ever seen at a Marriott anywhere and I liked the F&B offerings - from the cool rooftop to the London-inspired Punch Room and the high quality room service.
Make of this all what you will - Similar to my relationship with Marriott overall, I need to trade off recognition and great hotels vs. a lot of unnecessary ........ in the overall experience.
Jun 5, 2019, 11:10 am
#19
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: Bonvoy LT Plat, MP Gold, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 123
In the end I had a very good stay here, but felt playing fast and loose with the English language and the Marriott terms created a lot of unnecessary distrust on their part. This is the best hard product in Barcelona (a city with lots of great choices), but I am uncomfortable with their "Marriottism" of standards.
As mentioned above, my confirmation booking said that as an Ambassador I was entitled to a "one category" upgrade on arrival, subject to availability. It seems clear to me this is against the programme terms and so I raised the issue with my Ambassador. He rather surprisingly came back with the interpretation from Marriott that the fact that terms say hotels can pick which rooms are in the upgrade pool means they can also pick to only upgrade people a max of one category by standard if they so choose. I obviously challenges this as it 1. Is not a valid interpretation of the English language and 2. Would mark a huge and unannounced change to the Marriott programme. For now I wait.
Secondly, I booked a room on a special rate incl. €50 and a one category upgrade at time of booking. Needless to see I didn't get an upgrade at time of booking which the hotel explained was because when I booked a Superior Room on an "Upgrade at time of booking" rate, I was already booking an upgraded room and so I had already received the upgrade. Again, unacceptable in my view and a manipulation on their part of what their own terms mean (upgrade at time of booking is a fairly standard concept).
In the end the drama was all for nothing as I was upgraded 2 categories to a "Loft Room" which is advertised as their entry level suite. That worked for me and met my expectations, but I will point out to anyone booking it that the Loft Room is in no way a Suite, Junior or otherwise. It is a marginally larger room with a second seating area and a second table. If I had paid for a Junior Suite I would be extremely unhappy.
Onto the stay itself, I really liked the hotel itself - such a shame to pointlessly pollute the experience. Service was excellent, the quality of the hard product is amongst the best I have ever seen at a Marriott anywhere and I liked the F&B offerings - from the cool rooftop to the London-inspired Punch Room and the high quality room service.
Make of this all what you will - Similar to my relationship with Marriott overall, I need to trade off recognition and great hotels vs. a lot of unnecessary ........ in the overall experience.
As mentioned above, my confirmation booking said that as an Ambassador I was entitled to a "one category" upgrade on arrival, subject to availability. It seems clear to me this is against the programme terms and so I raised the issue with my Ambassador. He rather surprisingly came back with the interpretation from Marriott that the fact that terms say hotels can pick which rooms are in the upgrade pool means they can also pick to only upgrade people a max of one category by standard if they so choose. I obviously challenges this as it 1. Is not a valid interpretation of the English language and 2. Would mark a huge and unannounced change to the Marriott programme. For now I wait.
Secondly, I booked a room on a special rate incl. €50 and a one category upgrade at time of booking. Needless to see I didn't get an upgrade at time of booking which the hotel explained was because when I booked a Superior Room on an "Upgrade at time of booking" rate, I was already booking an upgraded room and so I had already received the upgrade. Again, unacceptable in my view and a manipulation on their part of what their own terms mean (upgrade at time of booking is a fairly standard concept).
In the end the drama was all for nothing as I was upgraded 2 categories to a "Loft Room" which is advertised as their entry level suite. That worked for me and met my expectations, but I will point out to anyone booking it that the Loft Room is in no way a Suite, Junior or otherwise. It is a marginally larger room with a second seating area and a second table. If I had paid for a Junior Suite I would be extremely unhappy.
Onto the stay itself, I really liked the hotel itself - such a shame to pointlessly pollute the experience. Service was excellent, the quality of the hard product is amongst the best I have ever seen at a Marriott anywhere and I liked the F&B offerings - from the cool rooftop to the London-inspired Punch Room and the high quality room service.
Make of this all what you will - Similar to my relationship with Marriott overall, I need to trade off recognition and great hotels vs. a lot of unnecessary ........ in the overall experience.
Jul 25, 2019, 12:31 am
#20
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 81
I'm planning on a 5 night stay in May 2020, and this is one of the properties I'm considering. Has anyone else stayed here? How does it compare to the other nearby properties (Cotton House, Renaissance, LeMeridien)? If all goes as planned I should be Plat for this trip.
Dec 17, 2019, 12:12 pm
#23
Join Date: May 2011
Location: NYC (LGA, JFK), CT
Programs: Delta Platinum, American Gold, JetBlue Mosaic 4, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond,
Posts: 4,888
Mar 5, 2020, 2:11 pm
#24
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: North of DTW
Programs: Delta PM, LATAM Gold, Bonvoy Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton, Hertz Gold, Silvercar, Sixt
Posts: 171
Barcelona EDITION Stay (Late Book Report!)
