TAHKUCT

I think it is a part of their spa and is extremely small

rendezvous

I stayed at this hotel last week. I originally booked a Jr. Suite using points and was upgraded to a Mediterranean Suite, which was very nice. Btw, I am a gold member. Overall, the service was good, except that the check in was slow and check out was even slower. The terrace balcony in the Mediterranean Suite is very spacious and nice.

volklboy

I was there last week. Booked Jr Suite for 5 night point stay. Was told on check-in no upgrades available. Got Jr Suite #817 -- such a dump that Mrs Volklboy was in tears -- dirty carpet and couch, 2 windows that barely open, no separate shower, closet too small. Front dek person said it was "nicest of the jr suites" which was either a direct lie or else the front desk person was simply ignorant of the rooms, because the website shows remodeled jr suites and 817 is not one of them. Next morning, we asked to be moved and was told Med Suite was "normally 120 euros more, but for me as a Plat only 90 euros more" -- I said I would take it, they said return at 3pm. I asked myself "what would william do" and emailed customer care -- they called hotel and replied to me that Med Suites cost 90 euros more. Front desk manager then called and said Med Suites were in fact sold out even if I did want to pay, but moved us to Prestige Suite #414 for no upcharge with round living room overlooking Las Ramblas. No terrace, but we liked the room and it was never too loud even with the Euro 2012 going on. Sundeck on floor 6 has "pool" which is a the size of a 2 person bathtub. less than 3 feet at its deepest and too small to do a swim stroke for certain. plat breakfast was good as were F&B prices (5 euro wire vs 15 at Ra Beach or Mardavall.) Stay included four free espresso drinks from bar and 2 tickets to Modern Art Museum. I would return, but not to room 817 unless it is remodeled.

atxtraveler

Just left from a quick one night stay here. Excellent property and people. I arrived at 9am from a JFK flight, and had I not upgraded, would have been able to access my room immediately. since the suite was not ready, they recommended the spa for a shower. Small spa with sauna and steam room, one shower and the vitality pool is more like a bath tub. I highly recommend a room on the 6th floor as I had an entire outdoor entertaining area. Thanks Starwood Lurker for the upgrade help!

RTWSTARALLIANCE

I am inbound soon. After making my reservation I used suite upgrade certs to waitlist. It cleared but the range in square feet given for the suite is huge. The range noted on my reservation now is between 500 to 1000 square feet. Where is the logic in a description like that? Comments appreciated. Also. Is breakfast for Platinums a given benefit or a choice as a amenity? Sounds like a choice. It was mentioned earlier the 60 minute massage might be a ok deal for 4500 points. Well. How was the masage/spa? Any and all additional information appreciated. Platinum member. Thank you.

hgadhia

Stayed at this property in early December and here's what I recall.

1) Breakfast was indeed an amenity choice -- but the good part is that it's a full buffet and not continental. Not the best buffet you've ever seen, but not bad at all.

2) We saw two suites -- one Jr Suite and then a Prestige Suite -- as it was December, the Mediterranean Suite wouldn't have been terribly useful. Jr Suite was smallish and the layout was not ideal since the bathroom was not ensuite. The Prestige Suite was not much larger than the Jr Suite -- I think they say it's 800 sq ft, but I call BS on that. The Prestige Suite was much nicer in terms of decor, but again, the size wasn't so great.

3) There was construction going on at the hotel at the Prestige Suite level, so that might make the experience less than ideal

4) Plat recognition at the hotel was poor and they were not terribly helpful/warm. Even though there were plenty of Jr Suites and Prestige suites available -- because we had two kids, we were told that we HAD to pay 100€ to upgrade from our regular room to a Jr Suite. They wouldn't just give us the upgrade at check-in because we had 2 kids and the room booked did not allow for occupancy with 2 kids. While I totally understand it, that's a pretty rigid interpretation of the rules I would say. If at check-in they tell me that they can't upgrade me to Jr Suite, fine, no worries -- I either pay for a 2nd room or find another hotel. Telling to that I MUST book a Jr Suite or pay to upgrade to it in advance did not sit well with me. Upon check-in, we were (reluctantly) upgraded further to the Prestige Suite, but at 100€ per night for the original upgrade to Jr Suite, we did not think this was a good or even decent value.

5. We had billing issues that they didn't resolve for 3-4 weeks. They overbilled us by 100€ and did not catch the mistake on their own. Not sure how this happens in today's day and age, but somehow they manually entered in a rate that was incorrect for the last night of our stay.

I'd still recommend staying here since I like the property overall & the location is pretty good, especially the proximity to Playa Catalunya metro. However there's little enthusiasm in this reco. If there was a better option, I'd take it. The W, while superior in every other regard, is too far away from everything for our liking. So right now, this is the best SPG option.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Upon arrival into BCN go to the lower level after exiting to take the Aerobus. I arrived on LH so that was the A1 bus. The return ticket was less than 10 euros. Upon exiting at the last stop La Rambla will be opposite side of Plaza. Walk left down La Rambla. The entrance which has been noted is off La Rambla.

