A solid Hilton hotel

100   Recommended
January 12, 2016 by EXPERT

 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended
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Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
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This hotel has the look and feel of a genuine Hilton property.

Check In

Check-in was friendly and efficient. I had two nights booked with cash and the third on points on a separate reservation which the agent quickly connected the booking.

Room

I had booked an entry level room and was upgraded to an executive king. The room was large and spacious with wooden floorboards and a good amount of space to open your luggage. There is a 'step-in' wardrobe which while walk-in provided ample room to hang and hide clothes. The bathroom was large with a tub/shower combo and another standalone shower. Yes, two showers! Amenities were the usual Peter Thomas Roth.

There was an auto minibar with a pointed sign on the front warning that anything removed would have to be paid for. As usual, there was only a small spot for your own drinks. And the fridge wasn't nearly cold enough.

Service

Service was nothing outstanding but equally nothing to complain about. The executive lounge staff seemed a little more interested in doing their own thing and clocking off rather than clearing tables or assisting guests. One evening an attendant moved from table to table informing guests that the canapes would finish in "less than 30 minutes" and the next night another attendant moved around telling everyone it would finish in "25 minutes". I've heard the usual 15 minutes or 10 minutes but this struck me as a little odd.

The front desk staff were helpful in assisting with maps and directions. There was no bellman to assist with my bags on my late early eveningarrival but I did have help when checking-out.

Housekeeping was perfectly fine although there was no turndown service.

Dining

The executive lounge is a very nice space with an extensive outdoor terrace area with tables and chairs to sit and look out over the water. It was too cold this time of year to partake, obviously, but I could see it being a very nice environment to enjoy evening drinks in the warmer months.

Canapes were a little disappointing. For the land of tapas I was expecting much more along those lines. Each night there was one or two hot dishes, two canape type things that could be considered a sad attempt at tapas, one dessert and a couple of pastries. In addition there was a kind of make-your-own salad bar which was just average to look at.

The drink selection including wine, four spirits (gin, tequila, scotch and something else), soft drinks and a couple of beers. The beer fridge temperature was set at a ridiculuos 10 degrees C. On the second night the soft drink fridge was set at 13! Slightly odd is the fact the canapes are served from 6pm to 8pm but the drinks from 6pm until 8.30pm.

Breakfast was in the lounge. As a Diamond I could have taken breakfast in the restaurant for EUR25 which just happened to be the full cost of a regular breakfast in the restaurant (ie. no discount). But it was fine. There were cereals, pastries, toast, scrambled eggs and bacon.

Very late one evening, not being able to sleep, I went to the lobby bar and ordered a toasted sandwich and a glass of whisky. All was fine and the sandwich was tasty and served relatively quickly.

On my last night I ordered room service and once again found myself at a hotel that lobbies a tray charge. This time it's a hefty EUR4. But the food was fine and service was good.

Location

The location is out of town but despite that it's still not in a bad spot. It is directly opposite the very large Diagonal mar shopping complex with a massive number of shops. It is also only a five or six minute walk to the metro from which it is only 14 to 16 minutes into the centre of town. A ride costs EUR2.15 one way but I purchased a two day pass for EUR9.90. Other multi-day passes are available. The neighbourhood appeared perfectly safe and I had no qualms walking between the hotel and the metro late at night. The metro itself is clean, quick and easy to navigate.

I took a taxi from the airport in the late afternoon/early evening. We hit a fair bit of traffic and spent more than the odd minute at a total standstill. The journey probably last 30 minutes but the charge was EUR31.something that ended up being $38 with whatever else was added on. It was cheaper on the return, travelling on a weekday mid-morning.

Overall

Despite the hotel not being in the centre of town I would still recommend it. It was very much a Hilton and I did enjoy the stay. I'd be happy to return.

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