I'm somewhat new to Flyer Talk (not to the Boarding Area flyer blogs, though), and will give those of you subscribed my impressions of the Barcelona EDITION - my wife and I stayed there just over a year ago.
We have no status with any hotel chains, outside of what's glommed onto by cc's.
Planned our trip smack dab in the teeth of MWC 2019 (Mobile World Congress), so we zigged towards Girona for a few days prior to doubling back to Barcelona.
Checked in early afternoon, no hassles. King room with a view overlooking the neighboring Santa Caterina market.
As noted previously, the rooftop bar was fun, and the Punch Room excellent. We had top notch interactions with the front desk staff throughout our 3 night stay. Everyone was helpful and spoke English to a very high caliber. No room service, we had breakfast in the small restaurant prior to taking off and running out and about daily.
I'd include a few pics, but I'm still a noob. Gonna try to do something about that...
If anyone has questions, please let me know. I'll be happy to try to help
We have no status with any hotel chains, outside of what's glommed onto by cc's.
Planned our trip smack dab in the teeth of MWC 2019 (Mobile World Congress), so we zigged towards Girona for a few days prior to doubling back to Barcelona.
Checked in early afternoon, no hassles. King room with a view overlooking the neighboring Santa Caterina market.
As noted previously, the rooftop bar was fun, and the Punch Room excellent. We had top notch interactions with the front desk staff throughout our 3 night stay. Everyone was helpful and spoke English to a very high caliber. No room service, we had breakfast in the small restaurant prior to taking off and running out and about daily.
I'd include a few pics, but I'm still a noob. Gonna try to do something about that...
If anyone has questions, please let me know. I'll be happy to try to help
Jul 6, 2020, 5:09 am
#25
Join Date: May 2003
Location: TLL
Programs: OZ Diamond, BA Gold, Bonvoy Ambassador, HH Gold
Posts: 4,410
I had a stay at The Edition booked for late July. Just got an email that the hotel will be closed until September. It's a bummer, because I was looking forward to trying The Edition. Have switched to The Cotton House, hopefully that will stick.
Jul 6, 2020, 5:50 am
#26
Join Date: Feb 2020
Programs: British Airways Executive Club Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 1,769
Thank you for this. I assume my STARS agent will let me know if they email him about my stay in August. I’ve booked the W and Cotton House as back ups - glad they are still cheap!
Aug 15, 2021, 1:26 pm
#28
Join Date: Feb 2020
Programs: British Airways Executive Club Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 1,769
I stayed here for four nights last month. Initially, I was upgraded to a Deluxe from the base room - there was nothing else available between Deluxe and the Penthouse Suite. They did say at checkin that I could come and ask if anything better became available. So, after the first night, I noticed that a Loft was available for the last three nights - I went down to the desk and talked to the same man who checked me in. They then gave me the Loft room as a further upgrade.
I will say that a real upgrade (Loft and upwards - all the rooms below are just the same room with nicer cushions) is hard to come by during the summer, as they have a very limited number of premium rooms. I think the hotel only has 100 rooms, few of which are the larger ones.
It's a great hotel, by the way. I'm thinking of staying again next week. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
I will say that a real upgrade (Loft and upwards - all the rooms below are just the same room with nicer cushions) is hard to come by during the summer, as they have a very limited number of premium rooms. I think the hotel only has 100 rooms, few of which are the larger ones.
It's a great hotel, by the way. I'm thinking of staying again next week. I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
Aug 16, 2021, 12:12 am
#29
Join Date: Apr 2015
Programs: Some
Posts: 5,231
Alternatively, I stayed here recently also and, having read that upgrades are scarce, tried the approach of contacting the hotel via the App the evening before to ask about the possibility of a paid upgrade (I realise this is sacrilegious on FT!) as I wanted to avoid a small room. Was offered a one bedroom suite for about 30% less than the cash price difference between that room and the entry level one I had originally booked. As I posted elsewhere, if you don’t care so much about free upgrades this is a superb hotel, I would also like to go back.
Aug 16, 2021, 8:12 am
#30
Join Date: Feb 2020
Programs: British Airways Executive Club Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 1,769
Alternatively, I stayed here recently also and, having read that upgrades are scarce, tried the approach of contacting the hotel via the App the evening before to ask about the possibility of a paid upgrade (I realise this is sacrilegious on FT!) as I wanted to avoid a small room. Was offered a one bedroom suite for about 30% less than the cash price difference between that room and the entry level one I had originally booked. As I posted elsewhere, if you don’t care so much about free upgrades this is a superb hotel, I would also like to go back.