As for upgrades. Jr Suites and Prestige Suites were recently renovated aka five years ago. They will not be part of the ongoing renovation anytime soon. I only saw the Prestige Suite which is located on the rotunda corner which is shown in pictures. Felt that was very dated and not functional imho comfortable. The suites which are larger are or have undergone renovation. There is active construction going on. In terms of Prestige Suites there is indeed a wide range in size. For the Med Suites the number you see online only includes the room area and not the balcony. And in terms of those suites I mean room area as it would not be considered a suite in any meaning of the term. A large room with comfortable sitting area and slider to huge balcony. Very modern and yes kinda cool. I prefer it to the Prestige Suite. As for noise the line 4 subway alone is a huge turnoff for the suite I saw. I don't know how long the subway runs until but for a light sleeper it could not be tolerated.

The fruit, bottles of water and IHT newspapers are available only on the SPG floors. That being said there is no control feature on access. The Spa is on six. If that was the pool up might want to just fill up your soaking tub and dream. The massage is available using 4500 points as are a number of other things. Breakfast is a option as amenity for Plats. I took that and it seems will be a good deal. There are lots of food options around here and getting ready to explore. Hungry.

As for internet on my floor it is quick. As Plat comp and you can connect up to three devices. Even using my suite upgrade certs the Hotel initially only gave me what I had given up certs for. To me it seemed like little additional effort was made. It took me two hours to get "settled". I can understand Etoiles comments and do find it disturbing the whole process. That being said I had noted Plat benefits and led the agent along all those lines making sure they were offered. Apparently the museum is only two blocks away. Did not get a offer for paella reception but not probably a VIP in SPGs book.

EXPLAT

What is the paella reception? Our first trip to Barcelona. Having a hard time choosing between the W and LM. We're a family of four with our two teenagers, ages 17 and 15. So would like to have a two bedroom suite if possible out of the two rooms we booked.

Which hotel has better Platinum upgrades and what about using some of my Suite certificates? I'm leaning towards LM since it's right in the middle of the action but the comments about the hotel are not that great. We'll be coming from the St. Regis in Florence, so I don't want it to be too big of a let down. We really like the LM in Munich and Monaco.

itsaboutthejourney

November 2012 stay. Platinum member with Ambassador who noted and sent special requests to the property. No upgrade. Not even to SPG floor. Special requests were honored in the regular room. This was my appx 12th stay at this property.

Platinum Breakfast amenity is a wise choice at this property.

PaxCGN

The location right in the middle of the shopping, sightseeing and gastronomic centre speaks for the LM (unless you need to be worried with your teenagers) and I would probably book it again despite my recent very negative experiencES.
But expect no advantages like upgrade or similar. I am SPG gold, I have been a frequent guest at this hotel for the last 10 years and my last upgrades are really very long ago. In the contrary: whenever the hotel was officially fully booked on SPG website I booked a room directly with the hotel at really astronomic rates. And in spite of paying more than other guests and of my status I received on more than one occasion the poorest rooms (rooms near the elevator are loud and moldy and therefore obviously still available when the hotel is officially sold out and for this reason obviously are not cleaned, because usually not used - but the cleaning seems to be a general problem in the dark bathrooms), followed by a not very customer-oriented e-mail reply.
I have since found a far superior hotel right across from the LM, but that is not going to be of help to you wanting to stay with Starwood.

EXPLAT

Wow, that doesn't sound too promising.

spainlover

I haven't stayed at the W. Although I love W Hotels in general, and have had positive experiences both at the spa and bar at this W, unless I were going largely for beach, I prefer the LM's location.
Your teens might like the W style and if you are going in summer, it's spot on the beach. However, I think overall you will enjoy the Le Meridien. I have been upgraded all but one time I have stayed there, with most stays coming as Platinum and 1-2 as Gold. In 6-7 stays, I have been given a large corner suite overlooking Las Ramblas three times, including one five-night summer stay when I was paying a super-low rate of ~130€ per night. On one stay my friend who I was traveling with and I each received a fantastic Le Labo candle that retails for about $80, and we were also invited to an exclusive performance of a dance performance getting media coverage.
It's very easy to get everywhere for the Le Meridien, and close for your kids (or you)to walk to Born or around Ciutat Vela for unique art objects.

Best,
Kat

EXPLAT

Have never been to Barcelona. Your sentence peaks my interest. Can you expand on this please!

FSU

We were at the LM last summer with our kids who were 17 and 15 as well. We had a Prestige suite on third floor with a connecting room for the kids. It really worked out well for us. The kids spent most of the time in our suite as there was a separate living room. The highlight of the room was being right on Las Ramblas. Although there was no balcony, the windows opened and we had a great view of the action. We became entranced watching the shell game swindle going on right in front of us. Six people involved and quite a show. When the windows were closed, noise was not a problem.

Overall we really enjoyed the LM. Service was very good and the neighborhood was much more interesting then where the W is. We felt very safe there as well. I think you are much better off here, unless you want to spend the days at the beach.

If you go I would also recommend a day tour to Costa Brava and Gironna. We used a company called Spanish Trails. Also a food tour of Barcelona was a big hit as well.

EXPLAT

Thanks for the tips! Where do you sign up for the food tour?

With same aged children, what things did you do that they really enjoyed?