arizonawildcat

Yeah, I know it's a jump in points, but the Cotton House looks to be a great experience. I'm Platinum now, but will fall back to my lifetime Gold this time next year. Assuming it won't matter much as far as benefits go? Upgrades are always nice, but I don't care as much when it's just my wife and I traveling (vs. the whole family with the kids and you need space).

pinniped

We spent a week in Barcelona and loved it. We stayed out at the Fira...needed two rooms, with kids...and they treated us well. The kids loved the rooftop pool and the rooms/hotel are quite interesting. The breakfast spread was great. (Included w/Gold/Plat: there is no lounge.)

Had it been just my wife and I, we might have gone for the more-central location. The Cotton House reviews all look pretty solid. But Fira is a short Uber or train ride from the center, plus actually more convenient for a couple of the popular daytrips (Montserrat, Sitges), so it wasn't all bad.

arizonawildcat

Thanks! About how long does it take to travel to the city center from the Fira? How much of a pain is it if we were to do that on a daily basis? (I'm assuming most of the things we would have on our list would be in the central part of the city)

pinniped

Maybe 15 minutes via Uber/taxi. We did that pretty often since there were 4 of us and taxis/uber are cheap there.

There are both metro and bus stops right outside the hotel. We used the trains a little bit as well but not the bus. Train was maybe 10-15 minutes to the main station. Only downside to the trains was that the Europa/Fira station is basically a single-line spoke, mainly you often had to change trains to get where you really wanted to go. So the journey to the Sagrada Familia, for example, would be something like 30-35 minutes with the connection. (But still 15-20 via Uber.)

Some Flyertalkers did figure out the bus, and even used it to/from the airport.

I didn't feel like the trip in/out of the city was a pain. I'd say the only thing I missed was the old European city-center vibe. Being able to walk 100 meters from the hotel to 10-20 interesting outdoor cafes for dinner, that kind of thing. Fira's in a perfectly fine neighborhood, easy walking distance to a very large, upscale mall with an IKEA, huge gorgeous Carrefour, many restaurants, etc. But it's just a different vibe...

arizonawildcat

Thanks for the perspective. While 20 minutes or so isn't the end of the world, there is something of value to me personally to just be able to walk out the front door of a hotel and be in the epicenter of the old city. I think for the 90K point difference, I am going to go with the Cotton House.

I greatly appreciate everyone's opinions and facts here. This is what makes Flyertalk still one of my go-to sites when researching travel! Other's personal experiences are of tremendous value to me, and helps me make an informed decision.